Geoffrey
McSkimmingGeoffrey
McSkimming
Information for Projects and Assignments
Born: 1st January, 1962,
Sydney, Australia
Hobbies: Travelling, archaeology, old books, old movies,
digging up the past, eating chocolate
Books written:
click here
to see full list
Countries visited to research his books:
Egypt,
Peru,
Tanzania
(including Zanzibar),
Greece,
Mexico,
Turkey,
Italy,
Singapore
Other countries visited: Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Argentina,
Brazil, USA, Germany, Holland, England, nearly all of Australia,
Vanuatu, New Caledonia
Other countries where Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood books
are published and translated:
Germany,
Italy,
Poland,
Russia,
Hungary,
USA, England, New
Zealand, Canada, Singapore
Favourite food: anything hot and spicy
Nickname: Gorgeous
Favourite colour: burgundy
Favourite words: osnaburg, impluvium, brontophobe
Best ancient sites he's visited: there are SO many! The
Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on
Samothraki (in
Cairo Jim and
the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods),
Palenque in
Mexico,
Machu Picchu in
Peru,
and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis in
Turkey,
which are now the home to thousands of tiny turtles
Ickiest experience while researching: in Peru, when he
went sliding down the same sort of mudbank Cairo Jim slides down in
Cairo Jim on the
Trail to ChaCha Muchos
Family: he had a mother, a father, two sisters and an
axolotl named Zsa Zsa
What he did before he was a writer: after studying at
university and before he wrote the first Cairo Jim book,
Cairo Jim and Doris
in Search of Martenarten, Geoffrey
was a professional actor for five years, and appeared in stage plays
in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and some TV commercials and short
films
Inspiration to become a writer: some of his teachers
inspired Geoffrey to start writing: his Year Four teacher and his
Year Nine English teacher
Favourite writing spots: in his study at home, where
it's very quiet and calm, and in the reading room of the Mitchell
Library
Where does he get his ideas: you can find out where
Geoffrey gets some of the ideas for his stories if you look at the
"Following in the Footsteps" pages in
Cairo Jim's
Bumper Book of Flabbergasting Fragments
Favourite subject at school: English and composition
writing, followed by Ancient History and Drama
Least favourite subject at school: Maths, followed by
Eyebrow Arrangement
Dislikes: ballpoint pens, impolite people, rubbish on
trains and buses, custard, Belch of Brouhaha cigars (as smoked by
Captain N.F. Bone), selfishness
How many more Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood books will
there be?: lots -- Geoffrey has many more under contract to Hodder
Headline Australia, and he plans more after that -- maybe another
twenty or thirty...STOP PRESS: Cairo Jim 17, Cairo Jim 18 and Cairo
Jim 19 have been signed up, and will be published in 2005, 2006 and
2007!
The best part about travelling to foreign countries to
research the chronicles: visiting all the ancient sites, and
following in the characters' footsteps
The worst part about travelling to foreign countries to
research the chronicles: jet lag
Favourite bird and animal: the macaw (like Doris) and
the bactrian camel (like someone else he writes about)
What he would rather be doing if he was not writing the
Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood chronicles: nothing -- writing these
books is his favourite work
Advice to young writers: 1. Write a little bit every
day, making time for yourself to go and work. Soon your writing will
grow into a story or poem or whatever you want it to be. 2. Writing
is rewriting: keep at it, and change it until you are finally happy
with it. 3. Never give up!
Strange things he has eaten while on his travels:
piranha in the Peruvian jungles, pigeon in Egypt, monkey in Dar es
Salaam (Tanzania) -- he didn't know it was monkey until
afterwards!
Will Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood ever get married?:
Wait and see!
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All written material contained herein copyright
©Geoffrey McSkimming 2004
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