African Adventure Motorcycle Travel

Real Bikers Read Too

 

Here is a very welcome email from Drew Wilson (not pictured above), an Ozzie reader of African Brew Ha-Ha who is clearly a real biker. Thanks, Drew... 

    Alan - I have never written the author of a book before but...

    I just wanted to tell you that I totally enjoyed the Brew Ha-Ha.

    I've ridden my bike all over Australia, South America, Canada and soon, South     Africa...

    Nobody has captured the pure joy and agony of a bike ride like you did.

    That ride in the mud had me right with you... mine was on the Mosgil Road in     NSW... but the feeling was the same (although yours was way harder)

    Thanks for a great book.

Top 30

 

When I wrote African Brew Ha-Ha I felt - for a fleeting moment - that all my immediate writing objectives had been reached. Fair enough. 

But they were soon superseded by ever greater goals. One was to see the book in the Amazon.co.uktop 30 list for Travel Writing. As I write, the book is sitting at number 26 (and, by the way, is also number 3 in Motorcycle books).

If you are one of the readers of judgement and good taste who purchased online... Cheers!

I've illustrated this post with a book from my all-time top 30 travel books (actually it's a top 5 read).

The Uncommon Reader

What's sure to make my day is a good review of my book on Amazon or a personal email from a reader who has enjoyed African Brew Ha-Ha. The responses fire me in my attempt to write the follow-up. If you've read the book I'd love to hear what you thought of it.

Here's an extract from an email I received from Arthur Sabin after he'd finished the book:

I just wanted to say what a great read it was and how rare it is to find a book that is so enjoyable to read I was sad to turn the last page. As a fellow motorcyclist who never has the time to go anywhere of note, thankyou for sharing your adventure.

Thanks, Arthur

Dear Reader ...

 

Last night saw the Brew Ha-Ha's first outing / book signing to a book shop - with real readers and everything - at Plackitt and Booth in Lytham, Lancashire.

There were bikers, adventure travellers and a smattering of tea drinkers who came to hear some highlights of my trip through Africa.

It was a tight fit in the bijou bookshop for the people who turned out on a Thursday evening, and a strangely intimidating experience to be talking about my book while gazed upon by the words of dead poets - and Alan Titchmarsh.

Thanks to everyone who came and especially to Patrick and Allison who run the shop, arranged the evening and poured the wine (no tea).

Talk is Cheap

There's another talk coming up about the African Brew Ha-Ha. Handy if you live near Lytham, Lancs. As usual, I shall be talking about my favourite things: Africa, adventure travel, bikes and tea. And it's only £2, including a glass of wine!

Venue: Plackitt & Booth bookshop - 87c Clifton St, Lytham

Date: May 27

Time: 7pm

Ticket: £2.00

Call 01253 796958 for a ticket

or go to

http://www.plackittandbooth.co.uk/page3.html

Don't Just Sit There Watching Television - Ride a Bike!

 

The first television outing for the African Brew Ha-Ha went off without a hitch - in fact, apart from licking my lips incessantly as though I hadn't had a drink in a fortnight, I'm secretly quite pleased with it (don't you just hate smugness in bikers?).

To view my appearance on the Travel Channel's Holiday Show with Ginny Buckley (above) and Gareth Davis, go here

www.travelchannelvod.com 

Scroll down and enter

Username: tcvod
Password: fg634bq10

Then click on Show 31

I'm on at 14 minutes

Be patient, the buffering is quite slow.

Waterstone's on Board the Brew Ha-Ha

Waterstone's have asked me if they can host an African Brew Ha-Ha book signing at their store in Preston.

Sounds like a goer.

Venue: Waterstone's, Fishergate, Preston

Date: July 24 (Saturday)

Time: 11.30am - 1pm

African Holiday Ha-Ha?

The Travel Channel have asked me to guest on their Holiday Show, which airs on Sky Channels 251 & 252.

So if you've got a Sky Box, tune in on Friday April 30th. The show is aired at 6am, 9am, 12n, 4pm & 8pm. It will also go out on Saturday May 1st and Sunday May 2nd.

Sometimes an Adventure Starts with a Book

Alun Davies, the editor of Adventure Travel Magazine, got hold of a copy of African Brew Ha-Ha recently and wrote this review.

'His writing ability is way above the norm and seeing Africa through his fresh pair of eyes was a delight ...'

That we like!

In the Shadow of Giants

African Brew Ha-Ha will go international for the first time in May when I take the show to Ireland.

I'm thrilled to be bringing the book and presentation to Dublin, the city where one half of my family is from - the other half is from Kilkenny. The problem is, the Irish are a literate race and they could well be my harshest critics yet. Go easy on me!

Also, the legacy of James Joyce, who wrote the greatest travel book of them all - Ulysses - spreads like a giant's shadow over the city (amongst countless other Irish authors). I'm not comparing one word of my book with the great man's output but nonetheless I will get a secret thrill if I sell some books in the Fair City.

Date: May 29

Time: 5.30pm

Venue: Kilnamanagh Family Recreation Centre, Mayberry Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24