Tag Archives: Camino de Santiago

Audit of 2025 & plans for 2026

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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,

The Way, My Way available online NOW!

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I’m delighted to announce that our Camino movie, The Way, My Way, is now available online in most major territories worldwide.

Thank you to all those who’ve been waiting so patiently.

It’s available to rent or buy from Apple TV in these territories:
United States
Canada
Ireland
Portugal
United Kingdom

and

Amazon Prime in these territories:
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Ireland (through UK storefront)
France
Spain
Portugal (through Spain storefront)
Brazil
Mexico
Latin America (through Mexico storefront)

It will also be available to rent or buy on YouTube Premium very soon. Online releases in Germany, Italy and Taiwan will be at the discretion of their local distributors.

Please note: the film will not be on Netflix in the foreseeable future, simply because they haven’t made us an offer to buy it!

Thank you to all those who saw the film in a cinema. Now’s your chance to see it in the comfort of your own home!

It might also make a good Christmas gift!

Day #1 – 6 day Sept Fast (recap)

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Here’s how I start my day – with a double espresso.
Even when I fast.
No sugar. No milk. Just two shots of pure espresso.

Usually by day 4 of a fast my body decides that it doesn’t need caffeine anymore, and I can’t bring myself to drink it. I shift across to either Green Tea or First Flush Darjeeling.

Day #1 of my fast wasn’t so bad. I felt hungry but not hugely so. I weighed myself this morning and in just one day I’ve lost 2.1kgs. This is largely water and in subsequent days this loss will come down to about 1kg per day, sometimes less.

The hardest thing about fasting for any period, whether it’s 1 day or 6 days or 14 days, which is the longest fast I’ve done, is to fully commit to it. If you waver in your commitment, even in the slightest, you won’t last the fast!

It’s a little bit like walking a Camino, or making a movie, or writing a book, or entering into a relationship. You have to approach it with full commitment.

My Stats:
Weight: 84.6kg
BP: 148/78
Resting Pulse: 65 bpm

My blood pressure is a bit high. I should be in the 125-129/ 68-75 range. My resting pulse is a bit high too – it should be under 60bpm. It’ll be interesting to see how these shift over the length of the fast.

The Way, My Way – news of online release!

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For those of waiting to see The Way, My Way, or for those who’ve already seen it and want to see it again – I have some good news.

The film is scheduled to be released on Video On Demand (VOD) this November, on various platforms (e.g. Amazon Prime and Apple TV) and in a number of countries around the world, including the US, the UK, Spain, and some of the larger Spanish speaking Latin America countries.  

Please note the film will not to be on Netflix in the near term (and it may actually never be on Netflix), and so at this time, VOD is the only way to legitimately watch and enjoy the film.

Jennifer and I would like to thank you all for your patience in the lead up to the VOD release. Rest assured, we’ve tried our darnedest to make the film available in as many cinemas as possible around the world, but getting distribution for independent films like ours is getting harder and harder these days. 

But at least there’ll be the option to see it in your home very soon, and that pleases us greatly.

And if you’re needing an excuse to upgrade your home entertainment system to wide screen Ultra 4K, home cinema surround sound, the VOD release is all the excuse you need!

I’ll come back to you once we’ve got an exact date for the release – but November it is!

We’re back!

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After 4 months on the road traveling with our movie The Way, My Way, we’re finally back at home in Mudgee – and my goodness, it’s great to be sleeping in our own bed again.

It was an extraordinary trip –

  • 8 weeks in the US and Canada doing Q&A screenings,
  • Three weeks in Germany supporting the film’s theatrical release.
  • A side trip to Hungary for a special screening in Budapest with our dear friends Balazs and Laszlo – both feature in the film.
  • Three weeks or so in England, Scotland and Wales.
  • Then back to Canada and Vancouver to attend the annual North American Gathering of Camino pilgrims with a special screening.
  • Then back to Europe and Malta to attend the European Assembly of Camino pilgrims, with screenings for the Spanish Ambassador, the Australian High Commissioner, and other dignitaries.
  • Then from Malta back to London then back home!

Overnight I slept for nine hours straight.
I never sleep nine hours straight!

I have emails long overdue need replying to, finances to sort, social media needs attending to, plus I started writing a new novel while I was away and I have a deadline in two weeks to deliver the first 25k words to Penguin Random House. Then there’s the sequel to The Way, My Way that Jennifer and I are starting to ramp up – not to mention kick starting my exercise routine once again, getting my eating regime back on track, and so on and so forth!

I never want to travel again.

Until August, when I have to go back to California for more stem cell treatment for my Parkinson’s.

I tell you what though, I love Australia.
I’m proud to be an Australian.
We’re not without our faults and problems, as with any country –
But I’d prefer to live here than anywhere else in the world.
And in Mudgee in particular.
With Jennifer.

Now, back to work!

Germany, Hungary & Beyond ~

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Our mammoth global tour of The Way, My Way, continues.

We’ve been in Germany now more than three weeks. We’ve driven the length and breadth of the country in a rented (and brand new) Audi A5 that has a warning badge on the dashboard that says I’m not allowed to drive it faster than 220 km/hr.

Damn.
And I was wanting to hit 250!

The autobahns here allow drivers to go however fast they want. Some must be hitting 260km/hr easy. They flash past in their Mercedes and BMWs and Porches (and yes, Audis too) You see them as a speck in the rearview then they’re there and then they’re not there.

It’s a wonder there aren’t more horrific accidents.

But unlike speedsters in Texas or Florida, the Germans are incredibly safe and disciplined drivers. It’s actually more dangerous driving on Australian highways where the speed limit is a mind-numbingly slow 100 km/hr. At least on German highways you have to stay fully focused the whole time.

Enough of German driving conditions!

So far I’ve driven about 2,500 kms up and down and around the country so that Jennifer and I can attend the various Q&A screenings set up for us by the film’s German distributor, Happy Entertainment, led by Thomas Steger.

(too much headroom!)

Thomas and his team have done a terrific job preparing the film for its general release on 80+ screens across the country, and Austria, on April 24th/25th. He’s geared the film’s campaign specifically for a German audience – and I have to say the audiences have responded to the film differently to Australian or American audiences.

Australian audiences were a little shy and tentative and dare I say it, initially suspicious that an Australian film could be any good. But the film ended up having a 20 week run. In America and Canada, the audiences were enthusiastic and exuberant right from the getgo.

The German audiences are a little more restrained – and this could be cultural or it could be a function of the dubbing and translation – however they have been no less impacted by the subtle power of the film, as have audiences elsewhere, and the Q&As have been largely fully attended and the questions have indicated a deep engagement with the material.

During our time here we’ve been able to hang out with our dear friend Rudi Wiesmeier, who lives in a beautiful village south of Munich and whose support of the movie brought it into creation.

(perfect headroom!)

His two friends, brothers Jonas and Julian Bachmann, featured in the film as the musicians in the Hontanas party scene, then later in the snail scene. (“Mein Gott! Ist er tot?”) They saw the film in Munich and loved it.

(forgivable headroom)

Tomorrow we drive 400km+ to Leipzig, for a screening there – then to Berlin for a screening there – then we fly to Budapest in Hungary for a special screening hosted by our Camino buddies Balazs and Laszlo – stars of the film. That’s on Sunday 27th April.

From there we go to the UK for about ten days, then we fly back to Canada for a screening at a big annual Camino Gathering in Vancouver, then we fly to Malta for a similar screening with European Camino leaders – then… we fly back home.

We’ll have been away four months.
I wonder what the lawn’s like?

(unforgivable headroom!)

The Way, My Way finishes its US & Canada Q&A tour – for now!

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This afternoon Jennifer and I did our final Q&A in Carson City, near Lake Tahoe, in Nevada.

It was our 48th Q&A screening in 44 different towns/cities in 51 days.

We attended screenings in these states and provinces:

  • Arizona
  • New Mexico
  • Colorado
  • Texas
  • Florida
  • Ohio
  • Indiana
  • Illinois
  • Wisconsin
  • Washington DC
  • Virginia
  • New York
  • Ontario (province of Canada)
  • British Columbia (province of Canada)
  • Washington
  • Oregon
  • California
  • Nevada

I’ve driven 4,314 miles.
I’ve rented five vehicles.
We’ve taken 56 Ubers.
We’ve taken 12 internal flights.

You might think we’re utterly exhausted but actually we’re not.

Camino walking legend Johnnie Walker joined us for our NY, Canadian, Seattle, Portland OR and most of the Californian screenings. He was a big hit with the crowds. They loved him!

And he energised us.

But what’s really kept us going day to day, screening to screening, has been the audiences. Most of those 48 screenings were sellouts. In Ottawa we had a sellout crowd of 650. In San Rafael we had a sellout crowd of 340. Dan the manager there said he could have sold twice that number of tickets.

So even though it’s been a long haul for Jennifer and me, and Johnnie too – it’s been worth it! We’ve met some wonderful people, many of whom have become friends – and we’ve seen first hand the impact the film is having on people.

Before we left home we were concerned that the North American audiences maybe wouldn’t “get” the film. That’s turned out to be something we need not have worried about. The audience response throughout has been even more demonstrative than in Australia. And the Q&As have been vigorous and they’ve asked some fascinating questions.

There hasn’t been one screening where the audience hasn’t clapped twice – one when the film cuts to black at the end, and then again at the end of the credit roll. It’s been incredibly humbling – but also gratifying.

Behind all this has been the engine room of Paul Hudson, head of US based Outsider Pictures, and our Executive Producer Marc Wooldridge, head of Maslow Entertainment in Australia.

Tomorrow we drive from Carson City, Nevada, to Los Angeles where on Monday we fly out to Germany to meet up with another of our Executive Producers, Rudi Wiesmeier. The film is getting a major theatrical release in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

It premieres in Munich on April 8th, and Jennifer and I then begin a 12-15 city Q&A tour throughout Germany. Then we’re coming back to North America in early May for further screenings.

This film has a life of its own.
It’s now running on what we call: Pilgrim Power!

The Way, My Way Q&A tour – 4 wks in ~

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For the first time in nearly 4 weeks, we have a day off!

We’ve been going flat chat since the end of January – pretty much a new city, a new screening, every day.. Here’s where we’ve had screenings so far –

  • Phoenix
  • Sedona (2 screenings)
  • Flagstaff
  • Albuquerque
  • Santa Fe
  • Denver
  • Flat iron Crossing
  • Dallas
  • Austin
  • San Antonio
  • Houston
  • Jacskonville (screening cancelled – Valentine’s Day!)
  • Orlando
  • Miami (two screenings)
  • Cincinatti
  • Columbus
  • Indianapolis
  • Chicago (two screenings)
  • Milwaukee
  • Washington
  • Arlington

That’s 2,470 miles.
In 24 days.

I drove all this except for Cincinnati/Columbus/Indiapolis – these sectors we were very kindly driven by Brian and Michelle Coleman – 283miles. It took a huge burden off me, plus we had a great deal of fun Cruisin’ with the Colemans!

From here we go to New York, then into Canada where we have sellout screenings in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. From Vancouver we drop back into the US where we have a screening in Seattle. Then Portland Oregon – then we shift on down into California.

Johnnie /walker joins us in a couple of days now in New York, and he’ll be doing Q&As with us up to March 23.

It’s been interesting seeing the differences and similarites between the Australian audiences and the US audience.

Overall, the US audiences have been more demonstrative, more effusive in their praise of the film, they are happy to discuss spiritual matters more openly, and they are more interested in the transformative aspects of the Camino.

There are some questions the US audiences ask that are the same as the Australian audiences. They are:

  • How is your knee now?
    (Still buggered)
  • Why are the trails so empty?
    (Because most days we started shooting at 7pm or so to get the magic hour light – and most pilgrims have bunked down in their alburgues by this time of the evening.)
  • Why did I cast Chris Haywood as myself?
    (Because he’s a great actor)
  • To Jennifer: Has he really changed?
    (Jennifer: Yes. He now divides his life into the years before the Camino and the years after the Camino.)
  • What’s your favourite part of the Camino?
    (The Meseta,)

How are we holding up?

It’s been tough at time, I have to admit. All the driving, no real time to rest – but what’s kept us going are the wonderful people we’re meeting. Pilgrims really are extraordinary people!

The Way, My Way – updated Showtimes with ticket links ~

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Finally, we have a place where you can go to find showtimes and buy tickets for the Q&A tour – and when the film opens in general release on March 7th, you can use this link to find your nearest cinema too –

Go to the website’s home page – find the SHOWTIMES tab on the menu bar, click on that, choose your country, search your zip code, and there it is!

Showtimes

Sorry it’s taken so long – it’s a difficult and time consuming process getting commitments from exhibitors to play a small Australian movie about a stubborn man walking across Spain!

The Way, My Way Q&A Tour – If it’s Tuesday it must be Cincinnati, right?

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Yes, but is it Tuesday or is it Monday?
This Q&A tour is becoming a bit of a blur. Here are the screenings so far:

  • Phoenix – SELL OUT
  • Sedona x 2 screenings – both SELL OUTS
  • Flagstaff – SELL OUT
  • Albuquerque – 95% full
  • Santa Fe – SELL OUT
  • Denver – SELL OUT
  • Flat Iron Crossing – SELL OUT
  • Dallas – 95% full
  • Austin – SELL OUT
  • San Antonio – SELL OUT
  • Houston – SELL OUT
  • Orlando – 90% full
  • Miami Nth – 90% full
  • Miami Sth – SELL OUT

So across 15 screenings in 17 days so far we’ve had 11 sell outs, and those that didn’t sell out had only the front two rows close to the screen left unsold. The screening tonight in Miami’s Coral Gables Art Cinema sold out the first day tickets went on sale. It was a 141 seat cinema, but they put in extra chairs to cater for the overflow, making it 150 seats in all.

We flew from Australia to Phoenix (8,809 miles), and have taken 2 internal flights totalling 1800 miles. Most of our travel though has been by car – with me driving…

In 17 days I’ve driven 1875 miles, or 3,017 kms through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Florida.

How are we holding up?

Overall, pretty darn well. There have been a few times in the past 17 days when we’ve felt like we’ve been newly exhumed – but other than that we’re having a huge amount of fun, meeting some truly remarkable and wonderful people, making new friends and catching up with old friends – but the thing that keeps us buoyed is the audiences’ response to the film.

It’s been humbling – and has far exceeded our expectations.

We have another 36 screenings to go.