Blog Archives

Asakusa and The Monk by Mark Boyter

28/6/2016

This has been a great month for travel story entries and here is another one for you.

It is a real honour to present our latest entrant, Mark Boyter, who is the author of the wonderful travel memoir Crescent Moon over Laos. If you haven't read it yet then I would highly recommend you do.

Mark's travel story entry is entitled Asakusa and The Monk.

Mark is a traveller who writes, a writer who runs, a runner who drinks, and a drinker who loves movies. On rare occasions, he is all five.

From Vancouver, Canada and a teacher by training, he's lived and taught in his native Canada, Japan and the UAE.

His first book, Crescent Moon Over Laos, was published in 2014. He is working on other ideas that may or may not evolve into a second book, as well as a collection of short stories.

He lives in Vancouver with his long time partner and their three cats.

The Literal Meaning is “Coast of Azure” by John Rayburn

24/6/2016

It is a great pleasure to welcome back John Rayburn, our oldest and most prolific contributor.

Catch up with his latest story - The Literal Meaning is "Coast of Azure".

John Rayburn is a long-time Radio/TV performer (62 years altogether). He won countless awards, established outstanding TV news rating figures and is a member of a Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. He did play-by-play broadcasts for football, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf and auto racing. John recorded dozens of books for the National Library Service and interviewed countless numbers of national personalities.

In addition, he did an on-stage presentation of Old Time Radio throughout the United States. He portrayed a Senator in a made-for-TV movie starring Cheryl Ladd. John claims, “I’m not retired, I’m diversified,” and at nearly 89 years old has sixteen eBooks published, with the next one well underway.

Exclusive Pedigree: My life in and out of the Brethren by John L. Fear

23/6/2016

I have some exciting news and wanted to share it with you.

As some of you will know, I have been working for the past few months on editing and preparing my father's memoirs for release. Today that book, Exclusive Pedigree: My life in and out of the Brethren by John L. Fear, has been made avaiable to pre-order.

Please check out the following links to find out more:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HDWF1CY
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HDWF1CY
Apple iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1126478641

Thanks for your continued support.

Share your travel story and win a prize

19/6/2016

There are only six weeks to go in our second annual Travel Story Competition.

Thank you so much to all the authors and writers who have contributed so far. If you want to read the twenty-three entries we have received to date then please go to the 2016 Travel Stories page.

If you want to take part, find out more details on our Competition page.

There is still a chance to win the June and July monthly prizes. After that all published stories will go to a Judge's Panel and the Top 3 prizes will be chosen.

The Second Last Lake by Elizabeth Moore

16/6/2016

Elizabeth Moore is currently on her travels but, prior to her departure, she asked me to include her latest story in the June Travel Story Competition.

You may remember that Elizabeth was our April winner with Le Petit Train Jaune. She has also entered two other fabulous stories this year, From the Lanai and Saved by Ruby Slippers. If you have not read them yet, follow the links, before enjoying her most recent contribution The Second Last Lake.

Many thanks for all your support Elizabeth and enjoy your travels.

Elizabeth has lived in Australia all her life. She is happily married, a mother of two, grandmother of four and devoted assistant to one very bossy tortoiseshell cat named Lucy.

Her working career began as a speech pathologist and later morphed into the totally unrelated field of retail manager in a university science centre and planetarium.

Travel has always been a focus and yes – there has always been a bucket list. This was brought into stark relief when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and following treatment, a travel timetable began to take shape. Guam was first, followed quickly by European and North American adventures.

Illness nudged another longheld interest to the fore and Elizabeth began chronicling her trips with extensive photography, promising herself she would also write about her exploits. Canada is one of her favourite countries. Chasing the Great Lakes an ongoing challenge.

A Once Upon A Time True Story by Mike Cavanagh

13/6/2016

Our newest entrant in the 2016 Travel Story Competition is Mike Cavanagh.

He found out about the travel story competition through WLM (We Love Memoirs), the friendliest group on Facebook.

I hope you enjoy his entry A Once Upon A Time True Story as much as I have.

Mike Cavanagh is now in his sixties and has no idea how he got here. He lives with his wife, Julie, and two black cats in Bateman’s Bay, NSW. The house he and Julie live in is quirky and in need of regular maintenance, as are its owners. Mike writes poetry, plays guitar and composes music, is doing a PhD in Zoology, and spends far too much time playing computer role playing games.

MikeC circa 1973

Swiss Timing by Graham Higson

12/6/2016

It is a real honour to be able to publish our latest travel story entry, this time from well-known author Graham Higson.

One of the best and most amusing books I have read in recent months is his wonderful: How Much for a Little Screw? Tales from Behind the Counter.

Before you head off to read that, enjoy Graham's marvellous story, Swiss Timing and read his short bio below.

I live in an outlying Pennine village and share this blustery environment with a growing collection of books, my understanding wife and a workshop piled high with offcuts of oak. Our two grown-up children are among my best friends.

Having written professionally for 40 years (but please bear in mind that I began at school), Oak Seer: A Supernatural Mystery was the first of my published novels, followed by Flither Lass, a historical novel set during the First World War. My fictionalized memoir How Much for a Little Screw? Tales from Behind the Counter was based on many years working as a hardware man (to pay the bills in between writing jobs).

My hobbies include swimming, reading, watching lots of screen drama, helping to republish the novels of Leo Walmsley, and searching for that elusive moment of self-discovery. Hmm, no sign of it yet, nor of a mid-life crisis. Oh well, that's something to look forward to, I suppose.

http://www.grahamhigson.com

‘God! Help me stay alive, among this deadly love’ by Philippa Hawley

10/6/2016

A very warm welcome to Philippa Hawley, our latest entrant in the Fred's Blog 2016 Travel Story Competition.

Enjoy her fascinating contribution: ‘God! Help me stay alive, among this deadly love’

Philippa Hawley left behind her professional life as a GP in 2010, and now enjoys time spent travelling and writing. She lives with her husband in the beautiful riverside town of Wivenhoe in Essex and loves to return there after her journeys. She has written and self-published two novels, and a third is in the pipeline. Her writing is very much influenced by a sense of place, as well as the characters she has met on her travels and in her medical career. She is part of an active writing group, members of which share a writing blog: http://wivenhoewriters.blogspot.co.uk . More about her work can be seen here.

Was That ME?: Behind the Diary Entries.

7/6/2016

Read all about it!! Big news from Robert Fear and Rukia Publishing.

This fantastic compilation of original diary entries and additional insights behind the scenes is now available to pre-order: Was That ME? Behind the Diary Entries.

Find out more in today's Rukia Publishing's Book Promotions Issue:
www.rukiapublishing.com/news-blog/sneak-preview-issue-464

THE PACKAGE HOLIDAY VIRGIN by Jill Stoking

5/6/2016

It is a real pleasure to welcome author Jill Stoking to our Travel Story competition. This is the first contribution in June and bodes well for the coming month.

Jill's entry is truly refreshing in it's honesty. Enjoy THE PACKAGE HOLIDAY VIRGIN.

Jill Stoking was born at the end of 1949 and is not dead yet. Jill qualified as a teacher for children with severe learning disabilities and taught for a while in Surrey, England. She moved to Devon in the 1970s and had loads of different jobs, mainly in admin. After her son was born in 1981 she worked in the care sector, residential homes and in the community. Divorced and her son living in New Zealand, Jill made the move to Kent in 2010 and is currently living in a mobile home on the North Downs with her dog, QT. Surrounded by fantastic scenery and a gloriously big sky.
Jill Stoking is the author of the memoir JOAN’S DESCENT into ALZHEIMER’S which covers a ten year period when she cared for her mother as her personal life fell apart.

Jill Stoking’s website
http://joansdescent.weebly.com/