Getting Rooted in New
Zealand
By Jamie Baywood
Craving change and lacking logic, at 26, Jamie, a cute and quirky
Californian, impulsively moves to New Zealand to avoid dating after reading
that the country's population has 100,000 fewer men. In her journal, she
captures a hysterically honest look at herself, her past and her new
wonderfully weird world filled with curious characters and slapstick situations
in unbelievably bizarre jobs. It takes a zany jaunt to the end of the Earth and
a serendipitous meeting with a fellow traveler before Jamie learns what it
really means to get rooted.
Q&A With Jamie:
When
did you know you wanted to become an author?
I
was very lucky in New Zealand to meet a lot of talented people. I had the
opportunity to write and perform for Thomas Sainsbury the most prolific
playwright in New Zealand. I performed a monologue about my jobs in the
Basement Theatre in Auckland. The
funny thing about that experience was Tom kept me separated from the other
performers until it was time to perform. I was under the impression that all
the performers were foreigners giving their experiences in New
Zealand. All of the other performers were professional actors
telling stories that weren’t their own. At first I was mortified, but the
audience seemed to enjoy my “performance,” laughing their way through my
monologue. After
the shows we would go out and mingle with the audience. People would ask me how
long I had been acting. I would tell them, “I wasn’t acting; I have to go to
work tomorrow and sit next to the girl wearing her dead dog’s collar.” No one
believed I was telling the truth.
Where
did you come up with the premise for this book?
While
living in New Zealand, I had funny experiences that I had trouble believing
were true. I wrote the stories down to stay sane. I wrote situations down that
were happening around me and shared them with friends. Most of the book was
written as the events happened; it just took me a few years to work up the
nerve to publish. Publishing my book Getting Rooted in New
Zealand was my way of transforming poison into medicine. I hope that it
can help people that have had bad dating experiences or bad work experiences –
make them laugh and not give up hope.
Describe
your book in three words.
Funny
travel memoir.
What
can your readers expect next from you?
I
plan to divide my books by the countries I've lived in. I've lived in
five countries; America, American Samoa, New Zealand, Scotland and now England.
My next book will be about attempting to settle in Scotland.
About the Author:
Jamie Baywood grew up in Petaluma, California. In 2010, she made the
most impulsive decision of her life by moving to New Zealand. Getting Rooted in
New Zealand is her first book about her experiences living there. Jamie is now
married and living happily ever after in the United Kingdom. She is working on
her second book.
Getting Rooted in New Zealand is available in paperback and ebook on Amazon
Connect
with Jamie at:
Jamie is giving one lucky winner an e-copy of
Getting Rooted in New Zealand
Giveaway open internationally
I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand and this book sounds like it will be a “fun trip.” Looking forward to reading it. Jamie took a big step when she decided to move to NZ and I admire her for that. My family and I moved to Paris and stayed for six years so I can honestly say I take my hat off to her and offer her a cheer as well! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Connie! New Zealand is amazing. I highly recommend everyone go to New Zealand and have their own adventure. I bet it was an great experience for you and your family to live in Paris for six years! We'll be moving international again mid 2014. I'm not sure where yet. We're open to suggestions.
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