Interview of Australian Author and Photographer Thomas Palfy

What makes you proud to be a writer from your country? I like to think of myself as an "outdoor type" even though I spend quite some time in front of the computer or reading books. I enjoy touring the National Parks of Australia, taking photographs and sharing my experiences with the readers. It is not pride that drives me but love of nature and the urge to communicate.

Who/what inspired you to write? Tours with Susan, my wife, were followed with documentation: photos and travel diaries. These diaries were sent to friends as letters. Eventually there was enough material for a book: that is how my first book, "Australian Adventures" was created. This was followed by the photo collection "Images of Australia". I haven't stopped writing since. When searching for material for my photo collection "Captured with the Camera", I came across a copy of an old email. It was written to me by the writer, Stephen Vizinczey. He suggested in it that I should become a travel writer. Since that email was buried under other documents and forgotten for years, I can only say that the inspiration must have been a subconscious one!

Why do you write the genres you write? By presenting photographs of the Australian countryside and describing the tours, I hope to inspire people to visit the places Susan and I have visited and to get to know and enjoy the scenery, the fauna and the flora.

What special projects are you working on? In 2006 my book about Western Australia was published (The West of the West). This was followed in 2007 with the "Hub of Australia and Beyond", illustrations and descriptions of tours to South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is 2008 now and I am working on a book about the Eastern states of Australia, again with many illustrations. This project should be completed well before the end of the year, so then I can start working on the book about Australia from East to West.

What current book(s) do you have? The West of the West; The Hub of Australia and Beyond; Captured with the Camera; Australian Adventures; Images of Australia and the autobiographical Challenge and Adversity.