About My Books
I’ve always loved travel books. However, they were always non-fiction stories about a man or a woman climbing a mountain, or building a country home, or simply wandering through a foreign land. What they often lacked was intense drama and colorful characters… and even higher stakes. The narrator either accomplished their task—or they didn’t.
So I wanted to combine my favorite elements of a travel book and add a more personal adventure—even if it was a fictional one. The fun part was that I could travel to these wonderful places and then use the characters I met, the experiences I had, and the challenges I faced to create a fictional story far greater than my own journey.
So after I was robbed in Rome and found my faith in humanity restored at the Palio festival in Siena, I was inspired to write Bullets, Butterflies, and Italy.
After I ran with the bulls in Pamplona and later came to the rescue of an injured fan at a Blur concert in Hyde Park, I was encouraged to write Bulls, Bands, and London.
And after walking across Spain with hundreds of fellow pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago, I am proud to say I was impelled to write my third exciting adventure, Shadows, Shells, and Spain!
However, these travel books are more than memoirs and more than fictional stories. Yes, they promise entertaining drama, but they also provide accurate and amusing descriptions of the local people and places you might encounter on your own remarkable adventures!
More About Me
I was the studio writer for Entertainment Tonight Canada when the popular daily show launched back in 2005. Sixteen years and over four thousand episodes later… it was time for a change.
I also regularly write for various award shows in the United States and Canada. This includes the Banff World Media Festival where I’ve written tributes to such stars as William Shatner, Ricky Gervais, Howie Mandel, Ed Asner, and Eric McCormack. (And yes, sometimes I even get to meet some of these legends too!)
And More Fun Favorites
Favorite travel books:
Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz, Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson, The Happy Isles of Oceania by Paul Theroux, Video Night in Kathmandu by Pico Iyer, and The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain.
Favorite countries to visit:
France, Italy, Greece, Thailand, and Costa Rica.
Favorite movie dramas:
Casablanca, Sunset Boulevard, The Godfather, Memento, and The Shawshank Redemption.
Favorite movie comedies:
When Harry Met Sally, Fargo, Groundhog Day, Dr. Strangelove, and The Odd Couple.
Favorite TV dramas:
Lost, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Black Mirror, and The Americans.
Favorite TV comedies:
Seinfeld, Veep, The Larry Sanders Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Office (sorry, the UK version).