Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am originally from Bedford in England but I grew up in Middlesbrough. When I was four years old, in the mid-1950s, my parents took me to Jamaica to live which 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, 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 them are travel books aimed at retirees and baby boomers and I have also written my biography, “You will never amount to anything”.
I have now retired to Thailand where I live on the beautiful island of Koh Samui and travel extensively throughout South East Asia researching my travel books.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called A Three-Week Road Trip Through Northwestern Thailand and is the second book in the trilogy in the Just Another Day in Paradise series. The first book was A Three-Week Road Trip Through Southern Thailand and the last book in the series will be A Three-Week Road Trip Through Eastern Thailand. The inspiration for the book came when I retired to Thailand six years ago and having travelled through the country extensively, I discovered how beautiful and diverse this country is. Over the years I have noticed that most tourists who come to Thailand head for the more touristy hotspots such as Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi, Kou Phangan and Koh Samui and they miss out on seeing the real Thailand, the Thailand that is virtually undiscovered by tourists. Since arriving in Thailand, I have reinvented myself as an author and I have written a lot of books on retiring or living in Thailand but this series of books is for tourists who may want to visit Thailand and enjoy the real Thailand, not the Thailand that most tourists get to see.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Being of a certain age I didn’t grow up with computers but I have certainly adapted to them since I started writing books. I do most of my writing thanks to the wonders of Wi-Fi sitting on a beach or around a swimming pool in Thailand or some other Southeast Asian country. Quite often when the sun is going down my inspiration is helped along with a cocktail or two.
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 am in the planning stage of taking a road trip through the beautiful Eastern area of Thailand for research for my third road trip book in the Just Another Day in Paradise series of books.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have recently published a website as it seems a necessity in this day and age. Apart from that, being a retiree and of that 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 via my YouTube channel…Thailand My Land: https://tinyurl.com/3t32zprj
Do you have any advice for new authors?
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 on Amazon. What I 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 can. 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 the television.
What are you reading now?
I love reading great books but unfortunately living here in Thailand with the many things to see and do here and being an author as well as having to make content for my YouTube channel there are not enough hours in the day for me to sit down and read a good book. I thought that when I retired, I would have lots of time to read but it didn’t work out that way. I don’t mind because it keeps me active and I get to meet many interesting people and make new friends
What’s next for you as a writer?
When I finish writing my third road trip book, I intend to write the third book in my Police Lieutenant Chai Son Sinuan of the Royal Thailand Police series of detective novels. Chai Son Sinuan is an incorruptible policeman in a police force that is deep-rooted in corruption, who not only has to fight crime on a daily basis on the tropical island of Koh Samui but also has to deal with the corruption within the police force.
What is your favorite book of all time?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The movie of the same name is also one of my favourite films.
Author Websites and Profiles
Gerald Hogg Website
Gerald Hogg Amazon Profile
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