Book update

It’s been a few months since I announced that I’m working on a book about my time in Indonesia which I’m titling Flying from Shangri-La – What it was really like in the Worst Place to be a Pilot. Having turned down a couple of publishers, I am now going down the self publishing route. Some might say I’m crazy to turn down publishers but I didn’t want to lose control over how the book looks or reads. I also like learning new things, so I figured publishing a book can’t be that hard, right? It’s been quite the journey so far, but the end is in sight! Here’s a little extract to whet your appetite:

Almost exactly three years since leaving the UK, I was about to fulfil a dream of flying one of the world’s best bush planes in the most extreme and challenging environments this planet can offer. Papua was where all the best flying happened and the most crazy stories were told. The last three years had been a warm up, and I was just getting started.

Extract from Flying from Shangri-La by Matt Dearden

I commissioned a professional editor a few months ago and have gone through all the edits, corrections and suggestions they made to the manuscript. I’ve also gone through all the thousands of photos and videos I took during my seven years in Indonesia and have the book in the pre-type set stage. This is the final stage before it’s sent for printing. Of course if I only released it as an eBook/on Kindle, I could skip this step. However, seeing as I’ve had a lot of requests for a proper hardback, I’m happy to continue working to ensure it’ll be professionally published for you all. I’ve also commissioned a book cover designer who I met over twelve years ago whilst in Indonesia and whose artwork of a Pilatus Porter I have hanging in my house. It feels right to have a more personal artist designing the cover and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

Currently, I have a small team of proofreaders giving the book a final read through to catch any grammatical, spelling or typos that got missed during the edit. Once this has been completed and a type setter commissioned, I should have a release date. I’m anticipating it to be in time for this summer, so hopefully not too long to wait now!

Meanwhile, here’s a few early comments I’ve had from those who’ve read the book:

Loving the book, it’s so good! You’ve got a really good voice and keep it light hearted, funny and very readable.

Hazel, Spain

It’s excellent! You are definitely an author as it’s so well written and a fascinating story not just about challenging aviation but also about life. The number of times you made me laugh or bring a tear to my eyes.

Gareth, UK

It’s wonderfully honest, which is a rarity – your openness about the mistakes/learning experiences you’ve made/had in the aircraft is refreshing, and I think allows the reader to have confidence in your sincerity. 

Charlie, UAE

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