Kew, London
(Above: it had to be done! Machu Picchu and me.)
When you last left me, I was hanging on my axes and the points of my crampons on a sheer wall of ice. I’ve been inundated with requests for the next instalment of the story, so….
…I thought long and hard about it, and decided you’ll have to wait until the book comes out!
I’m now back home, and have just finished the first draft of my book – transcribing my story from my handwritten journals onto the computer, all 133,000 words of it. Even if I do say so myself, Peru has given me some pretty amazing raw material. I couldn’t have come up with a better plot if I’d tried. We have funny stories, tragedy, drama, all building to a climax on Alpamayo, complete with German baddies…
So I have the raw material, now all I need is 3 re-drafts, and a book deal!
Still, all this desk work is giving my ankle a chance to recover. I had it x-rayed, as my GP thought there might be a flake fracture. Fortunately not, but all the same, climbing a couple of mountains on a swollen ankle may not have been the best thing for it. But I found a wonderful Peruvian painkiller, allegedly a cocaine derivative, called Tramal. No pain, and it makes you feel absolutely marvellous! Wish I’d brought more supplies back now, but an arrest for drug-smuggling may not have been the best finale to my trip.
I will keep you posted on the progress of the book. And in the meantime, if anybody knows of a literary agent or publisher, please let me know!