Name Greg Hamerton Role Novelist | Books The Riddler's Gift | |
XPYRIENCE: A paragliding adventure in the Pyrenees
Greg Hamerton (born in Cape Town in 1973) is a South African fantasy novelist and extreme sports writer.
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Biography
He was educated at Waldorf school (based on the Rudolf Steiner system). He matriculated from South African College Schools (SACS) in 1991 and completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Cape Town in 1994. He qualified as a paragliding instructor and managed an active paragliding school in Cape Town. He worked in the film industry, and as a paragliding instructor in the UK. Upon returning to South Africa he began to write sports articles for various magazines, mostly to the international free-flying magazine Cross Country. He also worked at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (2008–2010).
His first novel Beyond The Invisible was published in 1998 by Eternity Press. This was followed by a non-fiction guidebook for Paragliding in South Africa (1999), The Fresh Air Site Guide. His epic fantasy series, The Tale of the Lifesong, began with The Riddler's Gift (published 2007) and continues with Second Sight (published 2010).
Writing influences
He mentions that his writing comes to him visually, and on his website he lists The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings as having been particularly memorable films (see profile). His work shows elements of magical realism and has a vivid visual style. Although taking some inspiration from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, he writes with a more contemporary approach similar to Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind. In an interview he referred to Stephen Donaldson and Robin Hobb as having influenced his work, as well as the satirical Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett.
In an interview (Something Wicked Magazine, Winter 2007) he commented on his motivation to write: "For me it's a very personal joy. I really enjoy being in the mental state one reaches when writing creatively. It's a kind of meditation, and one I find invigorating. It feels that I'm wiser when writing than in the normal everyday world."
Paragliding
He began flying in 1992, and took part in world record attempts in 1994 and 2007 in the X-SA Challenge. He flew in the Paragliding World Cup circuit in 1997. His passion for open-distance cross country flying has taken him to many countries around the world and seen him set site records in South Africa. His experience in exploration and bivouac flying led to the filming of Fresh Air Riders (2000), a collaboration with South African Hang-gliding Champion Johan Anderson, directed by extreme sports documentary film-maker Nic Good of the Fresh Air Crew. This was followed by his directorial debut The Journey produced by Eternity Press in 2008.