Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
I am now mainly a travel writer, but over my career as an educationist I wrote several academic books and many articles. Towards the end of my career I did a lot of global travelling as a visiting expert. That is what sparked my interest in travel writing.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “An Educational Journey”?
An Educational Journey is the middle volume of a trilogy. My first travel memoir, Accidental Traveller required a massive shift from academic writing. I could only do it by switching completely: from classical to pop, from oils to watercolours, so to speak. That book was very light, informal, with some humour, and emphasised the wonderment of becoming a global traveller in later life. By the time I started work on An Educational Journey the travelling had become a way of life, and I felt confident enough about writing in my new genre to be able to give more information about the professional work I was doing in the countries I visited, and more serious reflection about what I was learning from all this travelling.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
My interest in writing narrative non-fiction started a long time before I was in a position to do so. Without doubt, the spark, tinder and fan for that interest was the non-fiction writings of Graham Greene, particularly his books Getting to Know the General, Journey Without Maps, and The Lawless Roads.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
In England, one of my favourite places to visit is Withernsea, in East Yorkshire, where my late wife was born.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you dive in and start writing a book?
To write a travel memoir, the first step is of course to do the travelling which will provide the raw material. Processing that experience into a book involves a number of stages. Any kind of writing depends on the author having something worthwhile to say. The majority of travel memoirs, mine included, relate journeys which are personal as well as geographical, for example where the travelling is happening against a background of changing personal circumstances. Those elements of narrative provide the storyline.
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘An Educational Journey’?
The actual writing of An Educational Journey took me over three years, because I wrestled to get the tone and messaging where I wanted them.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your book?
The book is available on the publisher’s website at bradtguides.com/product/an-educational-journey-1/ and from Amazon
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘An Educational Journey’?
The cover design incorporates elements representing some of the places featured in the book, including the Islamic architecture of South Asia, the peaks of The Andes, the pelican of the Chilean coast, and the crescent moon of Arabia. The patterned background represents Indian fabric.
The book includes quite a lot of information about the educational work I was doing in the countries I visited, but the title An Educational Journey actually refers to my own personal learning and development which these experiences of travel engendered.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
In a travel memoir, I think the best way to keep things fresh for the reader is to include vivid descriptions of places, and to make sure that the reader keeps encountering interesting characters.
Buy An Educational Journey on Amazon
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