Marvelous May Masterminds: Kim Culbertson + Giveaway

Three days before her drama club's trip to Italy, Jessa Gardner discovers her boyfriend in the costume barn with another girl. Jessa is left with a care package from her best friend titled "Top Twenty Reasons He's a Slimy Jerk Bastard," instructing her to do one un-Jessa-like thing each day of the trip. At turns hilarious and heartwrenching, Instructions for a Broken Heart paints a magical Italy in which Jessa learns she must figure out life-and romance-for herself. Published today, May 1, 2011.

Top Five Things I Take When I Travel

by Kim Culbertson, author of Instructions for a Broken Heart

1. My journal: Ever since I was young, I write when I travel. I write poems, descriptions of things I notice, snippets of overheard conversation. I keep little candy wrappers and train ticket stubs and I stuff everything into my journal. When I get home, I sometimes organize the journal and sometimes things just remain stuffed inside it for me to discover years later.

2. My camera: Only I rarely use it. I always take it. But then I forget to use it. Probably because I’m writing in my journal. I’m lucky my husband loves to take pictures. When I get home, I often only have six or eight pictures on my camera. Still, they make for a random little tribute to our trip. Lately, they are almost always of my daughter. Or of food.

3. Sunglasses: I am so squinty without my sunglasses, even in the winter. And I get huge headaches when I get squinty so my sunglasses must always come along on my trips. Or I’m miserable.

4. Book: My suitcase always ends up weighing a ton because I bring so many books on my trips and I always run out. Last summer in Whistler, Canada, I ran out of books and ended up walking about a half hour to find a bookstore. Which was its own fun little adventure. For Christmas this year, my husband bought me a Kindle. Just in case we’re on a trip and I can’t walk to a store.

5. Wide Open Mind: The single most important thing I take. Because travel is all about what you don’t expect to happen. You can plan, you can organize, you can have it all mapped out, but the fabulous part of travel is all the surprises along the way – the train that doesn’t come, the odd little restaurant tucked back in an alley that ends up being amazing, the last minute boat ride across a lake. This is what I love about travel – the unexpected.

What do you take with you?

Thank you so much for sharing with us, Kim! Now it's giveaway time. Kim will give one lucky reader a copy of her book, along with a travel journal of their own! All you have to do is comment answering her question "What is something you always have to take with you while traveling?" and by filling out the form with your contact info and optional extra entries.

Rules:
Open to the USA only. Ends on May 14.
Extra entries for being a wonderful blog follower
and advertising about this giveaway.
One winner will be randomly chosen and emailed;
they will have 5 days to claim the prize.
Fill out the form to enter, but remember to leave a comment, too!

Click here to fill out the form!

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