LES THOMPSON

I'm just a journo...born and bred in Sydney, Australia, with a passion for exploring, researching and reporting.

My 35 years in mainstream media - Radio, Television and Print - in Australia and New Zealand gained me 10 Australian and International awards. I've hosted radio and television shows, held broadcasting positions as a Special A grade journalist, News Director, Programmer and Investigative Journalist. My high profile news investigations also brought me several death threats. Then I transitioned into another passion - Travel!

For 14 years I escorted groups around Central & Western Europe. Now I'm writing books about my wanderings.

The story behind the books

A personal account of living under a totalitarian regime and her daring escape, FINDING MY WAY OUT.

JAY THOMPSON was a marked woman. As a university student in Communist Czechoslovakia, like many others, she had tried to escape after the Russians sent in forces to invade her homeland in 1968. Border guards sent her back to be interrogated for the next three months. There was no equality under the Communist regime; they favoured only Communist Party members and they took their orders from one man, the Soviet President. A lot happened to convince her that there could be no future for her or her children as individual freedom was quashed and as one powerful figure decreed that citizens follow his totalitarian rule or face the consequences. This story is timely. As the world lurched towards the far-right and democracy faced savage attack, Jay Thompson decided to tell her story of living under Communism. It was after her estranged, Czech husband revealed to her his plan to ‘see the world’ that she knew if he did, she would be trapped. In a daring move to start a new life in a democratic country, she risked certain imprisonment by escaping to the West with her children. Fear of capture by the Secret Police travelled with her every step of the way out.

An Educational Children’s Tale DUSTY, THE BEAR WHO COULD TALK, Dusty is much more than a teddy bear. He can talk. In this story, he has a lot to say about brown bears and how they live in the scenic forests of the Slovak Mountains. His new friend, Joe, a 7-year-old boy from a local village, is listening.

True story of an Australian gun shearer. What is a 'gun shearer'? In the Australian wool industry, it's the shearer who can shear the most sheep in a single day. A greatly respected 'gun shearer', LYLE THOMPSON, reveals just what it took to achieve that status on several sheep properties in different parts of Australia over several decades from the 1950s to the 1990s. This book details the challenges, the controversies, the shed conditions and the camaraderie of mates doing it tough in remote properties. There are good times and hilarious antics along with deep sadness mixed with admiration for the Outback life. A laconic, true narrative detailing the contribution to the national economy made by the men and women of the Australian wool industry. This is a gun shearer's story, as told to his journalist brother, Les Thompson.

True Child Sexual Abuse Story: NOBODY BELIEVED ME is probably the most important book that I’ve written. I was asked to write the story of American childhood abuse victim, Paulette Conti. In detailing and researching her story of survival after her ghastly ordeal at the notorious Florida hospital Chattahoochie, I realised that she was determined to let other abuse victims know that they can overcome their feeling of hopelessness. She knew exactly how terrible abuse can affect people for a lifetime. Her meeting with an Italian-American, Tony Conti, and their wonderful marriage brings her story back into the light from a very dark place. Still, for a long time family and friends had found it too hard to accept that an innocent 12-year-old girl could be treated so badly. With her full story out there, they could no longer ignore the truth.

Male Sex survival guide: AUSSIE JACK is a story straight out of the Australian Bush, where people ‘call a spade a spade’ and drop expletives all over the place in telling their tales. This book emerged from a real conversation over dinner and a few beers with a truckie in a country town called Nyngan. Yes it’s Aussie humour, but Jack being Jack, the language is explicit! The love story that follows his ‘social experiment’ is a fictional account of how Jack had to deal with the aftermath. As a graduate of the self-styled ‘University of the Curious Mind’, Jack has a lot of explaining to do if he wants to win back Trish Nolan’s heart.

A Cyber Crime Mystery: THE CYBER SINGERS is a mystery novel that moves from the quiet country town of Cowra through the North Californian wine fields down to Santa Clara where the sweet Sally Walker attends a Karaoke Party and then vanishes. It will take a lot of clever police work to solve this case, because there’s a bundle of suspects. Maybe you will work it out ahead of the brash Californian Detective-Inspector and the country cop from Australia.

Czech Travel: THE HAPPY WANDERER Book 1 – The Czech Republic is a book of comprehensive travel impressions. Les Thompson is a former investigative journalist who had spent 35 years in mainstream media before his wife, Jay, talked him into joining her tour company to delve into destinations across Europe. He digs deeply. For 14 years Les took a close look at travel destinations and at the written and oral history of various countries, drew his own conclusions, checked his findings against several credible historical references and with a happy wanderer’s sense of humour he is creating a series of informative and entertaining travel books from his journal of fascinating experiences.

A Story Of Success: THE PETCARE MEN is an inspirational blueprint for starting an innovative business venture with strong determination and minimum marketing. It’s a booklet that explains how two men achieved success by careful research into what the industry needed and what their customers wanted.

Inside The Media: HELLO EGO you could say was 35 years in the making; that’s the number of years that I spent in mainstream media – radio, television and print- and I chronicled it all from 1965 through to 2000 when I transitioned into travel. It was an exciting, rewarding and, at times, dangerous broadcasting career. I worked with some wonderful, talented people and with some rogues and rascals.

Communicating Successfully: Media & Communication Skills Made Easy is a ‘how to’ book that I was asked to write after my media memoirs had sold well on three continents back in 2009. I had made many speeches to different groups as part of my job to promote my radio work. In addition, I was hired to host international dinners and to introduce special guests for the Australia America Association in Sydney and I conducted media training sessions for indiviuals, the NSW Education Department, Corporations and Football Clubs. You learn a lot by experience. Interviewing and investigative journalism were important subjects and I had to keep pace with technology so I added chapters on writing blogs, recording podcasts and when Donald Trump made ‘Fake News’ such a buzz term I had to explain just how how long ‘fake news’ has been around. While supporting dedicated journalists just doing their job, I provided examples of political bias on the part of media owners and their managers. The email feedback from readers has been very pleasing.