Local Author Showcase - Meet the local authors! Allan Kashmer.

About the author

Allan Kashmer was born in Australia and  lived a number of years overseas, including in the former communist countries of  Poland and East Germany.  While studying at the University of New England in the 1970s, he majored in History and English literature. After university Allan was employed in a number of senior positions in NSW Government agencies, where he closely worked with several NSW Premiers' on policy matters. He also worked New South Wales Police-as the Manager at Surry Hills Local Area Command, and was in the Australian Army Reserve.
In the novel RED NORFOLK, a small group of communists seek to overthrow the democratically-elected government by a carefully-planned coup against the government. The group is aware of historical precedents, most notably the Russian revolution of 1917 which, far from being a mass uprising against the government, was actually a coup led by dedicated militants.

The novel proposes that the Australian government decides to abolish cash. This assists the revolutionaries in achieving their goals. Nilson publisher David Robertson has already concluded that “the technology now exists for a paperless (without cash) society”.


Five questions...
What is your favourite book and why?
 Doctor Zhivago is my favourite novel. It is a historical story that focused on the particularly violent episode of Russia and includes human passions and weaknesses. The book earned the Nobel Prize.  I found it to be a fascinating novel, as it is very character-centered but is absolutely not character-driven.

What book(s) are you currently reading? 
 The Dismissal by Paul Kelly and Catherine the Great and Potemkin by Simon Montefiore

What is one book you haven’t read but want to read before you die?  
Probably The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Everyone was reading it when I was at university which is why I did not read it then.

 What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book/s?
How hard it was to get published.
  
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
 Don't plan to make much money from your writing.

How can readers discover more about you and you work?
Goodreads