Writers & Jounalists

Ted Botha is a writer, coffee drinker, and traveler. He has written for publications in the United States, England, and South Africa and is the co-creator of the travel site A World Different. His books includeMongo, Adventures in Trash as well as Apartheid in my Rucksack and (with Jenni Baxter) The Expat Confessions.

His nonfiction thriller, The Girl with the Crooked Nose, is a bizarre tale about a forensic sculptor in Philadelphia and the 40 murders and 7 fugitives he helped to investigate. It is newly out in paperback.

His novel, The Animal Lover, is a romance, comedy, and adventure set in two Africas, today and on the eve of World War 2. The conclusion will blow you away.

tedbotha.com

Michelle Balmer is a freelance writer specialising in travel features. Her wanderlust began soon after she left her native Australia to immerse herself in multicultural Singapore. During the eight years she was based in Singapore she travelled extensively before moving to Dubai in 2004. There, she earned a reputation as a regional destination expert while researching and reporting on Dubai’s transformation and off-roading the coasts, mountains and deserts of Oman.

Michelle relocated to Kuala Lumpur in 2008, where she lived until mid 2010. Then, after dreaming up the “ultimate marine adventure”, she and her husband bought a sailboat and spent six months sailing in the Mediterranean from France to Turkey.

In December 2010, Michelle and her husband moved to Hong Kong where she continues to seek out new and exciting destinations in Asia and around the globe. She is inspired by travel that propels her into the natural world and connects with people from diverse cultures.

Her work has appeared in numerous publications in Asia, Europe and the Middle East including Abroad, Asian Geographic, Khaleej Times, Millionaire Asia and the in-flight magazines of Malaysia Airlines (Going Places), Singapore Airlines (SilverKris), Aer Lingus (Cara) and Oman Air (Wings of Oman). Australian publications include Traveller (The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age). She has been selected as a Dubai travel expert for the American interactive travel website Tripsketch.com and recently updated the Thomas Cook Dubai and Kuala Lumpur CitySpot guides.

Michelle also produces general non-fiction articles. Recent commissions include Cycling Mobility and Vitamin Publishing in Dubai.

Tripbase.com named Michelle one of their 100 favourite travel writers in the world.

michellebalmer.com

Fiona is an author and journalist who has written for many UK publications including The Observer, The Guardian, Marie Claire, Red, New Woman, Top Sante and Elle. For several years she has written a popular weekly column chronicling her family life in The Sunday Herald newspaper.

Fiona lives in Scotland with her husband, their twin sons and daughter. She likes to draw, run 10k races, play her saxophone and lie in the bath with a big glass of wine, although not all at once.

fionagibson.com

Authors Ted Botha and Jenni Baxter contacted hundreds of South Africans far and wide – from Taiwan to Hawaii, Sydney to Sudan, Christchurch to Canada, London to L.A. – and got their take on living abroad and leaving their beloved South Africa behind. Their stories are surprising, funny, tragic, heartfelt, frustrating, racist and sometimes even quite sad. They are The Expat Confessions.

expatconfessions.com