Breakfast with...Gerard Ivaloao, author who wrote a book on his mobile phone

BY MARY ASEARI |PHOTOGRAPHS: GODFREEMAN KAPTIGAU

Why have you chosen the Port Moresby Nature Park cafe for breakfast? It’s a beautiful, quiet and peaceful place to start the day with fresh air. It’s a good spot for writers like me to jot down our thoughts on paper while sipping a warm cup of tea. Do you usually eat breakfast? I consider breakfast to be one of the most important meals of the day because I like starting my day filled with energy. Tea or coffee? I’m more of a tea person. I think tea is more affordable and healthier than coffee. What have you ordered today? I’ve ordered a fish burger. It’s a really delicious and hearty meal and will keep me going for the rest of the day. You’ve written a book on your phone. Why? I wrote my book 70 Reminders of Excellence on the phone because I didn’t own a laptop at the time. I had the passion and the goal to write and publish the book, so I had to improvise with the resources I had available.

When I first started writing the book it was difficult as I had to adapt to factors such as the lack of electricity and the bad state of my phone.

My phone was the resource that I had on hand. It was convenient and affordable. I could write down my ideas for my book on a writing app whenever they struck me, and I would run to the nearest tucker shop to charge my phone at an affordable price of one kina as I didn’t have access to electricity at home. How hard was that? When I first started writing the book it was really difficult as I had to overcome and adapt to factors such as the lack of electricity and the bad state of my phone. But as time passed, I used these negative factors as a sort of fuel to help drive my passion and hunger in writing, completing and finally publishing my book. How many words? It has 85,000-plus words. Did you self-publish or have a publisher? The book was published with the Shane Baiva publishing company. What’s it about? The idea of the book came from the reminders that my mum used to give to me daily when I left home for school. She’d remind me on how it was important to study hard, to put God first and to help and respect friends and people in general. In the book, I share these daily reminders as a form of motivation for young people, especially students, because I believe that it is motivation that unleashes the potential that students have.

Gerard Ivalaoa at the Port Moresby Nature Park cafe, which he says is a peaceful place to start the day.

The book is not just about academic excellence or studying: it entails leadership, thinking and spiritual life as well. I’d say the core message of this book is to remind students that we need God to unleash our full potential. What do you do when you’re not writing a book on your phone? I’m a firm believer of the quote ‘great readers make great writers’, therefore I try to indulge myself in a good book whenever I am not writing. My go-to book is the Bible. I find the scriptures very refreshing and motivating. Would you like to write more books?

It is my dream to continue sharing my thoughts with others by writing and publishing more books. I am currently writing two books: Be the Change and Born to Conquer. They are motivational books targeted at addressing issues faced by young people. What is one book that has inspired your writing? A book that has inspired me is Rick Warren’s A Purpose Driven Life. My style of writing is mainly motivational, and it is the ultimate inspirational book for me. Any tips for young aspiring writers? My pro tip to aspiring authors would be to have a solid foundation of your work layout so that, when you start writing, the ideas and content are smooth and consistent, resulting in a professional outcome. How can people get your book and how much does it cost? My only market is Facebook. Interested buyers can place an order through my account, Gerard Ivalaoa, or my page The Weekly Review with Gerard Ivalaoa. The book is currently going for 50 kina.

Port Moresby Nature Park’s cafe is open daily from 9am to 4.30pm (5.30pm on Saturdays). The cafe has a large deck in a natural setting and can be accessed without paying the entry fee into the park. See portmoresbynaturepark.org.

GERARD IVALAOA AUTHOR WHO WROTE A BOOK ON HIS MOBILE PHONE