The Travelers

Genre: Fiction

Author: Delaney Henderson

In this first book by Delaney Henderson we meet Ann - a young tourist who is on a free spirited tour of the world. Ann is an unattached, feisty woman who travels around Europe and Africa meeting up with other backpacking tourists. Drugs, freely available are done on a regular basis. Her affinity to the ever present and publicly consumed drugs like hashish leads her to be courted by drug traffickers and this of course, leads her to the dark side of the drug world where young tourists like Ann are courted and targeted to be used as drug smugglers.

“Everyone is doing some sort of drug deal here, Ann thought, I was wondering why all the furtiveness and now I know why. “

Ann’s cocky confident agreement to be a drug smuggler puts her into the expected dangers of local police, chases, drug related deaths, and the threat of capture. We follow her as she tries to navigate a far more complicated world than she had naively expected.

The Travelers is a quick paced, suspenseful slim volume. It contains a lot of dialog that at times appears to be a bit choppy but which adds to the awkwardness of the main’s character’s dilemma. The story line focuses on most of Ann’s dialog making this story seem to be autobiographical in nature. I would have liked to see more description on the surroundings, which would have added to the travel aspect of the book. There are some editing flaws but they don’t distract much from the story. Still, it is a good, at times disturbing, read that will leave you thinking.

Delaney Henderson who was born in France is an accomplished fine artist with oil paintings on display throughout the west Coast. Henderson turns her massive talents to the world of fiction, combining her worldly knowledge with modern-day trends to develop a novel that captivates readers. I give this book a highly recommended rating.
Reviewer: Wendy Thomas, Allbooks Reviews. www.allbookreviews.com

Title: The Travelers
Author: Delaney Henderson
Publisher: A-Argus Better Book Publishers
ISBN: 978-098190757-4
Pages: 199
Price: 17.95
Nov. 2009

Allbooks Reviews INTERVIEW:
Please state your name and location. (city and State or Province, Country)
Delaney Henderson Berkeley California US

Tell us the title and publisher of your book:
The Travelers
A-Argus Better Book Publishers LLC

Tell us about yourself:
Delaney Henderson was born in France and grew up Southern California in Santa Monica and Malibu Canyon. She relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area where she has lived most of her life except for two years in Portland Oregon. She currently lives and works in Berkeley, California.

Delaney writes novels, screenplays and short stories. She studied writing with the ‘Dangerous Writers Group’ on the Oregon Coast while living in Portland and credits this group as being influential in her approach to writing. The idea is to write about those things which may be difficult or uncomfortable which theoretically have more of a potential to emotionally resonate with the reader.

Delaney has traveled to Europe, Morocco, Canada and Mexico and lived in France for several months at age 13. In more recent years she has done residencies in Santa Fe New Mexico and in Basin, a small town in Montana.

When was the book released?
May 2009

Give us an overview of your book.

The Travelers is about a group of young wanderer types in Morocco that get involved in the hash trade. They have relationships. They get in trouble. They drift in and out of towns and houses and restaurants and teashops, besieged by mild existential angst and alienation.

The book is a slice of history, coming from a time when young men and women from western countries could to go places like Morocco and get in trouble and usually get out of it. It was before the fundamentalists and reactionaries took over and made that kind of travel, as silly and irresponsible as it was, impossible.

What inspired you to write this book?
I traveled to Morocco in my twenties and the story is based on experiences and characters I met during the trip. I do want to emphasize that the book is a work of fiction and I took great liberties with the story line.

How is your book different from other books in this genre?
The book is reflects experiences and travel in a Muslim country from a woman’s point of view and gives the reader an insight into a world they probably aren’t familiar with.

Where can people buy your book?
People can buy the book on line at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders and also directly from the publisher. It also is for sale in some local book stores in the SF Bay area.

Are you working on another book? If so when do you expect it to be published?
I am currently working on a novel to be titled ‘Out of the Gorge’ about three young people from dysfunctional backgrounds seeking a better life for themselves. It is set in the US Northwest Columbia Gorge and Portland Oregon area.

If you self published, what advice can you give to fellow writers?
I’m not self published but my advice would be to start learning how to promote your book before it comes out.

If published traditionally, tell us how you benefited:
The benefit of course is that the publisher shoulders the cost of publishing the book and makes the book widely available through a distribution network already in place.
They also send out books for review and do varying degrees of promotion.
Increasingly these days a lot of the work is on the author to do promotion.

Can you share one of your marketing successes with us?
One thing I did was seek out reviews on Amazon which has had mostly good results. It’s difficult to get professional reviews. I also am using my Facebook page to promote my books. Other things that are recommended that I will do for my next book is put a web site up.

How did you find Allbooks Reviews and what are you hoping for in your relationship with us?
I am hoping for more exposure for my book from Allbooks Reviews.

Was the low cost a surprise? What other things would you like Allbooks Reviews to offer writers?
No surprises and I am happy with what is offered. Thanks!

Thank you for this interview and best of luck with your book.