Welcome to Beat Zen and the Art of Dave, where we need your help to see how far a travel book can travel. We're raising funds to print and publish Beat Zen and the Art of Dave, a playful and referentially titled followup to my first travel memoir, Loves, Kerbsides & Goodbyes. As the title suggests, Beat Zen and the Art of Dave is a distinctly ruminative and personal account which comes from living the life of a vagabond and free spirit. And my new book expands on my unique and privileged insight into the world of independent travelling, where I'm continually discovering new places and cultures, and meeting new people.

Travel can be as hard to define as Zen itself. For some of us travel is a vice for anonymity and escape to punctuate breakups, career changes, midlife crises and semi-retirement. For others, overland journeys reveal deeper impulses of personal transformation - to find answers to happiness and harmony and bear light on the ultimate mystery and sufference of it all. But in the bleachers of honeymooners, holidaymakers, iBackpackers, veteran wayfarers and Beat Zen vagabonds capturing this movement is difficult.

In spite of, or more accurately because of such impediments, the genesis for Beat Zen and the Art of Dave found its own traction. The timing was right. I was standing on a figurative and literal border in my life - symmetrically placed to see equally where I'd come from, where I was and where I was heading. There was a physical lyricism to match where I was in life. After five months travelling down the grand isthmus of Central America I was in Leticia in the southwest corner of Colombia. Nestled on the tri-border of Peru and Brazil, I was well beyond the end of the road (and right where I wanted to be) since Leticia is only accessible by boat or plane. There I stood on the Rubicon's edge of my journey. It took the form of the Rio Amazonas flowing like a giant causeway into Brazil and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Fresh from an ayahuasca ceremony with Jimmy, the local Medicine Man, I glimpsed an arcane conflation of things that seem to visit me on every overland adventure I undertake - usually involving my staring down at my feet or gazing across a vista, marvelling at how I got there. I had every intention of jumping on a boat and heading downstream for 8-10 days to Manaus then onto Belem on the coast. But for the first time ever on a trip I decided to curb my insatiable onward desire. I was mindful about returning to Australia to help promote my first published book and wanted to return with some cash still in my pockets.

After the release of my first book I realised I wanted to reflect on my own longstanding attraction to an erratic, meandering lifestyle, for which I’ve observed over time more and more people of every age identify with like it is a self-contained religion. While spirituality and travel is a marriage as old as earthly beyuls and pilgrimages, I believe it is no less relevant today. I wanted to embrace the previous generation of iconic travel writers, such as Kerouac and Steinbeck who sought answers on the open road at a time when Eastern philosophy in the West was new and exciting. And I wanted to make this connection relevant in our present climate of heightened spiritual curiosity. I also wanted to compare the attitudes of the aging Lonely Planet generation to the new iBackpackers, to expose the conundrum of travellers seeking enlightenment in the less familiar when mobile technology keeps us tethered to all that we left behind.

The result is Beat Zen and the Art of Dave, which intertwines humorous anecdotes and travel lore with backpacking philosophy and Eastern spirituality. I also offer an allegoric window to personal introspection by selecting arresting and entertaining stories from my lifelong odyssey. I expound on the delusions, desires and detachments (however misguided or allied they might be) which impel backpackers away from what's familiar. I entertain the serendipitous phenomena which appear to gravitate and orbit more closely around the lives of those on the open road. I ruminate on my own journey - the rewards of self-exploration and discovery often ignored in everyday life, as well as the sacrifices which came along for the ride. And I contemplate my ageing stature in the ever youthful fraternity of overland travellers as a way of dispelling myth and glamour which embalm the backpacking lifestyle.

At its essence Beat Zen and the Art of Dave is a wending meditation on the modern vagrant and wayfaring lifestyle. To be released in December, your support comes with great giveaways that would make a fantastic Xmas present to acquaint tyro travellers with life on the open road and accompany wanderlust struck mates on their next adventure abroad. It will also appeal to those invested in modern spirituality and personal development, along with individuals who always wanted to feel the weight of a backpack but obligations got in the way.

About Author

The experience of having written a book and had it published in hard copy and various eBook formats has equipped me with the necessary appreciation and knowledge of the processes involved in releasing and distributing a book. A close affiliation with the local publisher has also revealed the pragmatic costs and realistic budget of printing, publishing, distributing and marketing a book. With this in mind, funds raised by this campaign will adhere to the following breakdown:

-> Design/Layout: $1260
-> Printing (nominal print run of 1000 copies): $5400
-> Marketing/Distribution: $1800 
-> Pozible fee $940

There are a lot of hidden costs in book publishing which we will happily absorb, especially in regards to the postage and deliver of campaign perks direct to your door anywhere in the world. With your amazing support if we do exceed the target, after all remaining costs are met additional funds will be donated to the Cambodian Children's Fund.

As with most creative writing ventures the hardest part is sitting and writing it all down. Two and a half years (a bit later than expected) and 110,000 words later this has been accomplished. Prior to launch Beat Zen and the Art of Dave went through its final proof stage, and now with your help is barking to travel.

Being heavily involved in the successful release of my first book, many of the hidden challenges related to book publishing and distribution are now familiar to me. This fills me with absolute confidence Beat Zen and the Art of Dave will be available by the middle of December to be put under Christmas trees and used as stocking fillers.

I am also intimately aware of the rigours and challenges of self promotion since I managed social media platforms and online content to enhance the publicity surrounding the launch of Loves, Kerbsides and Goodbyes. The challenge of PR campaigning is finding hours in the day when without assistance you're already doing two other full-time roles. Luckily, I'm blessed with a great support network of family and friends, both locally and abroad, along with useful media contacts from my strong background in media production and freelance journalism. With your your generous support I have no doubt Beat Zen and the Art of Dave is a travel book that can travel far.