Interview With The Author

 

Was it always your dream to work in sales or did you stumble into the career?
Frederick: I am basically an artist and a writer, preferring to put into reality my thoughts and creations. But whenever I had to assist sales people with promotions, exhibitions and business meetings, I discovered that I was very successful when interacting with the people I came in contact with.

So, the company decided to make me a full-time salesman, thereby giving me a life of unending variety and enjoyment.

Whether dealing with customers or clients, all my contacts had different needs and expectations and it was interesting and wonderful to interact with them.

What made you decide to put all of your experiences down on paper?
Frederick: There are so many interesting people I have come into contact with, from all walks of life, from so many different backgrounds and there were so many incredible situations I had been in, most of them hilarious and some mellow.

But they were all so incredible, they cannot possibly be dreamed up and therefore I decided to write them down and share them with others.

Compared to working as a salesman, how did you find being an author?
Frederick: It is, in essence, the same activity, but re-lived in my mind: I store my catalogues and sample swatches into my representative’s station wagon, start the engine and am off on a week’s business trip. My recollections are many, the characters I've met are so unique, my encounters with animals and the beautiful Australian countryside - all this comes back to the presence as I write.

Naturally, I had to change the names of the towns and disguise the people I've visited as most of them are still working. But every now and then somebody may recognise an event and enjoy a carefree laughter.

There is a free seat for my reader in my car and I invite you to come with me to a memorable journey of life on the road.

What is your best memory from your time as a salesman? Who would you say is the most memorable person who you have come across?
Frederick: There are so many characters queuing up for re-collection. There is the dog breeder with his career in tatters because he had entered his show dog in a nation-wide competition. But since he had only one testicle - the dog, of course - he had his vet implant a silicon one, thereby expecting the top price for this magnificent specimen.

Unfortunately, the dog's second testicle dropped overnight and a scandal broke when the show's judges were confronted with a dog with three testicles……….

What is the overwhelming emotion that you feel when you look back on your time as a sales rep?
Frederick: Whilst I love writing in poetry and in prose, I feel nostalgia welling up inside me. Life on the road was not always easy but the memories are wonderful. Therefore, I need to convey my many funny situations to my readers. Only when they are being passed-on and enjoyed by others too, my precious emotions are being preserved.

Do you plan to write any more books?
Frederick: Yes, there is a second volume of my life on the road on its way to the printer and the clouds in my mind are firming more ideas to write about.

There are my written poems collecting in my computer’s digital file and my short stories on a variety of subjects are piling up to make a voluminous to me.