Blog Archives

Behind the Scenes - Part 5 - Reflections on prison life

25/2/2016

In Part 5 of this 10 part series, Robert Fear takes us Behind the Scenes and tells about his time in a Thai prison back in 1981. Follow the link above to get this fresh insight into his thoughts at the time and read a brand new extract from Fred's Diary 1981.

Thanks again to Rukia Publishing for their support in bringing this series to a wider audience. Find out more on their website: www.rukiapublishing.com/sarah-janes-blog

FAIRIES —Do they exist?— by Nancy McBride

23/2/2016

Our third entry in the 2016 Travel Story Competition is from Nancy McBride. You may remember that Nancy was our June winner last year with Babushka the Beautiful.
She also entered another fantastic story Anglo-American Singing Tour of Australia.
Follow the links to read them.

To read her new story, FAIRIES —Do they exist?— go to the Nancy McBride page.

Nancy’s travels are never heavily goal-centered, but always journeys to enjoy what may come to her along her meanderings. Yes, she has a vague itinerary and tickets to and fro, but her only purpose is to be just where she is, and to soak the beauty and remarkable in ordinary life. She doesn’t do packaged tours well, nor have energy in tromping hither and yon. She trusts her hosts will simply show her what they love about their homeland. She is happy to just sit in a café and people watch and dive into conversations with strangers, who often become friends. She is easily amused, and finds little stories discover her everywhere she goes. Keeping her senses attuned to the now, adds to her contentment with the extra-ordinary in the everyday.

Check out Nancy's website at:

QUIRKY R US ARTWORK

Dan's Return by Stewart Brennan

21/2/2016

Our second entry in the 2016 Travel Story Competition is from Stewart Brennan.

Read his entry, Dan's Return, on the Stewart Brennan page. It is also featured on his blog page http://sfbrennanart.blogspot.co.uk. His blog is called Art & Expressions of SF Brennan and is well worth checking out.

Stewart Brennan is a former free-lance DJ (1975 to 1985) that became a manufacturing specialist in the Packaging Industry after completing an Electrical Engineering Technologies program at Dawson College in Montreal. Stewart’s spare time is spent on maintaining three websites that contains his research in Alternative News, History, Philosophy, Spiritual study, and Music Promotion. (World United News, World United Awakening, and World United Music) Recently he has begun to put together his creative writing and photography for a future Book Release.

A Bombay Day in the 80's (diary extract) by Frank Kusy

20/2/2016

It is a great pleasure to be able to publish the first entry in our 2016 Travel Story Competition. It is from well-known travel author Frank Kusy and is an extract from the new travel diary book that he is currently working on.

Go to the Frank Kusy page to read his travel story entry.

Born and raised in the fog-shrouded streets of 1960s London, and with more than 30 years of travel writing experience under his belt, aspiring Buddhist and incorrigible cat-lover Frank Kusy is a SUNDAY TRIBUNE RECOMMENDED AUTHOR and a four-time Gold Medal Winner on the Harper Collins Authonomy site. He has been awarded the AIA Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence for his flagship book 'Rupee Millionaires', and has been a featured author on several promotional sites, including BookBub, Pixel of Ink, Indie Book Bargains and FreeBooksy. His books have received international press acclaim, and have made the Kindle Top 100 List several times, his first published book, 'Kevin and I in India', climbing as high as #5. In April 2015 his children's book 'Ginger the Gangster Cat' won a Gold medal on the prestigious Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards for 6 to 8 year olds, though this and the sequel 'Ginger the Buddha Cat' appeal as much to adults as to children.

Check out Frank's book store at:

http://frankkusybooks.weebly.com/

Behind the Scenes - Part 4 - Jail time in Thailand

17/2/2016

After last week's shock arrest, find out what happens to Fred, Andy and Stan in this fresh insight on the Behind the Scenes page. If you missed the first three weeks then you can scroll down the page to catch up on the first three parts of this fascinating ten week series.

Many thanks again to Rukia Publishing for their support in publishing the series on their associated blogs.

Behind the Scenes - Part 3 - Fred's trip changes dramatically

11/2/2016

In the third part of Behind the Scenes read how Fred falls for Chiang Mai, before reading the extract from his diary on how the trip changes dramatically in Thailand.

Thanks again to Margaret Daly and Rukia Publishing for all their support in publishing this series of fresh insights from Robert Fear along with extracts from his diary.

Read the latest edition of this ten part series on the Behind the Scenes page.

2016 Travel Story Competition starts February 19th

9/2/2016

2016 TRAVEL STORY COMPETITION
5 monthly prizes of £25 ($35) from March until July 2016
3 overall winners £75 / £50 / £25 decided by public vote in August
Entries of 500 - 1000 words will be accepted between 19/02 - 31/07/16
Please send with a short bio, photo and promotional link to [email protected]
Each published author/writer will receive an e-book copy of Fred's Diary 1981

TRAVEL STORIES AND HIGHLIGHTS
Get a FREE copy of this wonderful compilation of last year's competition entries
by going to the following site: www.smashwords.com/books/view/601320
and entering Coupon Code GG64N (Valid until 29/02/16)
Please pass on to friends and relatives
REVIEWS WELCOME

Fascinating in it's detail

5/2/2016

Here is a great new review for Fred's Diary 1981 on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Goodreads - thank you so much Rebecca H

5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating in it's detail
By Rebecca H
on 4 February 2016
Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed this travel diary which Fred kept as he journeyed firstly to Hong Kong then on to Thailand where he regrettably ended up in jail. After being deported he records his time in both India and Nepal. If you are looking for a travel guide this is not the book for you but it does give an insight into the reality of how it was for young western travellers over 30 years ago. Every day Fred would jot down all the details of what he did and saw or even ate. It was so interesting to see how he kept a note of exactly how much he spent on drinks and food etc I bet it’s a whole lot more expensive now! In Thailand he was charged with possessing grass and thrown into jail. This was a particularly difficult experience but even there drugs helped to while away the tedium and anxious waiting for release. In fact drugs feature prominently throughout. It’s amazing what a young body can withstand! We learn of his exploits in Nepal and in India and of the friendships and camaraderie among fellow travellers. In among the minutiae there are also some beautiful descriptions for example of leaving Kathmandu Overall he had a marvellous and life changing experience which he has written about very honestly.

Second Edition of Behind the Scenes

3/2/2016

Thank you to Rukia Publishing for supporting this brand new series of Behind the Scenes revelations from the author of Fred's Diary 1981, Robert Fear.

They had some great feedback from one of their blog readers which we are proud to re-publish here:

"I read last weeks segment of Behind The Scenes with Fred's Diary 1981 featuring Pre-Travel Jitters. I felt as if I was transported back in time.

Although somethings seem like the everyday mundane things that we do, I felt like I was walking in his shoes! I was able to see what he was talking about, and feel how he must have felt before traveling in Asia. What a fascinating Time Capsule from the 80's"
~Joshua

Read this second edition on our dedicated Behind the Scenes page. You can also catch up with the first part if you missed it last week.