Two Steps Books

From the New York Times –bestselling author of The Rosie Project, a novel of finding love after loss on the Camino pilgrimage from France to Spain. “The Chemin will change you. It changes everyone . . .” The Chemin, also known as the Camino de Santiago, is a centuries-old pilgrim route that ends in Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. Every year, thousands of walkers—some devout, many not—follow the route that wends through quaint small villages and along busy highways alike, a journey unlike any other. Zoe, an artist from California who’s still reeling from her husband’s sudden death, has impulsively decided to walk the Camino, hoping to find solace and direction. Martin, an engineer from England, is road-testing a cart of his own design . . . and recovering from a messy divorce. They begin in the same French town, each uncertain of what the future holds. Zoe has anticipated the physical difficulties of her trek, but she is less prepared for other challenges, as strangers and circumstances force her to confront not just recent loss, but long-held beliefs. For Martin, the pilgrimage is a test of his skills and endurance but also, as he and Zoe grow closer, of his willingness to trust others—and himself—again. Smart and funny, insightful and romantic, Two Steps Forward reveals that the most important journeys we make aren’t measured in miles, but in the strength, wisdom, and love found along the way. “With wit and wisdom, Simsion and Buist have crafted a novel that will have readers wanting to walk a Camino of their own.” — Kirkus Reviews

Three years after life got in the way of their long-distance relationship, Californian artist Zoe and English engineer Martin have an unexpected opportunity to reunite: a second chance to follow in the footsteps of pilgrims in Europe. This time, they won’t be walking the famous Camino de Santiago to north-west Spain but the less-travelled Chemin d’Assise and Via Francigena to Rome, along the mountainous paths from rural France. And rather than each setting off solo, they will accompany Zoe’s old friend Camille—who, despite her life-threatening illness, insists she will walk the whole sixteen hundred kilometres to seek an audience with the Pope—and her not-so-ex-husband, Gilbert, who sees the trip as a gourmet tour. Then Bernhard, Martin’s young nemesis from the previous trek, shows up, along with Martin’s daughter, Sarah, who is having a quarter-life crisis and doesn’t exactly hit it off with Zoe... Two Steps Onward is the wise, witty and wine-filled follow-up to Two Steps Forward , Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist’s bestselling novel about walking the Camino. It’s about helping the people you love, and knowing when to let go. Figuring out what you really want in life. And seizing your chances, before it’s too late. Graeme Simsion is the internationally bestselling author of The Rosie Project , The Rosie Effect , The Rosie Result and The Best of Adam Sharp . Anne Buist is the author of the psychological thrillers Medea’s Curse , Dangerous to Know , This I Would Kill For and The Long Shadow , and Professor of Women’s Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. They co-wrote Two Steps Forward and Two Steps Onward , and live together in Melbourne, Australia. ‘[An] entertaining and refreshingly unpredictable romance.’ Sydney Morning Herald on Two Steps Forward ‘Charming and absorbing.’ Daily Mail on Two Steps Forward