My Writing
Ok, so before you buy a word you're
probably quite keen to find out whether or not I'm likely to produce anything
resembling a decent story. On this page you can read for yourself some of the
things I've written before.
The Story of the Bandit King
The Story of the Bandit King is my
first novel and it follows the exploits of a young man, Harry Abrahams, as he
travels to colonial Africa in search of fame, fortune and adventure. To give you
the full blurb:
"On a hot and sultry night in
Marrakech, Harry Abrahams hears a story that will change his life forever. As
long as he can remember he has dreamed of leading the life of an explorer; a
life of heroism, fame and fortune. But this life is not what Harry expects and a
long and arduous journey into the desert leads him to a world he had a never
imagined as the dream quickly becomes a nightmare.
Follow Harry as he treads a
perilous path on an epic adventure across colonial Africa, a land of unknown
risks and unimaginable rewards. Loneliness, fear and failure are his ever
present companions as danger lurks at every corner, pushing him onwards in a
desperate scramble to salvage something of the man he dreamt of becoming."
If you like the sound of that, you
can download a pdf copy of the first two chapters by clicking on
this link.
Unfortunately, I couldn't persuade
anybody to publish the book, so I ended up publishing it myself. It's available
at www.lulu.com/christopherbaker.
Travel Writing
Apart from fiction, my main
interest is in travel writing, and here you can read some of my articles (you
can also get a better look at the photos by clicking on the thumbnails):
Fiesta of Fire.
This is all about Las Fallas, a crazy festival that takes place in the Spanish
city of Valencia every March. This article was recently published in the online
travel magazine ItchyFeet. You
can download a copy of the relevant issue by clicking
here.
The Sign for Six.
This article tells the story of a recent trip that I made to Shanghai in China.
It was a rather overwhelming place, but brilliant fun too. The Sign for Six has
also been published in
ItchyFeet, and you can download
a copy of the relevant issue by clicking
here.
An Ice Cube on the
Moon. A couple of years ago I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania,
Africa's highest mountain. It was an amazing experience, though often hugely
unpleasant: the article tells of my experiences. You can read a copy by
clicking
here.
Wide Eyed in Whistler.
During my PhD I was lucky enough to be sent to a conference in Whistler,
British Columbia. Although I spent most of my time listening to lectures, I did
manage to see a few sights and do a bit of skiing. Click
here to read all about
it.
A Passage to Paignton.
One of my favourite pastimes is swimming, and I'm particularly interested in open water
swimming (which basically means anything not in a pool). This article tells the
story of a swim along the South Devon coast, from Torquay to Paignton. To read
the article, click
here.
On a Wing and a
Chair. One of the strangest nights of my life was spent beneath the
dreaming spires of Oxford. If you want to read all about it, click
here.
If you're the editor of a
newspaper, magazine or website and you're interested in publishing one of these
articles, feel free to email me at the address given on the "Contact
Me" page. Likewise if you're interested in commissioning an article.
