Recently, I interviewed author Tony Park on the eve of the release of his newest book, Ivory (MacMillan).

Tony could never be described as an 'armchair' writer - hardly. Tony writes in the field...on location! Which is a mean feat when you consider that his books are all set in the Southern African wilderness.

What I found most intriguing about Tony was his journey to the publication of his first book. He was never a 'walk-up-start', but he did persevere with his intention to become an author, even turning his back on a good job in journalism to take this path less travelled. As an author myself, I know the life of a writer isn't nearly as glamorous as it's made out to be...but it is rewarding. And Tony has sure been rewarded for his efforts with a growing readership and a supportive publisher in MacMillan.

Tony is definitely not what you'd call an idle chap. His profile reads more like that of an adventurer than an author. He grew up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney and worked as a newspaper reporter in Australia and England. He has worked as a government press secretary, a public relations consultant and a freelance writer. He is also a major in the Australian Army, serving six months in Afghanistan in 2002. Presently, Tony divides his time between Australia and South Africa - writing his fiction while touring the African continent and non-fiction back in Australia.

In this interview, we ask Tony about that journey and get an insight into the life of a writer. It's fair to say we got more than we bargained for when Tony also opens up about his views on the Australian writing world and the government's "Productivity Commission" into the publishing industry which Tony believes is a threat to the creativity, livlihood and prosperity of Australian writers and publishers.

Anthony Santoro: How did you get started in writing?
Tony Park: I've always wanted to write. For me, the two biggest stumbling blocks were time and place. It was hard for me to sit down and write a full manuscript. I'm not self disciplined enough to write to a schedule - I needed a big block of time to devote to writing. And I needed a place, having somewhere, some location where I could be inspired but not distracted. So, in 1997, I quit full-time work to write a novel. As I had a good job so all my friends thought I was crazy. I took 6 months off to write. At the time, because my departure from my job was sudden, a lot of people thought I was fired! So to help me out, people got me work, offering me jobs and I soon started to get off the track of writing and into a freelance writing business. I got a lot of work, but my writing suffered.
     A few years earlier, in '95, my wife and I travelled to Africa and we got hooked. We decided to travel back there for a 9 month trip. In Africa, I found time, place and inspiration. I started writing my first book - Far Horizon, set on an overland safari trip. Which was exactly what we were doing at the time.
     As I had nothing else to do and as I had inspiration galore and no distractions, I could sit under a tent or a tree and write continuously.
I had read books on how to write novels and didn't find any useful at all. So I made up the story I was writing as I went along. I did this deliberately, setting the story wherever we were at the time. And it worked. In fact, that's how I've written each novel since.
You see, I had to restructure my life completely to get to a stage where I didn't have to work for long periods of time. Then I'd come home and do my freelance work to keep the money coming so I could go back to Africa and finish my book. I enjoyed doing that - to me it wasn't like work. I was travelling and writing.

A.S.: When was it that you discovered you had a talent for writing:
T.P.: You never know! I still don't know that I do. All I know is that I used to love writing. I don't think I was a good reporter. I wasn't aggressive enough. But I knew that I loved writing. I worked as a spectacularly unsuccessful bank teller, failed maths and science, so writing was the only thing I could do. I really enjoyed my job as a journo, but only from the writing point of view, so writing was all I knew I could do.

A.S.: After you wrote your first novel, how soon until you had it published?
T.P.: It was quite a delay. I submitted it in Early 2002, and I got lucky because right at that time, McMillan was looking for someone to write mass market fiction set in Africa. So I arrived at just the right time. I got an editorial report (from Macmillan) and had to change quite a lot around, including changing it from first person to 3rd person. It was quite a job, but they had enough faith in me to persist. At this stage, I didn't have an offer from them, only the report. So I made the changes and resubmitted it.
     Then, I got posted to Afghanistan with the army; that was when I got an offer. When the offer came through, it was in the middle of the night in Afghanistan; freezing cold. But I was over the moon! I had to wait another 2 years until it came out. Macmillan gave me a two book deal, too, so it's been very good. Now, my seventh book has been accepted which I'm doing the edits on at the minute and this will be out in August 2010.

A.S.: What do you think is the biggest hurdle for writers?
T.P.: Having the time. Time is the big one. And, place, of course. Other than that there is so much negativity and little support for writers. If you listen to anyone with an opinion on writing books, they all say, "You’ll never get published, don't bother". But, that's not necessarily 'bad advice' because it's kind of true. You should go into it knowing the odds are against you and you shouldn't go into it because you want to make money out of it. You should go into it because you love writing, that's why. My old boss said I was crazy, don't do it. He tried to change my mind. You either want to do it or you don't. But you have got to be grown up about it, realistic about what you're getting yourself into.

A.S.: So, what are the key ingredients?
T.P.: You gotta love it and you gotta be thick skinned. You can't be precious about your writing. It’s like playing sport: not everyone runs or joins the team because they think they're gonna be in the first grade. If you do it because it feels good, it's well rounded and makes you feel healthy then you're doing it for the right reasons. I'd be writing even if I wasn't published. I'd self publish. I always want to write, until I die. But, I must say that MacMillan have been incredibly supportive. They are genuinely interested in Australian writing. We are so lucky in Australia - we have publishing companies that are so supportive of local authors. You can be a good writer, but you have to have a strong local publishing field that are committed to local authors. It would be so hard without them. We're lucky in Australia because we have that.
I've had some success overseas, but it would've been impossible for me to get published if we didn't have this local support. Australian writers should know about the current "Productivity Commission" that's happening - I think it will ruin...no, it will gut the local publishing industry which currently allows Aussie writers to get a foot in the door.

A.S.: You're very passionate about this issue. Why?
T.P.: It's a big and complex issue. But writers need to know about this. This Commission is about Territorial Copyrights in Australian (The Commission is looking into the removal of Australian Territorial Copyrights which could threaten the viability of our local industry). The readers of The Writers Resource Centre - the upcoming authors - should be outraged by this. I recommend they go to www.ausbooks.com.au for more information. The Commission is looking to the remove of our trade restrictions that protect our book industry for local authors. But, this is not a 'free trade' argument. This is unfair trade.

A.S.: Why do you say that?
T.P.: Because the UK, US and Canada all have territorial copyrights and there is no suggestion that they're going to drop their restrictions. It's arbitrarily, by the stroke of a pen, removing the same rules they have overseas (where trade restrictions on Australian books apply). This is not a free trade issue - this is a very key point. I think aspiring writers need to know about this - they're the ones who stand to lose most.

A.S.: What are your current projects, what's next for you?
T.P.: I have finished the manuscript for my seventh novel, currently untitled. It's all set in Africa in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. While writing it, I got to go into the delta and got to stay at a few places. I wrote and researched on location. It was tremendous fun. I have just finished a biography called 'Part of the Pride - My Life Among Africa's Big Cats'. I co-write this with Kevin Richardson (South African 'Lion Whisperer' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puHeJWvf0gg). I've just finished another biography about an ex-Australian soldier who's working as an explosives sniffer dog handler in Afghanistan. A very interesting read - it's been interesting for me as I was posted over there with the army. In September, I'll be leaving for a six month trip to Africa to write my 8th novel. But, I really enjoy the non-fiction side to writing; I think writing biographies is probably the world's coolest day job!

A.S.: What books would you recommend for the writer?
T.P.: Go and buy a copy of 'On-Writing' by Stephen King. Read it 10 times!

A.S.: Who are your favourite fiction authors?
T.P.: There's a few. I love Nelson De Mille, Ken Follit, Bernard Cornwell, Peter Watt and David Rollins.

A.S.: And, finally, what advice do you have for the upcoming author?
T.P.: If you love it enough to ignore all of the people that say you haven't got a chance, then you might just make it.

If you want to find out more about this uniquely Australian writer, go to www.tonypark.net, or check out his blog at www.tonyparkblog.blogspot.com. His book, Ivory, is out now where all good books are sold.