Author in the picture: Robert 'Fred' Fear

 

Thank you very much for participating in this author in the picture blog post!
Lally Brown and Val Poore suggested you as the next author in the picture.
They both said: he is an excellent choice because he does a lot for the other
authors. I read your collection of 40 Inspirational True Stories
and the Summer of 77 is on my read and review list as well!
So, these are the questions, I would like to ask you.

The Questions & Answers

You organise an annual travel writing competition.
Can you explain more about the competition? How did it start? What is your goal?

Many thanks for featuring me on your blog, Kathleen. That is an interesting opening
question. The annual features I run on my blog started out as travel writing
competitions but have now evolved into showcases of authors’ real-life stories.
Let me explain how this venture has developed over the past six years.

While working on the second edition of my travel memoir Fred’s Diary 1981 in
early 2015, I began a blog to help with the editing process. To encourage
people to visit my website, I started a travel story competition (500-1000 words).
It was such a success that I ran another one for travel highlights (50-100 words).
That went well too. I published a selection of these in a book called
Travel Stories and Highlights.

In 2016, I re-ran the contests. Again, there were lots of fantastic entries,
and I released a 2017 edition which included the best contributions
from the first two years. 2017 and 2018 saw the competitions repeated.
This led to publication of the 2018 and 2019 editions of
Travel Stories and Highlights.

In 2019, I changed the format and introduced an Authors Showcase to the blog.
An anthology entitled 40 Memorable Life Experiences was the result.
Last year, I hosted another showcase and published the best stories
in a book called 40 Inspirational True Stories, which was published
in December 2020.

My goal is to give both well-known and lesser-known authors and
writers the opportunity to reach a wider audience. Some contributors
already have memoirs published and others are aiming to publish them
in the future. Indeed, I am proud to say that two writers (that I know of)
were inspired and motivated by the competitions and showcases
to self-publish their own books.

This year I am planning to feature another Authors Showcase. It will run
for six months from 1^st April 2021. This year’s subject has yet to be decided,
but nearer the time your readers can find out all the details on my blog
here: 2021 Showcase Guidelines (fd81.net)

All five anthologies are available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback
formats. They can be ordered via my
Amazon Author page: viewauthor.at/RobertFear

You also work as a self-employed software consultant; do you have to
maintain a strict daily routine?

Yes, I have always had to maintain a strict routine while working.
Until this last year, writing, editing and self-publishing books was a part-time
‘hobby’ that I had to plan around my ‘day job’. This meant I had to be very
strict with myself, especially when working from home.

Like many of us, however, things changed dramatically with the pandemic.
The software projects I was working on were in the hospitality sector.
All the work I had scheduled dried up as hotels closed and implementation
projects were put on hold. In fact, I have had no work for the past year and
there is nothing in the pipeline.

I am not sure what the future holds, as I am close to retirement age anyway,
but I can now devote more time to my writing. I have also become involved
as a volunteer trustee for the Citizens Advice charity here in Eastbourne,
and that is proving rewarding.

You mostly write travel memoirs, but do you write other genres too?

Before I answer your question about other genres, Kathleen, I hope you do
not mind if I just give you a brief recap about the two travel memoirs that
I have published.

Before starting, I should mention that Fred was a nickname given to me
while at school. It became my travel name and people still know me as
Fred to this day.

Fred’s Diary 1981: Travels in Asia is the edited version of a handwritten
diary that I kept during my time in South-East Asia between February
and July 1981. It stretched to 600 pages of closely written detail.

I almost forgot it for many years. It only appeared when friends asked to
see it or to read it. In 2005, I started typing up my diary onto the computer
as I wanted to share my experiences with others. I got the first two months
completed, but then ran out of motivation. Several years later, there was
an article in a PC magazine about Kindle and self-publishing that
sparked my interest.

The full version of Fred’s Diary 1981 came to market in December
2013 and sold well. It was a long book, though. The paperback ran to
564 pages and contained 165K words.

During the first few months of 2015 further editing took place and
the second edition, released in October 2015, comprised less than
100K words, with 360 pages. It also had a professional edit and
a sparkling new cover.

Amazon link: getbook.at/FredsDiary1981

I will now summarise how I wrote my latest release:
Summer of ‘77: Beaches, bars and boogie nights in Ibiza.

For a long time, I had been itching to write a memoir about the six months
I spent on the Spanish island of Ibiza, when I was 21. I started planning the
book in 2016. It was fortunate I still had the letters I received while working
the season in Ibiza. Otherwise, I would have found it difficult remembering
what happened forty years ago. I transcribed the letters and created a timeline
around them. This triggered memories of events from the time and I began writing.

After much prevarication and self-doubt, I completed the last chapter in May 2019.
Then I began self-editing my words and making the story concise and readable.
Next steps included the choice of a title, commissioning a cover design and
creating the blurb. Then came a professional edit which reduced the word
count by 10% and gave a real polish to the memoir. I published the book in
October 2019, on my 64th birthday.

Summer of 77 is on my to-read list. I'm really looking
forward to read because Portugal and Spain are my 2 favourite
countries to go on holiday 💥

Amazon link: getbook.at/Summerof77

Now back to your question about other genres, Kathleen. I dabble with writing
fiction and have written several short stories. I am also taking an online
Novel Writing Diploma and think this is the direction my writing will
take me in the future.

Are you the only one in your family who writes?

Well, I am now, but my father was a journalist and radio presenter in his later years.
Maybe I can just tell you about his memoirs and how I helped publish his book
after he passed away. 

This started for me back in 1992 when my father, John, was frail and confined to bed
most of the time. Visits to the hospital became more frequent, and the doctors were
talking about months, not years. John had been working on his recollections for 
several years and had already typed up many of the chapters. He also had plans
in place for finishing the remaining parts of his book. Now he could not continue. 

My mother called me to see if I could help. I was more than happy to get involved.
In the evenings and at weekends, I sat at my computer and transcribed the sections
that John had finished. I printed these off and sent them back to him. It was a 
period of reconciliation between father and eldest son as we discussed changes
and planned for the missing chapters.

During the months following his death, I continued working on John's memoirs
with the help of my mother and brother. In 1994 we printed a limited-edition
under the title Exclusive Pedigree. If it had not been for a chance remark, the
life of the book could have ended there. 

Towards the end of 2015, I was visiting my mother for a few days and gave her a
paperback copy of the second edition of Fred’s Diary 1981. Our conversation turned
to self-publishing, and we started talking about John’s memoirs.
Then came the bombshell  from Mary, “Did you know Rob, that John always
wanted his book professionally published?”

I had another challenge ahead, and within months I published my father’s book in
July 2016. I think John would be proud of the finished result, a fabulous tribute to
his life. 

 

Amazon link: getbook.at/ExclusivePedigree

When travelling, do you make a profound research or 
are you open for unexpected things?

I did most of my real travelling in my twenties. Travel plans were very fluid,
and I went with the flow. During that period, I had many adventures, including
the six months in Ibiza in 1977, two months hitchhiking around Europe and then
returning to Ibiza for three months in 1978. After that I based myself in Frankfurt,
Germany between 1979 and 1986 where I worked to get money, but also travelled
further afield. In 1979, I spent four months in the USA and Canada, often going
from place to place on Greyhound buses. In 1981, I took six months out to
travel around Hong Kong, Thailand, India and Nepal. After that I spent a further
five years working in a bank in Frankfurt, but still took a 5-6 week break most years.
For those trips, I toured the Canary Islands, Scandinavia, Greece and Turkey.

In 1986, I returned to Eastbourne on the south coast of England to be with my
future wife. We are still there 35 years later and have taken many holidays
together in the meantime. These have out of necessity been more structured,
but we have had some very special times in places such as Portugal,
Crete, Madeira, Goa, Australia, the Seychelles and New York.
We also got married in Kenya in 1994. Our most recent holidays
were cruises; a 7-day one to Norway in 2016 and a 14-day round trip to the
Canary Islands and Portugal in 2018.

In addition, I have had the fortune to be able to travel with work and spent
a lot of time in different countries around Europe, along with business trips
to Australia, Ghana, Singapore and Suriname. Although these were work-related,
I still found time to explore my surroundings on each occasion.

  

I have a long travelling wish list (perhaps too long J ) 
What’s on your wish list?

There are so many places I would still love to visit when it is safe to do so again.
I am not sure they will ever happen, but my wish list includes South America,
New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Japan. If the opportunity arose,
I would also love to re-visit Nepal and the Seychelles.

Do you like to do something sporty while travelling or in normal life?

I have never been a sporty person, Kathleen. At school, I was the one who
would take a shortcut on the cross-country runs, hiding behind bushes having
a crafty cigarette. I did not enjoy the rough and tumble of rugby, so
I took part as a touch judge. My cricket skills were limited, and
I ended up scoring the matches instead of participating.

One thing I have always enjoyed, however, is walking. There are so many
places to explore near where we live in Eastbourne. I enjoy strolling on the
South Downs and along the seafront. Even during lockdown, I found new
places on my daily exercise walks close to home. To illustrate this,
I am including an extract from an article I wrote in early May last year:

If anyone had told me at the start of the year what was going to happen
in 2020, I would have thought they were crazy.

Over the past few weeks, I have learned to cope with this new reality.
The initial feelings of anxiety and fear subsided, and my views changed
as I became more sensitive to others and aware of how fragile our society is.

We are among the lucky ones. Although work from my day job has
evaporated, my wife and I live in a comfortable house, our three cats
keep us company, and we have enough money to last through this crisis.
As a bonus, the weather has been warm and sunny for the daily exercise
walks we are allowed to take.

When the lockdown was implemented, my thoughts turned to those
less fortunate. Older people unable to leave home, those suffering
 from grief and depression, and residents of countries with even stricter
lockdowns. I thought about how I might share my experiences on social media,
 to give motivation and bring a smile to the faces of those within my reach.

Living where we do in Eastbourne, on the south-east coast of England,
we have many beautiful spots close to our home. There are several parks
filled with trees, plants, grassland and lakes. Not far away is a farm track
that winds through fields where horses, sheep and cattle graze. Birds sing as
though nothing is wrong with the world. Then there is the seafront,
along which runs a three-mile promenade, with views out across the
English Channel.

Because of the lockdown and social distancing measures, there have been
few people around on my daily walks. I gained a sense of tranquillity and
tried to capture those precious moments on my smartphone, so I could
share them with others.

With video clips, I recorded nature’s sights and sounds. These included
gentle swaying trees with uplifting birdsong in the background, views across
idyllic farmland to the hills of the South Downs, and waves crashing onto
the shingle beach on a windy but sunny afternoon.

Amongst other subjects, my photos captured the beauty of spring flowers,
rainbows drawn by children hung in windows, colourful beach huts,
seafront carpet gardens, and the pier’s golden dome sparkling in the
sunlight against a backdrop of clear blue skies.

I posted these to Facebook, both on my timeline and in two groups.
In addition, I shared selected videos and photos on Instagram and
Twitter. Three of those images are included here.

Cherry blossom

Social distancing seagulls

Children’s rainbow drawings

This really looks idyllic!! Nice drawings 🌈

What are your attitudes towards social media and do
you think it has a positive or negative impact on people’s lives?  

That is a tough one, Kathleen. I have mixed feelings about the
power that tech companies such as Facebook wield in today’s world,
but I think they can be a force for good when used in the proper way.
They can be very addictive though, and we all need to be careful about spending
too much time on them.

The main platforms I use are Facebook (facebook.com/fredsdiary1981)
and Twitter (@fredsdiary1981), although I also have a
presence on Instagram and Pinterest.

I have a favourite group on Facebook called ‘We Love Memoirs’
and I know you are a member too, Kathleen. It is rightly known as
‘the friendliest group on Facebook’. I joined in 2014 and have been
overwhelmed by the encouragement and support they have given me.
My appearance on two of their ‘Sunday Spotlights’ motivated me to
publish my father’s memoirs Exclusive Pedigree and write my
memoir Summer of ’77. 

www.facebook.com/groups/welovememoirs

For the past three and a half years, I have had the honour of running the
‘We Love Memoirs’ Twitter page and we have built up a wonderful group
there as well. ‘We Love Memoirs’ has also recently launched on Instagram.
The handle on both Twitter and Instagram is @welovememoirs.

So, overall, I am very positive about social media and its influences on
people, provided it is used in the right way.

I always end with the same question: What are your wishes/hopes/ ….
for 2021 for you personally as well as for the world?

I am an optimistic person and try to look on the bright side of life. 
That has not been easy with the trials and tribulations of the pandemic,
but I hope we can all learn something from our experiences over the past
year. My sincere wish is that we all become kinder and more compassionate
towards each other and our planet.

 

Thank you again for hosting me on your blog today, Kathleen,
and for your thought-provoking questions.
May I wish you every success for the future.

Thank you!

Thank you Robert 'Fred' Fear to have you on my blog! It was a real honour and
I wish you also lots of success for the future and I hope to read many lovely
memoirs of you!