Richard Weston Smith

Richard grew up in England. As a child, he was allowed great freedom, and generally had to create his own entertainment. Being a poster child for Attention Deficit Disorder, this was never diffic … “oh look, a badger!” He could bicycle anywhere he wished without a helmet, fall out of trees, set fire to stuff (occasionally himself), upset tadpoles, shoot things with an air rifle (occasionally himself), and frolic irresponsibly through fields and woods in a way that would now be thoroughly disapproved of and quite possibly illegal. He first got a taste for travel when he was sent to Australia at the age of 17 to survive working on a cattle station. Against all odds, he did, and by age 23 he had travelled through India, and, in 1982, settled in Johannesburg, where he married his wife, Kirsten. Working in corporate marketing allowed him to travel throughout Southern Africa. He moved in 1989to California, where he and Kirsten set up a marketing services company, Brainstorm Creative; their client list is a Who’s Who of the Fortune 500, including Virgin, Nike, Apple and BMW. Richard has been writing for years for his clients but has never been published before. He enjoys writing, humour, travel, brightly coloured socks, cooking Italian food, and making proper British marmalade. His work has enabled him to travel the world continuously and extensively, and he and Kirsten now live between Santa Barbara and England. They have three children and almost permanent jet lag.