Samosir Books Ltd is an independent publisher of travel books. Founded in early 2000, its first published title was the cult road trip comedy, Driving the Trans-Siberian, by the Raven Brothers. Since then Samosir Books has published several popular travel titles, and is currently expanding into licensing and publishing screenplays, travel magazines and real-people fiction.

Our publishing philosophy is to seek out potential trade bestsellers in the following genres: travel literature, humour, and general non fiction. High standards of production are essential elements in all of Samosir’s products, and are backed up by a dedicated sales and publicity department giving comprehensive worldwide sales coverage.

New Media

Samosir Books Limited also owns a number of travel related websites including:
tripsideways.com
ebooktravelguides.com

Leaving London

The sudden break up with girlfriend Emily Willow finds Simon Raven, ex-amateur rock God and bored internet producer, on a Boeing 747 bound for Seattle. Led by his twin brother, Chris, who is more than happy to exchange a career in fashion photography for the open road, they embark on a buttock-clenching journey of paranoia and self-doubt, as they traverse Interstate Highway 15 through backcountry America.

Along the way our hapless heroes bumble through bear infested wilderness, meet the eccentric and plain weird on the American freeway, escape a bullwhip wielding maniac in Montana and survive the evils of Las Vegas. Testing their friendship to the limit as they battle to reach their nirvana, which exists in the form of the bikini beaches of California, the brothers find inspiration on a journey that exposes the stark truth about work and relationships and which asks the question – what do you really want to do with your life?

Poignant, candid and true, Leaving London is honestly written and hilariously funny.

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Samosir Books Ltd launches EbookTravelGuides.com your one stop shop for all the latest travel books, guides, phrase books, and digital maps for you digital ebook devise from Sony eReaders to iphone!

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Driving the Trans-Siberian, the ultimate road trip adventure.

By Chris Raven and Simon Raven

Have you ever had the desire to jump in your car and keep driving to wave goodbye to routine and commitment to drive into the unknown with your arm out of the window, hungry for adventure? Well, that is precisely what twin brothers and UK authors, Simon Raven and Chris Raven decided to do whilst stacking boxes of frozen oven chips in a minus thirty degrees freezer. With a squeaky foot pump and an SAS Survival Guide, the brothers fired up their rusty £300 Ford Sierra and headed east. Not being petrol heads and having very little knowledge of the internal combustion engine, with luck they hoped to reach Poland and maybe even the Baltic State of Estonia – where lived, according to legend, the most beautiful girls on the planet. After driving for six weeks and clocking up over 11,000 miles, quite literally living in the car, they miraculously arrived in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok in Siberia on the Sea of Japan. What they had in fact done was to drive the entire length of the amazing new Amur Highway before it was finished, which crosses Russia in a 6,200 mile swath of cracked tarmac and potholes. Along the way our trusty heroes drink vodka with Chechen criminals, escape highway robbery, trade banana flavoured condoms with Russian cops, meet the eccentric and plain weird at truck stops in darkest Siberia, endure torturous road conditions and have a race to the finish with the Germans. Surviving this journey by the skin of their teeth, the brothers are forced to confront their worst fears in this toe-curling comedy that is both gripping and surreal.

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Amazon.co.uk: Click here to buy the ebook

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“The modern world has come knocking on the door of one of the world’s most amazing wildernesses, and nothing is going to stop it cutting out the lungs of the earth and thundering right through.”

Along the way our trusty heroes tango through the Argentinean vineyards, cycle to the Moon in Chile, kiss Egyptians in the Inca City of Cusco, escape bullets in Bahia, panic in the Pantanal and experience one night with The Rolling Stones in Rio. Traveling along the notorious Trans-Oceanic Highway from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast of South America the bizarre and the beautiful cross their dusty path, as the brothers pack their pants and go in search of the real Carnival.

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UK Amazon.co.uk: The Linger Loco!: In Search of the Real Carnival

USA Amazon.com: The Linger Loco! In Search of the Real Carnival

Funny, thought-provoking and unique!

By Lucy, US “usagrl” (California)

This third book by the Raven brothers is absolutely brilliant. Unlike any other travel book you are likely to read, the Linger Loco is tear-wateringly funny, candid and insightful. This book is reminiscent of the travels of Ewan Mcgregor and Charley Boorman, yet so much more genuine; these guys have no support crew of employees sorting their visas, arranging accomodation, providing medical care or streamlining the trip. And their enthusiasm for their unsscripted, itinerary-free adventure is really refreshing, compared with the bratty outbursts of McGregor and Boorman. I would really recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the Long Way Down’ genre, but wants a more down to earth, humour-filled read.

Samosir Books is currently in the process of commissioning a number of screenplays. Watch this space!

Why did you choose to focus on South America?

Simon: It was an easy decision to make. I mean, who could resist the lure of a continent with snow capped mountains, wild Amazon rainforest, ancient indigenous cultures and a reputation for the sexiest people on the planet?

Chris: We’d been to Ecuador and Colombia a few years before on a photo mission, and were amazed by the beautiful landscape and friendly people. South America gets under your skin; it’s exciting, diverse and you’re guaranteed a real adventure.

Your book opens in Buenos Aires. What were your first impressions of the city?

Chris: Our first few days in Buenos Aires were spent nursing killer hangovers. We’d heard of its reputation as ‘the city that never sleeps’, but nothing could have prepared us for the strength of a Fernet Branca cocktail. I love the architecture in Buenos Aires, the bars and restaurants and the European café culture.

Simon: There are few cities in the world with more energy and style than BA. We spent hours pacing the streets with our cameras and on one occasion tried chinchulines in a restaurant in San Telmo. I remember thinking people here really do eat every part of the cow, with exception of the Moo.

What were the highlights of your trip?

Simon: I think the journey from Cusco (in the Peruvian Andes) to Puerto Maldonado (in the Amazon), stands out in my mind as one of the most thrilling, fascinating journeys of my life. We sat aboard a truck for 35 hours, as the driver battled along steep mountain passes and crossed fast flowing rivers deep in the Madre de Dios in the Peruvian Amazon. I remember glancing out of the window and seeing Macaws flying past and tropical flowers in the thick jungle either side of the road. We crossed a new bridge from Peru into Brazil, and it really felt as though we had arrived at one the last frontiers. It was shocking to see there were no longer any trees on the Brazilian side, just thousands of hectors of green fields and cattle ranches. Only days before our arrival, Brazil’s President Lula had opened the bridge that would lead the way for the construction of a paved highway all the way to Cusco, creating trade between the two countries. It was both fascinating and disturbing to witness the destruction of the Amazon. Progress it appeared was inevitable.

Where did you spend Carnaval in Brazil?

Chris: Right from our first few days in South America, carnival was on our minds. We spoke to a number of tourists travelling South America during our journey, and the general feedback we received was that it was going to be expensive. People kept asking us if we’d pre-booked a hostel for the five days over carnival, or reserved a seat for the parade in the Sambodromo in Rio. I don’t think either of us had really planned on sitting down, and the idea of staying in one place for the entire carnival wasn’t really what we had in mind. We wanted to explore the many carnivals across Brazil. Deciding to risk it, we held back from booking any hotels or seats and quickly found ourselves running around Brazil from carnival to carnival, from Rio to Porto Seguro to Olinda, and living life on the fly. Making it all the way to Olinda in northern Brazil, we found the ultimate carnival. It was a perfect end to an insanely colourful journey.

In your opinion where is the best place in Brazil to spend carnival?

Simon: I think it totally depends on what your idea of carnival is, and your budget. For some people it’s seeing the amazing parade in the Sambodromo with the incredible floats and costumes. For others it’s dancing to Fat Boy Slim on the sticky city streets of Salvador. There is no one specific carnival. If you’re on a tight budget and want to avoid paying a lot for tickets and blocos then head for the cobbled streets of Olinda. There really is nowhere in the world quite like Brazil during the carnival season, it has to be seen to be believed.