It’s a debut for Anna Maria who enjoyed her first ‘in-depth involvement with guidebook writing’ as one of three authors working on the new edition of the Mexico Handbook from Footprint Books – the first Footprint Mexico guide in over eight years.

‘I didn’t fully know what to expect but I loved it!’ says Anna Maria. ‘Not least since I lost a-stone-and-a-half. There’s nothing like eight hours of walking a day to get you fit.

‘During six weeks, I visited all my favourite parts of Mexico, covering the southern area, including the beaches of the Pacific and the Caribbean, the ancient Maya ruins across the region, the colourful markets and indigenous villages of Chapas and Oaxaca. I also sussed out the culinary secrets of mole and the potency of mezcal.’

Anna Maria insists she would do it all again, despite everlasting memories of some classic travel conversations. When she announced that the fan in her hotel room wasn’t working, one receptionist simply told her to ‘rub those two live wires together’.

Another day, Anna Maria gratefully exclaimed to the taxi driver that she was glad she hadn’t tried to walk this distance, to which he replied ‘Oh it’s not that far actually – I’m just going round the houses!’
 

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Caroline’s first book, Cool Caravanning (New Holland, £14.99), features a selection of stunning sites across the English countryside and is based on many years’ experience of travelling with her family in their motorhome.

‘Resarching the book involved visiting hundreds of campsites through England as well as getting under the skin of each location and region covered within the book – the history, the landscape and geography, together with local attractions, facilities, and places to eat and drink,’ says Caroline.

Camping and caravanning holidays became truly ‘cool’ in 2009 – the year of the ‘staycation’ – and there’s every indication that they will remain popular. Aimed at old hands and first-timers, Cool Caravanning presents 54 great places to stay whether you’re looking for fabulous views or child-friendly spots, a base for an action adventure or a chill-out location.

Press enquiries to Angela Audretsch at New Holland; 020 7725 9924;  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 

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'The book came about because I loved “Alice” and wanted to know about her creator,’ says Jenny. ‘But when I read the existing biographies, I was both bored and horrified at the person they showed, and as a sceptical journalist with experience of writing magazine profiles, I felt Lewis Carroll couldn’t possibly have been like that. The real man seemed to have been cleverly concealed with the Victorian equivalent of “spin”.'

At this stage, Jenny wasn’t thinking of writing a biography, simply of creating a picture of Carroll in her own mind. She began looking for unpublished documents that might illuminate him more and eventually had a stroke of luck when she found his personal bank account mouldering quietly in an archive. It hadn’t been seen for more than 10 years so with help from her husband Tony, she transcribed, annotated and self-published it, at which point the BBC invited her to do a radio programme about it. By now Jenny was thinking in terms of a multi-media project on a man she was finding both fascinating and likeable, although he could be tricky and secretive too. ‘But publishers are conservative creatures and I ended up writing a biography after all, though I prefer to think of it more as a portrait,’ she says. ‘Rather than start at the beginning and finish at the end, the book takes ten themes in Lewis Carroll’s life and examines them in detail. I hope it will offer a glimpse of the kind of human, emotional, eccentric and utterly unique person that he was.’

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Germany-based Kerry Christiani – Kerry Walker in the 2009 Yearbook – has found time this year to write two new pocket city guides as well as getting married.Berlin Day by Day and Marrakech Day by Day both include advice on how to make the most of a short break in the city, including tips on where to stay, eat, drink and shop. Readers can explore the city with special-interest tours and neighbourhood walks.

Cover price is £7.99 for Berlin and £8.99 for Marrakech, and review copies are available from Julia Lampam at parent company John Wiley & Sons – call 01243 770668 or e-mail  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Purchase Day by Day Berlin from Amazon> Purchase Day by Day Marrakech from Amazon.