Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am originally from Bedford in England but I grew up in the north-eastern town of Middlesbrough. When I was four years old, in the mid-1950s, my parents took me to Jamaica to live for two years when my dad was transferred through his work. This must have planted in me the seed to travel, as I have been travelling ever since. I have lived in ten different countries and worked in five-star hotels and restaurants around the world as a chef. I have also worked on cruise ships, Antarctic supply ships, and a gold mine in Papua New Guinea and the Falkland Islands after the war with Argentina.
I have written eleven books in total, six of which are travel books aimed at retirees and digital nomads who are looking for another country to live or retire to. I retired to Thailand in 2017 and I live in Hua Hin and travel extensively throughout South East Asia researching my travel books. I also have a YouTube channel Thailand My Land…Retiring Disgracefully.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My latest book is The Retire in Thailand Handbook 2023…The Next Six Years, which is a follow-up to the original book I wrote and published in 2018 on living or retiring in Thailand, The Retire in Thailand Handbook…The First Six Months. The book is an updated version because so much has changed since covid arrived in 2020 and devastated the country’s economy and tourism industry. This book covers the six years that I have lived here and guides the reader through the procedures and protocols of establishing oneself in a new country. The book is crammed full of advice on all aspects of relocating to a new country, including… What to bring, and what not to bring to Thailand with you. * How to apply for a Retirement Visa from your own country. * How to apply for a Retirement Visa from within Thailand. * How to open a Thai bank account * Transferring your pension to your new Thailand bank to avoid bank fees. * How to buy a vehicle. * How to apply for a Thai driving license. * How to rent a condo or a house. * How to buy a property in Thailand. * How to obtain suitable medical insurance coverage. * Healthcare and dental costs * Best retirement locations within Thailand * Advice for single retirees. The book is also filled with cost comparison charts, helpful tips on living here and the best areas to live or retire in Thailand as an ex-pat.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first books I remember reading were the Just William series of books by Richmal Crompton. As I matured I read everything Charles Dickens wrote and all of The Hobbit series of books by J. R. R. Tolkien, I also loved Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. My daughter was born in 1974, and as she grew older I would read Watership Down by Richard Adams to her at bedtime. Looking back now it was probably a little scary for a little girl, but she loved the book as much as I did. Being at sea for much of my life, books were an important source of entertainment in the few leisure hours that you get working on a ship. I would read everything that I could get my hands on, from Agatha Christie to Ernest Hemingway, from Nevil Shute to Leslie Thomas. My favourite authors of today are James Lee Burke, Elmore Leonard, Dennis Lehane, Kate Atkinson, and Khaled Hosseini. I also like to read travel-related books, especially anything by Michael Palin and Bill Bryson. I don’t think any author actually influenced me, I just loved losing myself in a good book.
What are you working on now?
I will be travelling around Thailand doing my YouTube channel for a little while as I try to take a break from writing when I have completed a book. I live in a beautiful area of Thailand with near-perfect weather and to be sitting at home all day slaving away at a computer writing was not the reason why I came to live in Thailand so I tend to write my books during the wet season. I have written two fiction books featuring a Thai detective in The Royal Thailand Police Force stationed in Koh Samui…Chai Son Sinuan is an incorruptible policeman in a police force that is rife with corruption. While travelling around Thailand I will be looking for inspiration to write my third book in the Chai Son Sinuan series
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Being of a certain age I am not very knowledgeable about computers and social media, so I rely on word of mouth and hopefully my publisher getting my name out there. I know I must be missing out on many selling opportunities but I find the whole social media thing rather boring and time-consuming. I also promote my books through my YouTube travel channel
Do you have any advice for new authors?
As I am a new author myself there is not much advice that I can offer. Just keep doing what you’re doing; even if you don’t get published you’re still improving your mind, enjoying what you’re doing and fulfilling an ambition. My brother John, who was a much better writer than I will ever be, tried most of his life to get his books published and never succeeded. I wrote my second book in 2017 (the first book I wrote was never meant for publication) and I was offered a publishing contract for it within a few months of releasing it. What I have discovered since becoming an author is that getting a book published is quite often down to luck, being in the right place at the right time and of course writing a great book.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Travel whenever you get the chance. The greatest experiences are seeing other cultures and getting a real perspective on life and the lives that other people lead”. Which is the way I have always tried to live my life.
When I was in Cambodia recently researching my book, I spoke with a lady who was just forty-two years old the same age as my daughter. Her father was arrested, imprisoned and later killed by Pol Pot’s henchmen for the crime of being a teacher. When she was one year old, with her mother, older brother, and sister, they were forced to march 330 kilometres from their home in Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville to work on a communal farm. Her mother died along the way of sickness and malnutrition and she was separated from her brother and sister, and she would never see them again. She was taken in and raised in impoverished conditions by another family who had befriended her mother on the long march south. Being born in Cambodia during those murderous days she had not had the opportunities in her life that my children or grandchildren have had. She had no education, no real family, and had been working as a prostitute since she was fourteen years old to survive. It certainly put everything in perspective for me. You don’t see the real world by watching it on television.
What are you reading now?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I saw the movie years ago but I had never read the book.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will take a break while I travel around Thailand doing my YouTube channel but as always, I will be looking for inspiration and ideas for new books.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. I read it when I was going through my hippy stage in my youth and I still have the original dog eared copy.
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