📚 A Bookish Chat with 'Even Higher Than Everest' George Almond | Author Interview | #AuthorInterview #HistoricalFiction #AdventureFiction #BiographicalFiction

Today we welcome George Almond to The Writer's Life e-Magazine! George is the author of the historical fiction/biographical fiction/adventure fiction, Even Higher Than Everest. This interview is part of his Blog Tour by Pump Up Your Book. Enjoy!

George Almond, the grandson of a Wyoming horse rancher, enjoys revisiting great adventures. Born in London and educated in France and Oxford University he has ridden horseback 1500 miles across Europe, worked for Calgary Stampede's Champion Chuck Wagon driver, sailed two oceans with the world's most experienced square-rig sea captain, taken the Flying Scotsman steam train from Boston to Houston where he was hired by Neiman Marcus. These days Almond makes his home in Europe, working on other books, including one about Jack Rackham and his two lady pirates who formerly sailed the Caribbean, preying upon merchant vessels.

Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process. How did you come up with the idea to write your book?

I once met Norgay Tenzing, first man to successfully climb Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953. Their epic achievement was greatly assisted by aerial photographs taken by pilots in 1933 who flew over the Himalayan peaks. Being a private pilot myself, the story of that enterprise struck me as a compelling story and so it began….

Can you give us a short excerpt?

When the originators create a plan….

‘Then,’ said Etherton. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t understand.’

‘It’s quite simple,’ replied Blacker. ‘It’s thirty years since the Wright brothers began it all, but only now has aviation evolved to the point when we can actually fly over Everest.’

Etherton’s gaze wandered from the distant mountains down to the folds of shaded ridges and valleys below. From Tiger Hill to Everest seemed to be a very tall order. ‘That means you’re going to fly there.’

Blacker nodded. ‘I’m told the new Pegasus 650 horse-power engine from Bristol Aviation can be fitted to a Westland biplane. This suggests that flight at 35,000 feet is attainable. Assuming tests are successful, I shall mount an expedition. Flying as observer, my photographic survey can only add to my grandfather’s legacy.’

Thousands of square miles of uninhabited territory lay before Etherton who preferred to keep good friends alive. ‘Assuming you survive a flight with a single engine over all that wild terrain.’

‘I keep ticking till they call my number.’ Blacker made a dismissive snort. ‘Well, now you’ve seen the target, Percy. I’d be very honoured if you will join me in the enterprise.’

Etherton had one immediate concern. ‘You will remember, I’m no aviator. I much prefer keeping my feet on terra firma.’

‘Oh that’s fully understood,’ said Blacker. ‘I’m not expecting you to go aloft, Percy. But a major undertaking calls for someone with your diplomatic and leadership skills to put it all together, on the ground.’

The enormity of the challenge held an undeniable, almost irresistible, appeal for Etherton who was himself a keen adventurer. Nor could he think of any plausible reason to reject such a unique offer from his old friend.

‘My thanks for the compliment,’ he said. ‘Let’s say that I remain interested, but only if we both agree that such a flight is feasible.’

Blacker’s right hand forward out to seal the agreement. His smile was as bright as the tiny reflection of the Himalayas that blazed across his monocle. ‘Yes, Percy, it’s all quite feasible. Just a few bits and pieces to resolve, then as easy as flying circuits around Bristol aerodrome.’

‘Or as tying knots in a tiger’s tail.’ Etherton’s ironic remark went unanswered. He continued staring at the mountain where the finger of banner cloud beckoned enticingly. ‘So then, where and when do we begin?’

‘We go back to our ponies, back round Agony Point, back to Calcutta, onto a ship and back to London. And there,’ said Colonel Blacker with his darkest grin, ‘if we’re lucky. Percy, we should find most of the answers.’

What part of the book was the most fun to write?

Most all of it was fun because it's about an epic moment in human and especially aviation's history. When Air Commodore Fellowes (great uncle to Downton Abbey's creator) gets lost over Kanchenchunga and then crash lands twice on his return to India. That was fun writing…

What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

The greatest percentage of the story is true. Diplomatic and financial shenanigans. Conflict with wild animals. Challenging flight in open-cockpit biplanes at 35,000 feet. Huge wealth on luxury steam yachts etc. All that and more is a true reflection of life for those in the 1930's who managed to survive the Great Depression.

What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

Three very diverse projects, which are self-commissioned and may also be self-published. (Good for Jeff again!)

I've recently finished an auto-biographical memoir, something my grandchildren may want to read in the future - how I followed my grandfather's interest in Wyoming horse ranching to my 1500 mile horseback trek across Spain and France. Then a long voyage from UK to Hawaii and the South Pacific. Plus a job for the Queen and a failed raid on the Tower of London! Literary agents, however, tell me if I was a footballer they might be more interested….

I've also enjoyed writing RACKHAM, a novel, set in the Caribbean, about piracy in 1700 and then again in modern times. Rackham had two ladies on his crew who were strong and lusty individuals. Ruthless editing gets easier with experience and this manuscript is ready to go right now.

I've also finished the first draft on a sci-fi novel in which today's Earth is subject to an audit from visitors from deep space. Highly topical and relevant, but what can this crew of female auditors achieve? Manuscript ready in 2025.

Finally, is there a message you’re trying to get across with your book?

I'm neither preacher nor teacher, but I believe the Everest flight was successful because the key individuals all joined together in pursuit of a common goal. The predominant self interest in today's world requires much greater cohesion from everyone.

EVEN HIGHER THAN EVEREST is a vastly entertaining, fact-based, yet dramatized story of a London cockney heiress who, in the 1930s, sent a small fleet of double winger biplanes on a daring and remarkably dangerous mission to fly over Mt. Everest and film the world’s highest and most famous mountain peak.

Author George Almond met the Himalayan heroes (Sherpa Tenzing and Lord Hunt), who explained how the first aerial photographs, taken in 1933, assisted their heroic ascent of Everest in 1953. Captivated by this dazzling and little known tale, the book - Even Higher than Everest - is a dramatized recount of the tenacity of the heiress Lucy Houston and her team of prestigious aviators whose five aircraft flew to the world's highest mountains. A short 1930s film from footage of Houston’s flight, titled Wings Over Everest, won an Oscar in 1936 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_Over_Everest

Commenting on his work, author George Almond says: “Inspired by true events of that first flight over Everest, the novel Even Higher Than Everest follows skilled personnel in finance, diplomacy, media, filming, engineering and aviation, all aiming for a shared objective. How these characters blended successfully, overcoming constant setbacks and challenges, was in itself a major accomplishment. I have followed the truth, tweaking just a few elements, in recounting the event.”

PRAISE:

“Yay, George Almond! You DID it! You delivered a fine story- -and a fun story- -with your Higher Than Everest dramatization. I loved many aspects about this book. You had me on the edge of my seat with the actual flights over the Himalayas. I could SEE the mountains in my mind's eye and could feel the tension and the dangers they faced.” - Amazon (Marla Bray)

Even Higher Than Everest is available at Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Even-Higher-Than-Everest-Dramatised/dp/1782226249.