As readers of this blog know, each year around this time I do an “audit” of what I achieved this year pegged against what I hoped to achieve this time last year. And I outline what I hope to achieve in the coming year.

This year was all about the international theatrical rollout of The Way, My Way.

After a successful cinema run throughout Australia and New Zealand in 2024, the film that some reviewers called “the surprise hit of the year” – with a cinema Box Office of close to $2.5m, and a run of 20 weeks in some cinemas – it was time to take the film overseas.

Jennifer and I left Australia on January 28th, and for the next 4 months we toured the film throughout the US, Canada, Germany, with sold out screenings as well in the UK and Italy.

In the US and Canada we did 48 Q&A screenings in 44 different cities and towns in 19 states over a 51 day period. During this time Jennifer and I:

• took 12 internal flights
• took 52 Ubers
• I drove 7,000 kms in five rental cars

Johnnie Walker, Camino legend, joined us for a couple of weeks and he was treated by the Q&A crowds as the rock star that he is. Marc Wooldridge, head of Maslow Entertainment, helped coordinate our trip from Australia, with the aid of our US co-distributor, Outsider Pictures.

We arrived back home on May 28th – we were away exactly four months. Was it exhausting? Strangely, no. Jennifer and I were sensible. We slept well and we ate sparingly. And we traveled super light. That was key, with being on the move constantly.

During the last couple of weeks of the tour, in amongst all the travel and screenings, I began writing a new novel – an Outback thriller I’d been developing over the past ten years or so. It’s called Lady Fix – No Man’s Land. When I got home I continued writing for the next seven months, and this occupied my time for pretty much the rest of the year.

Publishers Penguin Random House had previously published my YA supernatural thriller trilogy, Palace of Fires –

https://www.penguin.com.au/brand/palace-of-fires

PRH were tracking the progress of Lady Fix and I submitted it to them last month. They came back with notes, which was expected, and I’m currently working through those notes. I also signed with a top flight literary agent and she will guide me through this process.

I got a delightful surprise last month as well – I was awarded the Malaspinsa Award from the Spanish Ambassador in Canberra for strengthening cultural ties between Australia and Spain for my Camino memoir and film, The Way, My Way.,

So, how did I go with my laundry list of things I wanted to achieve this year? Here’s what I hoped to achieve this time last year, and in bold, what I actually did or did not achieve.

• Release The Way, My Way in US and Canada – and support that release with a Q&A tour, from the beginning of February to the end of March.
• Done.
• Release The Way, My Way in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and support that release with a Q&A tour in April.
• Done.
• Screen The Way, My Way to an annual gathering of North American pilgrims in Vancouver in mid May.
• Done.
• Screen The Way, My Way to a convention of Camino leaders in Malta at the end of May.
• Done.
• Walk the Portuguese Camino (for the 3rd time!) in preparation for the shoot of The Way, Her Way.
• Didn’t do this. No time.
• Release The Way, My Way later in the year in Italy, and support that release.
• Done.
• Shoot The Way, Her Way on the Portuguese Camino in September / October.
• Didn’t do this. Not sufficient time to properly prepare with the international touring of The Way, My Way.
• Work on the post production of The Way, Her Way.
• Didn’t do this. See above.
• Write the first draft screenplay of the next movie in my Camino series – called The Way, His Way. (I aim to become the Taylor Sheridan of the Camino! haha)
• Didn’t do this.
• Complete the writing of my metaphysical thriller, Dead Image.
• Didn’t do this. Instead wrote Lady Fix.
• Complete the writing of my non fiction book, If I can Change, You can Too.
• Didn’t do this. My time was spent writing Lady Fix.
• Write a treatment of my dysfunctional pensioner crime-caper screenplay.
• Didn’t do this.
• Shoot more material for the Hope film.
• Didn’t do this.

As you can see, I didn’t do a lot of what I’d hoped to do. I think in retrospect I was way too ambitious in my expectations. I didn’t realise how all-consuming the international Q&A tour would be, and how writing a new novel – Lady Fix – would suck up all my remaining time and headspace.

Writing a novel is hard.
Damn hard.

So what do I hope to achieve in 2026?
I only have two things I wish to achieve:

• Get The Way, Her Way made.
• Get Lady Fix published.

If I can achieve those two things then I’ll regard 2026 a successful year.

Here’s the website for The Way, Her Way:
https://thewayherwaymovie.com

On the health front, I end the year in my eighth year since diagnosis of my Parkinson’s disease. This year, I’ve taken a bit of a hit, what with the four months of intensive travelling. But even so, I thank my lucky stars that I’m as good as I am.

Jennifer is my rock,