Darlington taxi driver publishes tale of African poaching (From The Northern Echo)
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Darlington taxi driver publishes tale of African poaching
1:20pm Saturday 4th February 2012 in News
AFRICAN TALE: Roger Barnes, who has published his first novel in electronic form
TAXI drivers are renowned for their tall tales, but one has taken it to the extreme.
Darlington cabbie Roger Barnes has had his first novel published in electronic form on internet site Amazon.
White Gold is set in Africa and follows special forces soldiers as they try to track down and prevent illegal poaching.
To promote the novel, Mr Barnes, 66, is advertising the front cover of the book on his taxi.
The first-time novelist has also placed leaflets in the cab for customers.
He said: “A lot of my customers find it quite interesting and strike up a conversation about it. It can be a real talking point.”
“I do not know how well it is selling yet, I only really know when the cheque comes.
Roger Barnes
The novel took four years to complete and Mr Barnes, a former soldier, has just finished a sequel, completed in 18 months, which he hopes to publish shortly.
He said: “When I started writing it, I got a bit of stick, but now that it is finished and published, people are accepting it. It is a really good feeling.
I have always been against poaching and the unnecessary killing of animals, so I thought, ‘Why not write a book about it?’ “I drew very loosely on my own experiences as I can imagine how a soldier’s mind works.
“My wife and I also went on safari about four years ago, which also helped give me a lot of information.
“I do not know how well it is selling yet, I only really know when the cheque comes.
“I am not expecting to make a lot of money from it, but it has been a lot of fun.”
Mr Barnes is a member of the Inkerman Writers group, based at Darlington Arts Centre. The group is run by journalist and author John Dean, who also runs publishing company Certys, which published White Gold.
Mr Dean said: “E-books offer a great future. This is the first material that we have published in this form and it is a really interesting read.”
To buy a copy, go to amazon.co.uk
