Sharing #TenThings he’d like his readers to know about him today is Jason Rebello, author of Red Earth Diaries. You can order a copy of the book here and find out more about Jason
and his book here: Evolving Wordsmith
- I come from Mumbai, the so called ‘City of Dreams’ – the financial capital of India, and home to Bollywood – The Indian version of Hollywood.
- I departed familiar shores before I turned eighteen, lured by a life of adventure at sea and became a sailor eventually rising to the rank of Captain on merchant ships trading around the world. I have now cumulatively spent more time at sea than I have on land. Does that make me a Merman…hmmm, some would say I do!
- Never the one to sit idle, I have always been attracted to a life on the road and in the midst of nature, but for the life of me I can’t remember what came first – my inclination to read travel books or my lust for travel?
- Some of the books that have shaped me as a person and have defined my life as a traveller and transcendentalist – (yes…it is a movement, started by the likes of Emerson and Thoreau) are: Tintin, Walden (H.D. Thoreau), Autobiography of a Yogi (Parmahansa Yogananda), The Greatest Salesman in the World (Og Mandino) and Awaken the Giant Within (Tony Robbins)
- I started backpacking extensively when I was in my late twenties. I got sick and tired of waiting for the special ‘someone’, so I grabbed a backpack one fine day and stepped out into the unknown. That one trip changed the course of my life.
- www.theevolvingbackpacker.com – My Personal Blog was born out of my love for travel. The initial posts were just dry recollections of places I visited and things I did. It has now morphed into a blog which treats travel in the spiritual sense. To quote Emerson (who else?) – “It’s all about the journey, not the destination.”
- Writing did not come as naturally to me as travelling did, and to be honest, I gave up on ‘Red Earth Diaries’ many times. But what kept me going was the promise I had made to myself when I first put pen to paper – that I would write a bestseller not just write a book. With such a lofty goal, I somehow found the drive and the time, and I spent three years working relentlessly in finessing my writing skills and the book. I work full time at the largest bulk export port in the world and have two beautiful kids aged five and three who are bounding with energy, in case you want to know.
- To my good fortune, Lady Luck did come knocking, and ‘Red Earth Diaries’ hit Amazon No.1 in the travel category in the week of its release (08 Jul 2021). If anything, writing and self-publishing this travel memoir has taught me one thing: The Sky is not the Limit…You are!
- Now that I have got one book under my belt, I can well and truly say that I have begun to enjoy writing and my passion for travel has merged with my love for the written word. I sincerely hope that this will not be the last book I have written, and in case you do chose to read Red Earth Diaries, there is a subtle hint in the Epilogue as to where our next journey may take us!
- I was to publish my book in March of 2021, but then the Covid Delta Strain reared its head in India, whilst we watched helplessly from Australia. During that time, I received a scathing review from an Advance Reader on Goodreads, and this feedback changed the course of the book. I am grateful to the gentleman for being so passionate about his review. Thanks to him I went back to the drawing board and revised the content of the book. The success of the book is credit to my reviewer and proves one point above all else – Angels abound in this universe and not all of them are tasked to protect. Some are meant to kick your butt!
Their travel story is interwoven with snippets of history and provides the reader with a glimpse of Australia as viewed through the eyes of newly arrived migrants. Join Jason and Ambika on their spectacular journey of discovery. Red Earth Diaries is founded on four primary pillars: a migrant’s journal, a travelogue, a delve into Australian history, and an inspirational tale.
A one-way ticket to Australia…two months of travel…and a shoestring budget.
The central message of the book is for everyone to chase their dreams – however distant and impossible they may seem. Moving to Australia has been one seemingly impossible goal the author had set decades ago, and he likewise urges the reader to shed all reservations and to dream the wildest dreams possible. The Preface of Red Earth Diaries is called Dreamtime, and in it, the author describes the evolution of his journey to this strange and peculiar wonderland.
From the back of the book
In Red Earth Diaries we meet Jason and Ambika, a newlywed couple who migrated to Australia with the hope of a fresh start. However, unlike most migrants, they made a bold decision to postpone their settlement plans, throw caution to the wind and backpack in Australia on a shoestring budget. Their intention was to learn about the country and its people first-hand … a land they would someday call home. Swimming with sharks, cuddling cute koalas, chartering private helicopters, venturing deep into ancient rainforests, and getting to know plenty of locals – the couple had incredible experiences in this stunning country.
As a travelogue, the book harkens to all travellers as well as migrants who are already in Australia or who are thinking of making the move to this beautiful country. The book also contains stories of local Australians the couple met along the way. In it you will meet, amongst others – Helen, a 10-Pound-pom; Rowland Mosbergen, a sprightly man in his eighties who survived the horrors of WWII in a remote jungle in Bahau; Rafael and Nadia and their three kids based in Research, Victoria; Ranjit, a practising surgeon and his wife who are based in Kew, Melbourne. The travelogue aims to deliver an essential message to all migrants in Australia – to not take this country for granted and to try to understand and embrace its culture first.
