Round the Bend by Alistair McGuinness Review and Guest Post

Publisher: Matador (November 26, 2013)
ISBN-13: 978-1780883908
Category: Travel, Adventure Travel, Living & Working Abroad
Tour Dates: March, 2014
Available in: Print & ebook, 256 pages

Three things happened simultaneously. The lioness charged, Alistair fled across the parched savannah and his wife screamed for him to run faster. Stuffed deep inside his tattered rucksack was a guidebook containing advice on what to do in wildlife emergencies, which he planned to read if he survived the next thirty seconds.

Future plans to climb Kilimanjaro, teach English in the Amazon and live in Australia were temporarily forgotten as he turned to face the pouncing lioness, thinking back to the words of advice from his mother-in-law. "Don't do anything silly, and look after Francine." From deep underground in a remote Bolivian mine to the scorched Australian outback, Round the Bend is an adventure travel story. It explores the turbulence of redundancy, the excitement of travel, the anguish of leaving home and the challenges of starting a new life in Australia.

Praise for Round the Bend:

"An inspiring, enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable story of the journey of a lifetime.  Definitely recommended, particularly if you're planning such a trip or thinking of emigrating."-Sue Magee, The Book Bag

  "A cracking marriage of travel adventures and challenging life decisions makes for a great read!  If you are looking for inspiration on the direction of your life journey or are dreaming of wild travels in remote foreign lands, Halfway Round the Bend, by Alistair McGuinness, is the read for you!

Packed with quirky anecdotes and tales of jungle trekking, mountain scaling and safari survival, this action packed adventure is woven around real life following redundancy and some difficult decisions to leave family / friends and finally emigrate to Australia.

I really enjoyed the read and must admit that I am just a little jealous of some of the places Alistair and his wife Fran experienced on their remarkable extended expedition!"- Rich Packard, Amazon Reviewer

  "A great travel adventure book.  A great read. As well as thoroughly enjoying the tale of the authors adventures in South America and descriptions of amazing places I have only ever dreamed of visiting, I loved how the book was more than just a book about someone's travels. The relationships, people within the book and obvious soul searching which spurs the author on to his quest for adventure are what made this story a real page turner for me. Can't wait to read the sequel!"- Lara Clark, Amazon Reviewer

 " A heartening, entertaining travelogue.  I stumbled across this as a 'New Release' and catching sight of my hometown, Luton, in the author's bio. I've always been a fan of travelogues, and this didn't disappoint.

The journey Alastair relates struck a chord - I found myself quite carried along with Alastair and Fran's brave adventure and leap from 'normal' life into the Amazon and beyond. So many of the other travelogues I've read are by seasoned travellers, but Alastair's 'fish-out-of-water' is believable and endearing, and his relaxed style allowed me to share in the wonder and realisation that they seemed to experience on their trip."-Craig Fisher, Amazon Reviewer

  

About Alistair McGuinness:

 

 Alistair grew up in the UK in a town called Luton, which lies 30 miles north of London. Family holidays were spent in County Donegal, Ireland, staying with his Grandmother in their large family home where she had once raised fifteen children.

It was these annual trips that made Alistair realise his Great Uncles were Seanachaís (Irish story tellers). After a few pints of Guinness in the family bar, brothers Barney and Francis would entertain the evening crowds with their recitations of life in rural Ireland. As their rustic voices carried across the crowded room, Alistair would watch and listen as the animated tales mesmorised the overseas visitors.

44 countries and four decades later, Alistair now calls Australia home and in the tradition of Great Uncles Barney and Francis, loves to recite stories. He lives between the beach and the forest with his wife, two young boys and a fun puppy called Peppi. After decades of adventurous escapades Alistair is calming down and has decided to write more and bungee jump less!

He works as a Business Improvement Specialist and has just spent three years as a fly in fly out employee at a remote iron ore mine site in Western Australia. As a trainer and facilitator, he has worked in Europe and Australia and is passionate about helping people and organisations to become successful.

A fun family day for Alistair would be fishing from the local jetty with his boys, taking the puppy for a walk along the beach at sunset and cooking a scrumptious curry in the evening with his wife.

An ideal adventurous day for Alistair would be a days walking and scrambling in the Lake District with friends, followed by a visit to a village pub nestled deep in the English countryside.

Website: http://www.thecreativenomad.co/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amcguinness1
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/amcguinness1/

Guest Post

What Do Blurbs Have In common With Speed Dating

Imagine you are about to go on a blind date. It’s kind of scary isn’t it? The person you are about to meet at the trendy downtown café knows little or nothing about you and we all know that first impressions are vital. That’s why you spent hours in the bathroom before you left home and earlier that week, splashed out on a new outfit to wear. As you wait for the taxi and check the mirror one more time, you smile and congratulate yourself. You are about to make a memorable first impression.

This is how your book cover is portrayed to a potential customer.

When you arrive at the café and your eyes meet, the first few moments can be awkward. Your first words should fit the mood perfectly. They could be complementary, endearing or witty depending on the ambience of the occasion.

This is how your book title is portrayed to a potential customer.

It’s all gone well so far. The waiter hovers and collects your orders and for a few moments you make small talk. But jazzy clothes and cultured small talk will only go so far. There is still work to do before you have earned that romantic walk along the riverbank. Over the next few hours the conversation will ebb and flow, as each person reveals snippets of their personality.

But wait.

This is not what happens when a potential customer picks up your book. They don’t have oodles of time to deep dive into the contents. In reality, they will quickly skim through the pages to see if something intriguing catches their eye.

This is why I believe that your blurb on the back page is equivalent to modern speed dating.

You have a few seconds to make an instant impression and instead of gabbling away excitedly, a few choice words can have a positive impact.

Within a few seconds your fate could be sealed.

That’s why I spent many hours continually honing my blurb until I felt it was something that would instantly appeal to those interested in reading about adventure travel or life changing moments. Some blurbs successfully use hyperboles to capture the imagination of the reader while others set the tone impressively, with colorful characters, intriguing plots and stunning locations.

Using the speed dating analogy, a powerfully written blurb along with a professional book cover and well thought out book title will increase your chances of success.

If you get lucky, then all those hours of work will come off as the customer opens the pages, enjoys the first paragraph and has a random flick through on the way to the counter.

With Look Inside now a popular feature on Amazon, all the key elements that sell a book are relevant, whether your book is electronic or sitting on a bookshelf in your local high street.

I felt so passionate about getting my cover, title and blurb as professional as possible that I created a 3-minute YouTube video clip.

Each person could give a score from 1 up to 5 for my title, blurb, first paragraph and front cover.

As a result of the survey, I ended up changing the 1^st paragraph and my book is now primed and ready for speed dating!

Happy travels

My Review:

I love to travel with my husband. We drove from Connecticut to Chicago. We have been all over the NorthEast. However I applaud the author for traveling to another country. This book would be great for people to read if they plan on being on The Amazing Race. I liked that he was with his wife as well, and that they went on this journey together. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.