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.
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.
