Adventure writer Linda Ballou provides a budget-lover’s roadmap to dream destinations in her book, “Get Great Trips for Free.” To the delight of travel-writer wannabes, she shows how to go through the back door, bypassing the gatekeepers. Simple, direct, with insights and examples of what to do to get places you want to go.

When Ballou isn’t river rafting, hiking or horseback riding, she’s writing about her experiences. Her articles appear in Go World, Real Travel Adventures, and her Boomer Column at NABBW.com. The Los Angeles, Calif. resident shares her most memorable journeys in “Lost Angel Walkabout: One Traveler’s Tales.”