Review of Chris Dowding's book, 'a few Drops short of a Pint', by Peter Moore, Australian Travel Writer and author of 'Vroom with a View'
The book [a few Drops short of a Pint] chronicles Chris and Kerryn's time spent living and working in Ireland. It is one of the few books about the Emerald Isle that doesn't read like it was written by Ireland's national tourist board. It's an honest account of the good times and the bad and you can find out more about it at Chris's website.
The thing about Chris's book that'll be of real interest to the readers of this blog is how he got it published. He entered a national writing competition for unpublished manuscripts called IP Picks and his was chosen as the winner in the Creative Non-Fiction category. (Other categories include Best Fiction, Best Poetry and Best First Book)
The competition is run by Interactive Publications, a small publishing house based in Brisbane. Looking at their website it seems they do a bit of self-publishing, but the winners of the competition at least are offered royalty publication - i.e. they do all the work and cover the costs and you get a royalty on each book sold.
At the heart of the eight compelling nonfiction stories and five-article appendix which make up Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah is this interesting question: What would your life mean if you were living someone else's dream of what it should be?
