Tell us a little about yourself, David.

I retired from advertising at a time when my wife Helene thought I was still fit enough to take on the trip we had promised ourselves for years.
A 10 month adventure visiting 15 countries we had never set foot in before, taking us way out of our comfort zone.

Can you tell us how the journey covered in your upcoming release, Turning Left Around the World, came about?

My wife Helene presented me with a large tube accompanied by two boxes of pins, one blue the other pink.
‘All you have to do is put the map up and start sticking pins in the places you’ve always wanted to go,’ she said.

I had briefly mentioned that the wheels of industry may continue to turn if I was to put myself out to pasture in my sixtieth year. Never one to procrastinate about these things Helene had been planning how best to ease me into engaging with a project we had often discussed but never progressed.

And so, the plan was hatched.

What made you decide that you wanted to release a book detailing your adventures? Was it always the plan?

Absolutely not, I accidentally became an author. I was writing for friends and family at home so that they could experience our travels more than simply following us on social media. The ‘Moore Ramblings’ as I called them seemed popular and things began to escalate. One of my friends suggested I convert the Ramblings into a book and add the photos we were sending home. So the book is I hope, an engaging account of our adventure, often intriguing, frequently funny and occasionally tragic.
It also has over 100 colour images from the adventure.

Do you have a favourite event from your travels?

There were some marvellous experiences both planned and unplanned. Machu Picchu, The Great Wall of China, the Galápagos Islands, Ayers Rock and Mount Fuji were all extraordinary visits. But being chased by a one-legged monk, arrested in Chile, encountering a crocodile on a beach and being told a wonderful story at a chance meeting with the Australian Prime Minister were equally remarkable. All are in the book

Did any of the situations you found yourselves in ever lead you to feel in any danger?

The canopy walk in the Amazon jungle on rope bridges strung between gigantic Capoc trees 30m above the forest floor was a nervous experience. And I’m not very good with spiders and snakes so the encounters with Tarantulers in the rainforest, a crocodile in Australia and a frog eating Bamboo snake were shall we say, exciting.

Is this something that you could see yourself doing again?

Certainly, I would recommend it to anyone. Helene now considers us to be “grey gap-year globetrotters” so there are plenty of other sights we plan to see and more unexpected adventures to experience

Were there any other authors whose work influenced your approach to writing your book?

Yes, I’m a great fan of Bill Bryson and have attempted to emulate his style by offering a combination of interesting insight into the places we visited with amusing anecdotes.
I may never be at Mr Bryson’s level but I hope it is humorous while being instructive about the local cultures and traditions we encountered.
Chris Stewart’s stories from his move to a Spanish farmhouse are also favourites of mine, he tells a great story and brings the local characters to life. I have tried to do the same with some of the extraordinary locals we met

What would you like to achieve from your work?

I hope that the book inspires others, particularly grey gap-year globetrotters, to take their own adventure, they will not regret it.

Tell us how you created such enticing cover art and how important you feel it is to have a quality cover.

The artist is British caricaturist Tim Bulmer whose humour and animated style fits the book perfectly. We have all heard the advice “never judge a book by its cover” but what nonsense, everyone does! As a first time author I approached it the only way I know how – drawing on my experience as a former Ad man. So the cover brief was for a powerful engaging visual, a strong title and an inviting strap line. I think Tim has done a great job

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Best of luck with your release.

For more from David, please visit:

https://www.amazon.com/David-C-Moore/e/B07F1TLJT4/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

www.davidcmoore-author.com

http://www.timbulmerartist.com/

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