May 25-31, 2022
A globe-trotting daydreamer By BELINDA HARRISON
AS a young man, Gavin Hickey was not in a hurry to make a career out of anything, let alone writing - he wanted to get out and see the world and experience all it had to offer. He became a globe-trotting backpacker and ‘wandered around all of the inhabited continents, focusing on places of great natural or man-made beauty, along with a bit of big game spotting’. “Hiking became a passion and 32 days on foot, solo, in the Himalayas was my record,” Gavin said. “In my 20s, experiencing the world was enough but somewhere around the age of 30 the feeling that I needed to start making/ building/creating something of my own came over me.” As a 12 or 13 year old, Gavin had asked himself what he should do in life and came up with the answer that he should do what he was best at. “After a bit of self-analysis, I thought ‘Well, I am really good at daydreaming - how can I make that pay?’” That insightful answer came to the fore again all those years later and the idea emerged that set Gavin on his path to be a writer ‘hoping to make a living out of daydreaming’. “I began to try and write the books which I had been developing in my mind for some years,” he said. “I am a bit embarrassed that it has taken me 15 years to get one of those books - The New Land - to the stage of publication, but I have always been one to take the scenic route.” Gavin started The New Land in London. However, the first draft was completed on the isle Saint Marie off the coast of Madagascar. “I spent three months in a beach hut on Saint Marie and finished the first draft there. “I also happened to meet my future wife, Geraldine, on the isle where she was volunteering for a philanthropic organisation in Madagascar.” Geraldine proudly hails from Brittany in France, the region which is famous as the home of Asterix the Gaul from the well-known comic book series.
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◆ FINALLY TO PUBLICATION: Gavin Hickey has published his first novel, best described as a survival thriller/ fantasy epic. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling
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YOUR GARDEN EN
ANIMAL CARE
WINE TALK
YOUR HEALTH
GONE NE FISHING HING
with HELEN
with Ellie
with ANITA
with ELIZABETH
with ROB
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