Don Darkes II

Hi! call me Don

I was born as Lawrence Huntingdon-Rusch-de Robillard, adopted and renamed again. I was reborn on June 6th 2012 as the Writer Don Darkes. My choice of pseudonym is due partly to the fact that I am penning a Biographical Memoir entitled My Life of Crime, the memoir of an intriguing man, the "real" Don Darkes who was marked with this identity at birth to protect a secret and the fact that like him, my given name also conceals my true heritage. The irony in this tickles my love of the bizarre and my sense of the ridiculous. Of course it makes marketing sense too since any of my "real" names would fill a book cover and leave no space for the Title!

Following a number of exciting and successful careers in Construction, Manufacturing, Information Technology, Franchising and Entrepreneurship I find myself combining them all into my new role as an Author.
I repudiated my Psychology degree in the mid-seventies prior to serving my mandatory National Military Service in a top-secret Electronic Warfare unit, clandestinely deployed in Rhodesia, (Now Zimbabwe) a horrendous episode, for which I later received a medal. (novel in progress)
During the eighties, at the height of apartheid, together with (then) illegal “black” partners I built a successful manufacturing company. Following a series of traumatic events I sold it and opted-out to buy the yacht upon which I was shipwrecked together with my wife, our five year old son and four year old daughter. ( Non fiction novel, Pisces the Sailfish) After returning destitute to South Africa I rode a ripple in the dot.com wave and sold my Internet start-up in order to distribute organic chocolate and to research a challenging historical novel exploring an intriguing link between the Jewish Holocaust and Madagascar. ( Novel in progress– Bread from Air)
Currently, together with my wife, son and two daughters we are building another yacht whilst I work on several books with a common denominator; my love of history and my belief that fact is stranger and far more interesting than fiction.

Website: http://www.dondarkes.com
Twitter: @dondarkes
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/don-darkes/55/55b/847
Wattpad: DonDarkes
Blog: http://piscesthesailfish.wordpress.com/

africa    africa adventure    africa children    africa inspired    africa setting    africa tales    africa travel    african culture    african sorcery    afrikaan    afrikaaner    afrikaans    afrikaans language    alternative    alternative family    alternative life style    alternative lifestyles    alternative lifestyles and relationships    ancestor worship    ancestors    antananarivo    antanarivo    apartheid    apartheid era    apartheid story    ariary    avenue of the boababs    baobab    boer    boere    bone turning    bracelet    bracelets    cacao    chameleon    chameleons    chocolate    cocoa    culture    culture and customs    culture civilization    culture clash    embroidery    embroidery stitches    embroidery techniques    fady    famadihana    family    family activities    family adventure    family adventures    family ancestry    family bonding    family camping    family cruise    family safety    frogs    gold    gold and fishes    gold and silver    gold and silver bullion    gold artifacts    gold beach    gold coin    gold coins    gold doubloon    humour adventure    humour and adventure    humour and adventure ebook    humour banter romance    humour jokes anecdotes punchlines    humourous    jackfruit    jewellery    jewellery making    khat    leaves    lemur    lemuria    lemurs    lifestyle    lifestyle at sea    lifestyle books    lifestyle change    lifestyle choices    lifestyle for a lifetime    lifestyle shift    madagascar    madagascar ship    morombe    morondava    narcotic leaves    opting out    out of africa    out of body experience    pirogue    prawns    qhat    quicksand    racism    racism prejudice discrimination segregation tigers    sail    sail boats    sail cruising    sail in the night    sail ship    sail ships    sailboat    sailboat cruising    sailboat ideas    sailboat projects    sailboating    sailboats    sailer    sailfish    sailing accident    sailing adventures    sailing sailboat    sailing treasure hunting sex drug smuggling asassination scuba diving boats island living    sailing yachts ocean boats memoir voyages storms    sailship    schooner    schooners    scuba    shark    shark attack    shark water    sharks    sharks stories    shipwreck    shipwreck story    shipwreck survivor    shipwrecked    shipwrecked sharks    shipwrecks    silver    silver bars    slave ancestry of israel    taboo    tribalism    unconventional    unconventional families    unconventional family    vongu    yacht    yacht crew    yacht culture    yachting    yachts    yachtsmen    zebu    zebu cattle    zoma   

• In Search of High Ground - The Amorous Antics of Alex Perez on Sep. 28, 2012
  
  Victor Borge the Danish concert pianist and celebrated American comedian who devised the hilarious Phonetic Punctuation sketch (Google it), had a gift for gently lampooning the vagaries of the English language. Sadly he has now passed on. Now Panamanian born Alberto Arcia has taken his place, making me laugh at the absurdities of the English language as I followed the adventures of Alex Perez, who I suspect is Alberto's alter-ego. This book made me laugh, wince and cry with joy and outrage. It was delightful to read this rollicking tale, told by a colourful writer about his scandalous character, knowing full well that this was not entirely fiction. If this book was transformed into a movie it could only be made by Quentin Tarantino in this Monty Python meets Dusk Till Dawn adventure. Alberto's refreshing writing style, unique voice and brilliant dialogue made me finish it from ecover to ecover in one sitting. I am waiting eagerly for Alex's next adventure.
  
• The Richest Man in Persia on Oct. 08, 2012
  
  What does a man who has the Tee shirt; a man who has been there and done that and can prove it; do for inspiration? He looks to the wisdom of the ancients and applies their hard earned and learned lessons to the present. Before you buy and read and learn and gain inspiration from this book, read the resume of the author, an accomplished business and thought leader, a professional writer and an accomplished teacher, who clearly has applied the principles he has used to drive his own successful careers and his own life. Then open the pages and be transported back to ancient Mesopotamia as he eloquently illustrates how and why some things and some values, like those in the greatest Book of them all, never vary. Perhaps you, like me, will read it for the first time in one sitting before you return to it again and again. This book shall remain, with its many bookmarks and dog eared pages upon my eBook shelf.