Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am originally from Bedford in England but I grew up in Middlesbrough. When I was four years old, in the mid-1950s, my parents took me to Jamaica to live which must have planted in me the seed to travel, as I have been travelling ever since. In the capacity of my job as a chef, I have travelled the world working in hotels and restaurants, gold mines, cruise ships, Antarctic supply ships, custom patrol vessels, rig tenders, and oil tankers and I have also lived in Australia, Jamaica, Bermuda, Singapore, the Falkland Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the USA. I retired to Thailand in 2017 and now live on the beautiful island of Koh Samui where I travel extensively throughout South-East Asia doing research for books in my “Retirees Travel Guide Series.”
There are five books in the Retirees Travel Guide Series
The Retire in Thailand Handbook (The First Six Months)
A Retirees Guide to South East Asia, (Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos)
Same-Same but Different, (In Search Of the Perfect Place to Retire In Thailand)
Retirees Guide to South East Asia, (Myanmar, Singapore, Bali and Malaysia)
The Ten Best Countries in the World to Retire and Grow Old Gracefully Disgracefully
I have also written a biography: You Will Never Amount to Anything, and a novel The Deptford Mask Murders, Which is a true story of how fingerprints were used for the very first time in 1905 to convict Alfred and Albert Stratton of murder.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Thai Died…Murder in Paradise…Coronavirus Has Come to Koh Samui but so has another killer.
I started to write this book in April 2020 when I was in self-isolation after I contracted the coronavirus. For me, the virus was just like a normal dose of the flu but for millions of people around the world, they were not so lucky. While I was in lockdown and seeing the effect the virus was having on the world I decided to write a suspense novel that was centred on Covid-19 that would highlight the difficulties and frustrations that any police force would face when trying to solve a major crime during the worse pandemic in over 100 years, when most of the population, except for essential services were told by their governments to stay home to stop the virus from spreading. The book is about a murder of a young English girl in Koh Samui during the corona pandemic here in Thailand, with links going back to the notorious Ronald and Reggie Kray the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Being of a certain age I didn’t grow up with computers but I have certainly adapted to them since I started writing books. I do most of my writing thanks to the wonders of Wifi sitting on a beach or around a swimming pool in Thailand or some other Southeast Asian country. Quite often when the sun is going down my inspiration is helped along with a cocktail or two.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first books I remember reading were the Just William series of books by Richmal Crompton. As I matured I read everything Charles Dickens wrote and all of The Hobbit series of books by J. R. R. Tolkien, I also loved Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. My daughter was born in 1974, and as she grew older I would read Watership Down by Richard Adams to her at bedtime. Looking back now it was probably a little scary for a little girl, but she loved the book as much as I did. Being at sea for much of my life, books were an important source of entertainment in the few leisure hours that you get working on a ship. I would read everything that I could get my hands on, from Agatha Christie to Ernest Hemingway, from Nevil Shute to Leslie Thomas. My favorite authors of today are James Lee Burke, Elmore Leonard, Dennis Lehane, Kate Atkinson, and Khaled Hosseini. I also like to read any travel-related books especially anything by Michael Palin and Bill Bryson. I don’t think any author actually influenced me; I just loved losing myself in a good book.
What are you working on now?
I am taking a well earned rest and plan to drive around Thailand to get inspiration for my next book in the Retirees Travel Book Series.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have recently published a website as it seems a necessity in this day and age. Apart from that, being a retiree and of that certain age I am not very knowledgeable about computers and social media, so I rely on word of mouth and hopefully my publisher getting my name out there. I know I must be missing out on many selling opportunities but I find the whole social media thing rather boring and time-consuming.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
As I am a new author myself there is not much advice that I can offer. Just keep doing what you’re doing; even if you don’t get published you’re still improving your mind, enjoying what you’re doing and fulfilling an ambition. My brother John, who was a much better writer than I will ever be, tried most of his life to get his books published and never succeeded. I wrote my second book in 2017 (the first book I wrote was never meant for publication) and I was offered a publishing contract for it within a few months of releasing it on Amazon. What I discovered since becoming an author is that getting a book published is quite often down to luck, being in the right place at the right time and of course writing a great book.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Travel whenever you can. The greatest experiences are seeing other cultures and getting a real perspective on life and the lives that other people lead”. Which is the way I have always tried to live my life.
When I was in Cambodia recently researching my book, I spoke with a lady who was just forty-two years old the same age as my daughter. Her father was arrested, imprisoned and later killed by Pol Pot’s henchmen for the crime of being a teacher. When she was one year old, with her mother, older brother, and sister, they were forced marched 330 kilometres from their home in Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville to work on a communal farm. Her mother died along the way of sickness and malnutrition and she was separated from her brother and sister, and she would never to see them again. She was taken in and raised in impoverished conditions by another family who had befriended her mother on the long march south. Being born in Cambodia during those murderous days she had not had the opportunities in her life that my children or grandchildren have had. She had no education, no real family, and had been working as a prostitute since she was fourteen years old to survive. It certainly put everything in perspective for me. You don’t see the real world by watching it on the television.
What are you reading now?
I have just finished reading To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. I first read it when I was about 18 years old. Now in the age of BLM, it is as current today as when it was written in 1960
What’s next for you as a writer?
Doing research for my retirees series of books and a follow up book in my new Thai Died series of books.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Blah Story by Nigel Tomm. It’s reputed to be the longest book ever written. I am not sure if I would enjoy it but it has 7312 pages so it would last a while whilst waiting to be rescued. It’s probably cheating but I would take the boxed set of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. How to Survive on a Deserted Island by Tim O’Sheid would be invaluable and for a little light entertainment Adolf Hitler; My Part in His Downfall by Spike Milligan.
Author Websites and Profiles
Gerald Hogg Website
Gerald Hogg Amazon Profile
Gerald Hogg’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile