Pam on the Map - Shoreline author releases travelogue series

Pam Stucky, local author of the popular Wishing Rock novels, is now taking readers along on her adventures around the world with her new travel series, “Pam on the Map.” Pam, a native of Shoreline, launched the series this month with books on three countries: Iceland, Ireland, and Switzerland.

In the Pam on the Map series, Pam offers her own engaging twist on the modern travel memoir/travelogue genre. Pam sets out to discover and connect with people and places, and to take readers along on her adventures through her almost real-time reports. Raw and real, Pam’s tales are infused with candid honesty, humorous observations, and perceptive insights. Pam’s descriptive, entertaining, conversational style brings her trips alive, making readers feel as though they’re traveling right along with her. 

 “They’re not guidebooks,” Pam explains. “They’re the stories of my experiences; they’re my way of sharing my travels and connecting with people around the world.Pam on the Map: Iceland is the true series launch,” she continues. “Ireland and Switzerland are shorter ‘retrospective’ books, based on notes from past travels.”

Pam traveled to Iceland this summer specifically to research this book. Why Iceland? She gets asked that a lot. “Why not Iceland?” she says. “But more to the point, I know a lot of people who have gone and been dazzled. It’s an out-of-the-way place, which I love. I’m not a big city person. I like wide open spaces. How much wider and more open can you get? Everyone’s talking about Iceland these days. I wanted to go and see it for myself, and report back.”

From setting off a hotel fire alarm, to getting a luxurious in-water spa massage, to going on a “traditional Icelandic ice cream car ride,” to interviewing Jón Gnarr, “the most interesting mayor in the world,” Pam experienced it all on her two-week summer journey that took her all around the outer edge of Iceland. Armed with a two-wheel drive car, a persnickety GPS, and a goal to discover the heart and soul of the country, Pam broke out of the boundaries of Iceland’s popular Golden Circle to travel the full Ring Road (the road that circles all the way around the country), and beyond.

In Pam on the Map: Iceland, Pam brings readers along on her trip as she discusses all things Iceland, including the restrooms at Keflavík airport, the Ring Road and travel infrastructure, the treacherous gravel roads and Highway 939, the omnipresent waterfalls, hot dogs and fermented shark, and the history and culture of the country and its people. Pam stops to talk with locals about their views and opinions on Iceland, tourism, writing, the economy, soil erosion, and happiness. 

The Ireland and Switzerland “retrospective” books also contain bonus material. In Pam on the Map: Ireland, Pam has included a chapter on solo travel; in Pam on the Map: Switzerland, Pam includes a chapter on how to plan a trip.

Pam will be reading from and signing her books at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park on November 18, starting at 7pm. The Pam on the Map books are available in print on Amazon, and in ebook at various vendors.