by Frank | Jul 19, 2014 | Public Speaking
Having fun on the arctic/desert talk. Not sure that jumper was a good idea. Shiny Frank.
Is there an art to public speaking? I’m not sure. All I know is Archibald High School in Newcastle Upon Tyne invite me back every year to do my arctic and desert talk with the kids. And it’s one of the highlights of my year. I love it. There’s nothing like making a bunch of 5-6 year olds really excitied.
When I told an ex-headmistress friend of mine that I would be doing these talks she warned me that I should not get them too excited too soon or too often. For the first 10 minutes at Archibald I kept it calm. Then I got them excited with stories and q and a. Then calmed them down; then got them worked up with the desert outfits; then calmed them down; then got them all a tizzy with the arctic kit… and so on. For a good hour or more.
I enjoy it so much and the kids inspire me so much that it may yet become my full time business. The photos of my last talk can be found on their webpage. And I hope to have some news later in the year when we trial our remote talks. Sahara anyone? [November this year]
If you’d like me to come and talk at your school, just get in touch. I hope to see you later this year Archibald.
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by Frank | Sep 5, 2012 | Journalism, NatGeo Adventure, Travel, Writing
I’m proud to announce the Explorer of the Month column by yours truly for the fantastic Explorers Connect website. Each month I’ll be interviewing explorers – in the modern sense of the word – to find out what makes them tick, how they do what they do and their scariest and best moments. It inspires me when I meet and talk to these daring people and I hope it will inspire you.
Dave Cornthwaite: The nicest dare-devil in exploration.
Victor Boyarsky: Life on top of the world.
Bert Poffe: Why you don’t always need to be the fastest or first.
If you’d liked to be interviewed for the column drop me a line on the contact page and I’ll let you know what’s involved and see about fitting you into the schedule.
Enjoy!
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by Frank | Mar 7, 2012 | Books, Writing
‘And now my darlings,’ the estate agent turned and spread his arms wide, ‘the pièce de résistance.’ The easy prey followed him into the room.
Too many bankers and their dull grey suits today, the estate agent thought, not enough billionaire colour. He’d strung these two along with his bitchy queen routine for far too long already. Although he didn’t have to act too hard he had to admit.
He watched the couple blink at the blinding summer light blasting in from the two-storey lounge windows behind him. Enough. He wanted their money. He wanted it now.
‘Come with me you lovely people,’ he strutted between them, placed his hands on their backs, and moved them deeper into the sumptuous space. ‘Could this glorious penthouse actually be yours? The views, oh, the views, are all money,’ he said. ‘Canary Wharf and Greenwich in one direction, and, in the other? A skyline to die for, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, the bridges.’
He pressed a button on a small white box, the shadows moved.
‘And there’s the remote controlled skylights in every room, of course.’
The ceiling wide array of mechanised blinds slid smoothly back to reveal a glass roof and ever more sky. They stood transfixed.
‘You’ve surpassed yourself,’ the woman said. ‘How soon—’
The estate agent waved a finger, ‘Oh no, my dear, it’s not that easy. This is the palace for the kings of the castle. Residents approval only. But as I am the estate agent to the stars, for you, it shouldn’t be a problem. You really won’t believe who the neighbours are.’
‘Oh, Michael,’ she said and gripped her partner’s arm. ‘It’s what we’ve always wanted, isn’t it darling?’
The estate agent beamed at them. Skirt on the hook, it was time for the fat-cat in the oh-so-predictable striped shirt and pink tie. He turned his mascaraed eyes towards Michael, ‘Come on, stud-muffin,’ he gestured his head at the apartment, ‘you know you want it.’
Michael rocked on his heels, looked at her for a moment too long. The estate agent saw nothing nice in the man’s eyes.
‘I want it? Sure Jo, it’ll go with our town house, the country house, the yacht, the cars, the vineyard in France—’ He shook his head.
‘Michael,’ she said, a warning edge to her voice. ‘That’s the business, this, this is our place together. Our palace together.’
‘Yes, of course…my love.’ He turned his back on her, puffed his chest, and addressed the estate agent. ‘It’s a cock-swinging joint alright. How much is it going to hurt?’
Without warning she span Michael round and swung an open hand at his face. (more…)
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by Frank | Dec 9, 2011 | Writing
I caught up with Dave Cornthwaite – adventurer, author and motivational speaker – at the RGS Explore event recently. He’s an inspiring kind of guy and as a fellow author we chatted through the highs and lows of publishing and especially his new book DATE in which Dave decides to find a girlfriend by attempting to date 100 women in 100 days, the result is an emotional rollercoaster that threatened to turn his world inside out and upside-down.
It promises to be a great read and I’m gonna hit buy on my Kindle right now.
We also chatted about the benefits of traditional publishing versus e-Publishing. Specifically the finances, it goes a little something like this:
Traditional book cover price: £10 | Traditional royalties: 15% (on a good deal) = £1.5 per book.
Epub book cover price: £2.94 | Kindle royalties @ 70% of cover price = £2.05 per book (not including other e-publishers or print on demand).
With Dave’s homegrown audience from his Expedition 1000 project this is a great way for an explorer to write and publish books while retaining control of the marketing and availability. And as Expedition 1000 continues he’ll inevitably sell more and more copies. Don’t know what that is?
In Expedition 1000 Dave plans to raise a million pounds for charity by undertaking twenty-five separate journeys in excess of 1000 miles in distance, each using a different form of non-motorised transport. The project will cover every continent, cross the three major oceans and see Dave reach both poles, a true global adventure with a total distance equivalent to the circumference of the Earth around the Equator
Completed Expeditions
1) Skateboard, 2006: 3621 miles (www.boardfree.co.uk)
2) Kayak, 2009: 1540 miles (www.thegreatbigpaddle.com)
3) Tandem Bicycle, 2011: 1396 miles (see page)
4) Stand Up Paddleboard, 2011, 2404 miles (see page)
To find out more, read the book, get involved or donate check out www.davecornthwaite.com
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by Frank | Dec 1, 2011 | Journalism, Travel, Writing
This is the first of regular posts on off-beat jobs for writers around the world. This week we’ve got an opportunity that sounds like one of those unsubtle ads for MI6/CIA operatives and some car writing jobs both in the US and UK. I’d jump at the first if I didn’t have kids and I may even apply for one of those motoring posts.
Adventurous job:
Honestly, I'm a writer!
International Business Journalists wanted for Oil & Gas intelligence research. Head office in Istanbul with months abroad spent working in target countries.
What you need:
- An interest in and experience of travel
- Year-around availability
- Perfect command of written and spoken English
- Excellent presentation
- A good university degree in economics, political sciences or international relations is valued
- The applicant must be up-to-date on current events, hard working and easy to live with
- He or she must keep a cool head under pressure and be at ease with tight deadlines
- A taste for adventure is mandatory
Sound like your thing? Go here: http://t.co/DpKr2GsS
Super car wreck
Driving Jobs
How about driving Japanese high performance cars and editing three publications all about them? UK based.
Click this: http://t.co/ABlnklj5
Or writing for the awesome Jalopnik website. Two writer positions available, one in New York, one in either Los Angeles or Detroit. If i was a Yankee-doodler I’d be in there like a slingshot.
Click that: http://t.co/xmF8Huxq
Business Insider in the US are looking for someone to write about everything from cars to spacecraft. No brainer right?
Get your OCD on and click: http://t.co/RTqEjGsm
If you get the job, let me know so I can seethe with envy.
Live well.
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Writer, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Father.
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