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HALIFAX: <\/strong>The following is a Q&A release sent out to The Laker News by N.S. author Arthur Shears on his recent release Overseas Adventures \u2013 From Afghanistan to Zambia and Points In-Between<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tell us about yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I am a Canadian author who began writing during the COVID pandemic. Previously, I spent years working internationally, and had stints in academia. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I currently live in Halifax, and continue to do international consulting on a part-time basis, most recently for the International Labour Organization in Jordan and Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”194″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”105″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is your memoir about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the title suggests, the memoir is about my work, travel, and adventures in 16 different countries over a period of 50 years, from 1971 to 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It starts in Nigeria where I was a young volunteer teacher with CUSO International, and follows my journeys and activities in other countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia proper, the Caribbean, and South and Central America.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why did you write Overseas Adventures<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I love storytelling, and whether at a reception or a party or over dinner, listeners would often tell me I should write down my tales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the pandemic started, I had to stop my consulting work, and with so many stories in my head that needed to get out, I sat down and started writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I enjoy history and geography and I was able to write with those features in mind. My dad was in World War II and I have a particular interest in military history. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”31″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate group=”6″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I began planning my memoir, I extensively researched each country and followed up on facts that I already knew, for example, that the Empire of Japan attacked Ceylon a few months after Pearl Harbour, and that Rommel had fought in North Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Each of my stories touches on some country facts relating to World War II as well as my experiences in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, I found my international development work so professionally satisfying. My hope is that the memoir may inspire others to explore such opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”71″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have a favorite country from those you visited?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a hard one to answer! Every country I worked in had its positives and negatives. Barbados has gorgeous beaches, Jamaica its blue mountains, Guyana a vast unspoiled hinterland, India delicious food, and so on. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Each country was an experience to be savoured. I found it so exciting to go back to these places in my mind\u2014I was sorting through 2 x 2 slides from decades ago and going online to refresh my memory about places and events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing the book enabled me to have an around-the-world experience while still sitting at my desk. I hope readers will have the same experience reading my memoir in bed or in their favorite chair.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”92″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”126″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you meet any famous personalities while working abroad?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, I did. In Ghana, I met Prince Charles at a cocktail party at the British High Commissioner\u2019s residence. He commented on my newly sprouted beard, having had one himself some years earlier. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Barbados is popular with celebrities and I had passing glimpses of singer Phil Collins at the airport, and Luciano Pavarotti on a golf cart buzzing around some back streets. But really, it was regular people I met that provided the richness in my experiences. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The trainee with a physical handicap who finished their carpentry program in Malawi, the school student in Gaza tapping on the keyboard in a new computer lab, or the labourers in India cooking a meal over an open fire and asking me to join them. These are the gems in my experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”115″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”148″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you plans for writing another book?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I wouldn\u2019t call them plans but I have an idea for another book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I won\u2019t give too much away but think historical fiction with Nova Scotia, the Battle of Hastings and the Holy Land involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n