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I seem to have led many lives and below are some
of my current and past interests.
China Expats
This is a website I developed from several precursors,
and was my main entertainment for many years, although
I did find time to become an entrepreneur regards
exporting containers all over the world. Well that
ran into the buffers in 2008 and business has never
recovered since. I still service a couple of old
clients, but the bulk market has disappeared and
my team here in China have moved on to other things.
The China Expats website is still online, although
some information is now out of date, such as current
visa regulations. Nonetheless, the majority of the
site is crammed full of useful information still
very relevant today. The main features of: Chinese
recipes, history, and cultural insights are supplemented
by A Letter From China, a collection of missives
I have collected or mostly penned myself regards
living in an alien culture as a long-term expat.
I am now considered to be an 'Old China Hand'.
One thing I am very pleased to have accomplished,
is to have helped people scattered to all corners
of the world, trace their family roots here in Canton.
Some have even visited and my team and I were intrumental
in arranging for translations and visits to find
cousins long thought of as lost. I especially remember
the visit by Vilma from The Dominican Republic to
rekindle family ties in a small village I knew well.
We shared some great times.
Regards the letters, those contributed by Cynthia
Muak are extremely interesting, depicting the life
and times of servants in Hong Kong society during
the 1960's and later, something that is hardly changed
to this day. Some of what I learned I will refrain
from publishing (by mutual agreement) until such
time I may no longer be subject to the whims of
Beijing.
Regardless of if you want to read about Hong Kong
history, an expat's view of the orient, or just
want an authentic recipe for crab and sweetcorn
soup, spare ribs, or chip shop curry sauce, drop
by and have a look.
Books
Having written much regarding my life in China,
I added what became a short story entitled Six Days
in Siam. This was a comedy of cultural errors and
had to be written. It is hilarious, although consternation
and incredulity play large parts of my wife's first
time outside of China, and my first visit to Thailand.
Having written so much I realised I should tackle
one dream and write a book. So I did. It was awful,
so I then set about learning how to write and entertaining
novel, but one with something to say.
Today I have seven books self-published, with two
more under pen, and several ideas for more. I doubt
I will ever finish them all, but it is good to keep
the mind active. Currently I am working on Star
Gazer Book Four, The Centaureans. This book and
the next are largely written, but remember what
I just mentioned above about entertaining the reader,
well, it takes a lot of effort and a good deal of
imagination, and some things just cannot be rushed.
The books will be published when they are finished,
simple as that.
Self Publishing
Once I had written my first books I tried to find
a published, knowing in advance how difficult it
could be. Disheartening does not come into it. These
agents and editors, who all seem to inhabit one
skyscraper in New York, act like dinosures from
a bygone age. They want submissions double spaced,
each in a different font size and face, and anywhere
from one to fifty pages. I hasten to add that these
were electronic submissions, although a few still
insisted on hard copy. Get real!
I tried for quite a while and got nowhere, my research
into the peculiarities and pecadilos of each getting
me yet another rejection, often by the office dogsbody.
So I though, "Stuff them, I'll do it myself!"
And that led to the creations of Charlotte Greene.
Charlotte Greene, a young and innovative force
within the self-publishing book market, was formed
by John Morris in association with trusted freelancers
he employed to help him publish his books. It took
several years to find people with the right skills.
Many advertise, but their product is lacking, their
timekeeping erratic, or their work––just
not good enough.
To help other self-publishing authors, this group
acting as a collective of individuals with common
purpose, offered themselves as part of a package
of trusted freelancers, people who would deliver
what they said, on time, and at reasonable budget
to ordinary people.
So this is where I am today, happily self-publisshing
my own books, and also books written by other authors
who found similar hassle and time wasted.
Other Interests
Guitar:
I have played acoustic guitar for over fifty years
and have recently replaced my old Eko 12-string
with an Epiphone Masterbilt, which is a lovely guitar.
I wanted to purchase a Taylor, but the model I wanted
from last years catalogue is no longer in production,
neither are any larger guitars in their 400 range.
The option was of course the old Martin D28, but
at close to three grand it was just too much for
poor old me. The Epiphone suits me well and should
last me a lifetime ha ha.
Forge of Empires:
This is a stupidly addictive online game that I
have been playing for over four years now. I am
Captain of the Pirate Ship, Fel Dranghyr, and this
website offers me the ability to make extra resources
available to my crew. You can find it here.
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