About
John Perrier was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1967. Perrier has published five books across a variety of genres and subjects.
His first book, published in 1999, was a self-help tome entitled 'Back Pain: How to get Rid of It Forever'. This book was an instant success in Australia, selling out its original print run. This book spawned an offshoot publication entitled 'Using Your Brain to Get Rid of Your Pain', which is a simple, commonsense guide on how to manage stress, reduce pain and think more healthily.
Perrier has also penned three novels. The first, in the historical fiction genre, is 'Captain Rum - A Wondrous Adventure''. It chronicles the fantastic tale of Fintan McAdam, who set sail solo from London in 1821.
The second novel is science fiction comedy for the young (and young at heart): 'A Few Quiet Beers with God'. Set in 2034, it follows the comedic mishaps of a young Australian named Dave who becomes entangled in a global power struggle.
Perrier's third novel is a humorous travel biopic entitled 'Campervan Kama Sutra', a hilarious account of his family holiday across outback Australia with three kids. If you have half as much fun reading this as he had writing it then you are in for a treat!
When he is not writing, Perrier likes to play basketball, cheer on his beloved Carlton Blues AFL side, potter in his herb garden, bush walk, play with his kids and listen to blues music. Occasionally he does two or three of these simultaneously.
Description
<p>When Jessica Bryant pesters her wealthy parents to allow her to have a dog as a pet, the answer is a resounding "No"; but they soon come to regret their decision when thier home is broken into one evening whilst they are out and their daughter kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers, in the form of four seedy and incompetent characters wearing Disneyland-type masks, take her hostage and keep her incarcerated in a place from which there appears to be no escape. However, they reckon without the resourcefulness of our heroine, and the courage of a wonderful stray dog who comes to her aid and whom she names 'Murdo'. And so begins an exciting and humurous accounting of the couples' adventures together as they consistently foil and outwit the abductors whilst on the run together.<br /> This is a lovely story of the friendship between a girl and a dog, bringing out themes of responsibility, camaraderie, redemption, salvation and self-sacrifice. It includes some wonderful dialogue sequences as Jessica teaches her new four-legged friend how to communicate with her, with additional delightful conversations between the animals when a rabbit and a sparrow join forces with them in an effort to outwit the kidnappers and restore Jessica safely back to her parents' home. </p>
Story Behind The Book
Captain Rum was the most difficult piece I have ever written. By far. The manuscript started life as a genuine attempt to write in the style of an 1820s ship's captain. For inspiration I read other maritime journals, most notably those of Captain James Cook, and tried to imitate the flavour and style of their writing. I noted that they usually wrote in a very formal style, with elaborate prose and eye-wateringly long sentences.
My attempts to copy this style succeeded - unfortunately a bit too well. The original novel was very heavy going; it was, in a word, boring. The authentic prose made it as unreadable as are Cook's journals, which would be shunned by all but the most ardent historian.
After realising that this authenticity was getting in the way of the story rather than enhancing it (prompted by some subtle hints from early reviewers) I re-wrote the entire manuscript word by word, converting my own work into more modern and readable prose. Despite the drudgery of this task, the end result was a much more entertaining story, which I hope readers will thoroughly enjoy.
