Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. 

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Marianne Bohr, author of The Twenty: One Woman’s Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail which releases today!

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

When a retired British army general we met on our adult gap year in 2011 heard that my husband and I were avid hikers and were about to circumvent Mont Blanc on foot, he said, “Then, you absolutely must do the GR20.” We were familiar with the Grande Randonée (GR) trail system that’s primarily in France and had done several of the treks, but we’d never heard of the Twenty. We soon learned that it’s a rugged, mountainous trail, often called Europe’s toughest long-distance footpath, and which bisects the French island of Corsica. The general was not a man to be ignored, so we put the Twenty on our calendars and I planned to write about it.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

We decided to do the hike to celebrate our 60th birthdays in 2016 and I thought that how we came to the decision could be of interest to others. I also hoped our story might inspire readers to mark a milestone with a physical challenge. The Twenty starts with making the decision to undertake the journey, then follows our months of training, and finally recounts the hike itself. While writing, I discovered that there was a lot in my upbringing that led me to enjoy pushing myself physically. And so, even though it wasn’t planned, I peppered the story with flashbacks to my childhood. Lucky for me, the group we hiked with had its share of interesting, quirky characters who made the narrative particularly interesting for me to write.

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

It isn’t necessarily the case when I write travel memoirs because they chronicle actual events. But when I write fiction, absolutely. I just finished a novel about a young woman who befriends an elderly widow that takes place in France. I started with a rough outline but as I went along, new ideas came to me and all of a sudden, the story made a lot of U-turns. I’ve come to learn that the writing process can be magical with dialog and plot and character ideas that come either from deep within, or simply settle beside me when I’m not looking.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

Ever since I started writing creatively, which was when I was about 54, I’ve become very observant and write down so much in my writer’s notebook. The minute an idea comes together, even when it’s rough, I transfer it from my notebook to a “Story Ideas” document I keep on my laptop. As a result, I have list and lists of ideas to pursue, and they always involve travel.

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

There always seems to be one that floats to the top without my even thinking about it and it takes over my imagination. I’m always restless for adventure and so now that much of COVID is behind us, we’re planning to celebrate our 68th birthdays by hiking with our dog across England on the 188-mile Coast-to-Coast walk. It’s a through-hike that crosses England from St. Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay. I already have some ideas and notes about fictionalizing the three-week journey and I can’t imagine another story bubbling up before I get that one done.  

I have 6 cats and a Dalmatian (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

I absolutely love my canine writing buddy. Her name is Snap and she’s a particularly athletic 19-pound rescue, part black lab and part chihuahua. She’s usually on the overstuffed chair next to my desk, looking out the window on watch, but every once in a while, she jumps on my lap. Having her nearby is never a distraction and she even inspired me to include a dog in my novel. 

Marianne C. Bohr, published author and award-winning essayist, married her high school sweetheart and travel partner. She follows her own advice and hits the road at every opportunity. She wrote her first book, Gap Year Girl: A Baby Boomer Adventure Across 21 Countries, over the course of the yearlong sabbatical she and her husband took to explore Europe. The Twenty: One Woman’s Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail, is her second book. Marianne lives in Park City, UT, where—after decades in publishing, and then many years teaching middle school French—she now skis, hikes, and writes.