Ian Stout

A year later, I left for England and spent eighteen months hitch-hiking about the British Isles and Europe. I worked in scrap-yards, laundries, restaurants and department stores. I slept in train stations and post offices, on subway cars and once, in France on a rainy night, in a cemetery.

After Europe came marriage to the lovely Sharon, two children, several mortgages and a slight settling down. This would be my ‘responsible period’ when I was elected to city council, met Prime Ministers and Princesses, and started several small businesses, some successful, some not quite so.

I’ve visited over 40 different countries, walked the Great Wall of China, sat in Rome’s Coliseum and stood on the roof of Hitler’s Fuehrer-bunker in Berlin. I've seen the ruins of Machu Picchu, wondered why the Leaning Tower of Pisa doesn't fall over and looked in wonder at Napoleon's home on Elba. Man’s handiwork can impress me. Places like the Opera House in Sydney Australia, the Statue of Christ in Rio and the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan do that. Little did I know these trips and experiences were filling a great container within me, one I could draw from when I finally sat down at the keyboard to write.

My ideas come from within me. The characters I create have traits and manners akin to the hundreds I have met and connected with, be they a waiter in Montmartre or a cab driver in Mexico City. I simply reach into the container.

I’m writing full time now, for writing is not a hobby but an act of love, a passion, and a joy, and I’ll probably do it as long as I can.

		All About Ian Stout

Ian Stout - The Author

In front of the Great Wall of China		The question I encounter the most when discussing my books is ‘where do I get the ideas’ for the things I write. It’s quite simple. They come from a vast well of information and experiences I’ve stumbled through over the many years of my life. I was one of five children in a family that could only afford a tiny three bedroom home. With two older brothers, it was standard that the first one up in the morning was the best dressed. It usually wasn’t me. It wasn’t until years later I discovered we actually were poor but it didn’t matter. My mom and dad did a good job raising us and the tough times didn’t leave any scars
At eighteen, I learned to fly because I wanted to be an airline pilot. That didn’t work out because the world then was full of pilots from the Second World War.
Read More... A year later, I left for England and spent eighteen months hitch-hiking about the British Isles and Europe. I worked in scrap-yards, laundries, restaurants and department stores. I slept in train stations and post offices, on subway cars and once, in France on a rainy night, in a cemetery. After Europe came marriage to the lovely Sharon, two children, several mortgages and a slight settling down. This would be my ‘responsible period’ when I was elected to city council, met Prime Ministers and Princesses, and started several small businesses, some successful, some not quite so. I’ve visited over 40 different countries, walked the Great Wall of China, sat in Rome’s Coliseum and stood on the roof of Hitler’s Fuehrer-bunker in Berlin. I've seen the ruins of Machu Picchu, wondered why the Leaning Tower of Pisa doesn't fall over and looked in wonder at Napoleon's home on Elba. Man’s handiwork can impress me. Places like the Opera House in Sydney Australia, the Statue of Christ in Rio and the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan do that. Little did I know these trips and experiences were filling a great container within me, one I could draw from when I finally sat down at the keyboard to write. My ideas come from within me. The characters I create have traits and manners akin to the hundreds I have met and connected with, be they a waiter in Montmartre or a cab driver in Mexico City. I simply reach into the container. I’m writing full time now, for writing is not a hobby but an act of love, a passion, and a joy, and I’ll probably do it as long as I can. Close