Erika Barden
Born to an Irish mum and German dad in New Zealand, Erika Barden grew up immersed in travel tales. An intrepid traveller herself, she met fellow Kiwi Seamus in London, and he introduced her to the Camino de Santiago. Intrigued by this ancient pilgrimage, they walked the 780 km trail together as an engaged couple in 2004, vowing to return if they ever ‘worked out’.
Well, they did, and they did. After almost twenty years of marriage, they trekked the Camino Francés again – this time with their three children aged 11, 13 and 15.
When not walking, writing or chauffeuring her kids around, Erika is the Managing Director of Frank Innovation and Transformation – a boutique management consultancy. She enjoys a wine (or two), tries to do Pilates and dreams of their next family adventure.
What authors did you dislike at first, but grew into?
George Orwell perturbed me as a youth. As an adult, I appreciate how perceptive and visionary (but still scary) he was!
What is it about your chosen genre that you love?
Travelling with my family, exploring foreign places, trying lots of food and making new friends – what’s not to love?
How do you select the names of your characters?
My key characters, in so many ways, are my kids 😊. My husband and I travelled through Swaziland on our way home from living in London, and we loved the Swahili name Malaika, which means ‘little angel’. Malaika’s middle name Justeen, is derived from my maiden name, Just.
We heard the name Tarquin years ago and earmarked it for our first son. Tarqs is the third generation of Barden first-born males to have Leonard as his middle name.
Seamus and I named our third child Braeden Declan. It’s a nod to our Irish heritage and means ‘brave’ and ‘broad’. At 12, he’s already living up to his name.
What was the first book that made you cry?
‘My sister’s keeper’ by Jodi Picoult. I’m welling up again just thinking about it.
Have you Googled yourself? Did you find out anything interesting?
Yes, I have, and yes, I did! I discovered that an article I wrote for NZBusiness + Management was published in The Malaysian Reserve; I found a photo of me in a rain poncho at a dance party on Waiheke Island and I saw an oddly Photoshopped speaker pic of me for a (Covid-cancelled) conference. I Google myself periodically now to see what’s on the interweb about me.
Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym? Why?
A pseudonym probably wouldn’t have worked for ‘A Kiwi Camino’ – it’s based on a blog I wrote (pretty much) every day of our three-month family trip, and the accompanying photos would have blown my cover too 😉.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
I have some strong completer-finisher tendencies. I started this book. I finished it. There were some gnarly bits in between, but I powered through. Much like my approach to the Camino, actually…
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
As this is my first book, I don’t have any yet – other than from friends who have been so kind. Gotta love your friends! I’ll absolutely read any I get though. I’ll celebrate the good ones, and will try not to be disheartened, and learn from, the not-so-good ones…