It’s November and the Australian edition of Crikey! was supposed to be hitting the bookshops just in time for Christmas. There’s been a bit of a problem though. I haven’t quite finished it yet.
I’m usually pretty good at sticking to deadlines. It’s a throwback from my days in advertising. If something needed to be finished I’d stay up all night until it was done. I’ve been doing the staying up all night thing, but just not for Crikey! You see, in the time since the big trip around Australia I’ve become a father.
I haven’t said anything before now because there’s nothing worse than listening to a new parent carry on like they are the first person in human history to procreate. But I figure that I owe you guys an explanation why my new book is late. And that explanation is that I am completely exhausted and wandering around with my mind in a fog.
The good news is that the end is in sight. I’ve found a nice couple who are going to adopt my daughter. No, not really. But I have been escaping to the British Library more frequently and putting the finishing touches on Crikey! I’ll let you know when my publishers give me a publication date.
Until then, I’ve got to learn how to dislodge the Hi-5 theme song from my brain. The librarian here always gives me a dirty look when I hum it.
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I completely sympathise, Peter. Have just become a father myself and my world-domination deadline has gone right out the window. But we wouldn’t have it any other way, would we? (Do not answer that question.)
No surprises here Peter. You put a link on your blog a while ago which linked to your friends site. He mentioned that you had a little girl and that he had met her.
I figured this was the reason why you have been a bit slack lately :->)
You’re entitled to have some slack time, she is your first bubba after all.
Just hurry up and getting writing Crikey cause us poms are looking forward to reading it!
I assume Vroom II has been put on the back burner? Or have you not even started it?
Congratulations. We’ll just wait a bit longer then.
Congratulations!!! Okay, so I’ll stop obsessively checking for the next blog entry as a means of cheap, yet often wildly entertaining reading, as I exist in this countryless state of ‘long term residency visa in progress’.
Sigh … deadlines schmedlines … I can’t afford the book until I’m legal, and over Phase 2 – ye olde work permit, so you have the Kiwi Royal Pardon re: tardiness.
No really, good luck …
A Kiwi girl I met in Sumatra gave me a copy of NSITT many years ago. Reading your other books and following in (some of) your footsteps since then, I’ve often wondered whether the pull of biology would be stronger than the wanderlust in the end…
Well done.
Ella
You have to feel sorry for the librarians in the BL they make the place clean and tidy and then they open the doors.
When I was in there picking up my free readers ticket someone was in there snoring away, I never did see what they did to him. I was told a while ago that some of the basements to the bl are below the depth to the northern line. So if we never hear from you again we know where you are.
I hope the new book gets released to the UK and Aus/NZ at the same time. Now what book do I tell my brother to get me instead?
Congrats on the baby! Now get back to work writing…
Hi guys – thanks for understanding. You’ll be pleased to know that I am at the British Library as we speak finishing off Crikey although Missbels will probably note that I’m blogging not writing and will post another stern message. I should let Richard know too that the staff are very alert today and intent on checking that my notes on travelling from Cairns to the tip of Cape York aren’t infact the pages of a very rare 15th Century manuscript.
Re: Ella and the pull of wanderlust. I can now officially state that the pull of both Daisy (my daughter) and the siren call of the road are as strong as each other and I’m feeling like one of those novelty stretchy things. Not sure I’ll ever go back to my original shape though.
Re: Other Christmas suggestions. Hmmm. Aussie/Kiwi readers should check out Tim Elliot’s book Spain by the Horns. I haven’t read it yet, but Tim’s a nice bloke and I like the idea of hanging out with Spain’s top Matador for a season.
Re: Vroom II. I’ve done the trip and it’s pencilled in straight after Crikey. The delay has been good though – I now have a much better ending.
Well, I think that’s about it. I should point out to Ian that world domination is still on the list – I’ve just got to fit it around changing nappies now!
Cheers
Peter
Hi, Peter
Congratulations!
How wonderful; a new baby.
Don’t worry about the book; we’ll read it anyway; a couple of more months of keeping us in suspence we can handle. Enjoy all the little wonders of the tiny creature. All the best and happiness in the world to you three!
Greetz from Holland
Brigitta
hi peter,
I am backpacking around south america and whilst in peurto madryn searching for a good book came across yours and started to read it and could not set it down, the story about hanging out with the three serbs selling hash to the soldiers was fucking funny, as well as the father on the train who thought that blind people in Australia use kangaroos as guide dogs. I also know a man who did the trip in 1969 leaving from N.Ireland and is still living in Australia now and he has some amazing stories. I am going to bring the book with me to OZ to let him compare notes.
Happy writing.
Dear Peter,
Congratulations too … After several years of solid hard travelling we too have had to stop for a while and put things on hold (luckily I don’t however have books to finish!!) as we’ve now got a little boy.. travelling just isn’t the same for the moment – have tried mobile homing it around south of France and Spain last year with 5 month old. Once he is however large enough to carry a backpack and strong enough to ward off any nasty mozzies we will be off again. You know, there could be a good story to come out of the perks of travelling with toddlers! Don’t forget some of your readers are evolving with you!
Hi Peter
Did Crikey! ever get published in the UK – tried to find it on all the usual “book buying” sites with no luck. I’m re-reading Vroom with a View at the moment, so looking forward to the next Vespa related installment.
Thanks
Clare