When did you first start writing?
I first began writing in a remotely serious way in the late nineties, while working as a computer programmer.
Already I was dissatisfied with the life in front of the screen and sought something different.
I was in love with the idea of living as a freaky beatnik in a mud brick hut on the coast of Australia, so I wrote a book after work called, 'How not to Build A Mud Brick House'.
I rang a publisher but they said "we only take manuscripts if they come from a literary agent", so I got out the phone book, and rang the first agent in the Yellow Pages, they said, "we only take you on if you've already been published".
So then I gave up on the idea until I heard about Smashwords.
What's the story behind your latest book?
It all started with a letter I wrote to my friend Pat all about a four day trip from Jakarta on the island of Java in Indonesia to Padang Sumatra.
The trip should take 24 four hours travel time, all going well, but of course it didn't, quite the reverse.
My letter to Pat ended up being 26 hand written foolscap pages.
Pat said I could be the next Clive James, that was praise indeed.
I'm nowhere near that good, but I appreciated the comment.
But then when i got to the end of that little piece of wiriting and put it on my blog, many of my friends asked 'what happened next?', and so i continued until, 75,000 words later, and with Europe, Britain and the Phillipines visited, I had written a book.
Read more of this interview.