I was born in 1986 in England. After that things get a little fuzzy.
I went to a boarding school in suffolk. Because of my parent's background it was a military one yet despite the long hours marching, polishing and then studying it was a very enjoyable time.
After the first couple of years at school my parents moved to the Florida Keys, Key West in particular. It made it harder to go back to England when such a fantastic place was beckoning for my return. It was there that I discovered a passion for water sports. I loved snorkelling amongst the reefs and spotting the nautical inhabitants of this world. It was here I began to write, and play Rummy.
After three years of serving there my dad volunteered for a posting in Oman. Our move to the Middle East was just after the 11th of September, our last few weeks in the U.S. showed us the readiness for another attack. The news had been full of foreboding and warning. We were told that Oman, whereas safe, was still a place where caution was advised.
When we arrived in Oman we were greeted with nothing other than genuine friendliness and a curious obsession. Old men would stop and ask us if we were American, when we said we were British their smiles did not fade, in fact they would get more excited. Such was the openness of the people, and the expat community that we made strong friendships and forged unforgettable memories.
We only ever had one issue.
When driving through as small town in the Jebel Akhdar region a group of men, boys amongst them, began throwing anything they had to hand at our Landcruiser. Fortunately the missiles were nothing more than paper and we had received more viscous attacks when in our home country than this! As you can see our one issue was trivial and in no way marred our otherwise exceptional stay.
One of my favourite memories of that place will always be watching newly hatched sea turtles flapping from the beach to the waves having just emerged from the sand. I did my direct bit for turtle conservation when my brother spotted a fully grown mother's head jutting out from the sand. We dug desperately, knowing that when the tide returned she would drown. When we had cleared the sand we saw that she had one of her flippers pinned beneath her body, the reason why she hadn't dug herself out. We freed her flipper and dragged her to the edge of the bowl she now sat in. Still believing in survival of the fittest we then left her to make her own way down to the sea.
We debated the ethics of that event for days. Destiny would have you believe that it was her time to die. she had become trapped and, as with those filming nature at its most brutal, sometimes you have to know when not to interfere. Fate, however, would have us believe that we were meant to be there, directed by a larger force that knew we would rescue her. Our actions are irreversible but when confronted by an endangered species that millions is spent on saving sometimes it is the smallest acts that have the most direct impact.
Once our time in Oman, and my time at school was over I made the decision to go to university in Cheltenham, England. My parents decided to emigrate to New Zealand, clearly their feet were getting itchy.
My military background resurfaced in the first year of Uni when I decided to join my local Royal Marines Reserves detachment. I say local, it was in Bristol and that meant over two hours travelling each way. Needless to say the strain on my studies began to show and I decided to leave the reserves after only six months of training. I left with valuable experience in discipline and a further insight into the military.
I have no massive sob story. I have led a very fortunate life with many opportunities and excellent friends. I love my job and I am very lucky to be working for the company that I do. I am very lucky to have discovered writing at a very early age and it is this discipline that I know use daily to continue writing, and to focus on one story at a time.
Robin Hobb once wrote a small phrase in the front of my copy of 'Fools Errand' when signing it that reads 'persevere at the keyboard'. That is the only advice I would give to any aspiring writer reading this. Nothing can be read that is not yet written.
As always, stay safe and come back soon.
Jensen Carter
