Hi, I'm Mike Leaver... and welcome to my website.
Here you'll find lots of information about my lifestyle, book-writing, and how to interact (if you wish).
Who am I?
I'm a pensioner who lives off-grid with no modern conveniences in a self-converted, static truck in a small coastal town in North Wales. In just four years, I've written my two-part autobiography and first three saga novels – all on an old laptop largely by candlelight in my lorry!
A single, 71-year-old, vegetarian, I'm like Alan Bennett's London character The Lady in The Van – a well-known eccentric around my adopted home in Snowdonia, and throughout the UK, thanks to extensive media coverage – according to my publicist. I enjoy outdoor adventure, table tennis, and chess.
My Books
5-Star Review Of New Book!
Thanks ever so much to fellow author Andy Mullaney for enjoying my new book 'English, Solitaire, Cowboy, Cuckoo. . .' and giving it a 5-star review.
It means a great deal when anyone comments on my writing, but especially because Andy - an author, mentor, coach, public speaker, and cancer fighter from the West Midlands - is also an ambassador for our publisher Troubador Publishing / The Book Guild Ltd.
Andy says: “It’s one of a kind and that’s a fact. I guess it’s Mike's humility that draws me in, and the way that he tells his stories takes you with him to that point in time and that exact place.
Mike is one of the last great adventurers this country has produced – someone who takes on a challenge simply because it’s there, often without any plan, preparation, or thought for his own safety, recovery, or return. He embodies a certain eccentricity that is endearing and makes you want to cheer him on.
Mike has an encyclopedic recall of situations and encounters. The level of detail is incredible, and the vivid pictures he paints with his words are utterly absorbing.”
Full review on my Books page. . .
Interview Video Exclusive!
My latest book 'English, Solitaire, Cowboy, Cuckoo. . .' has just arrived from my publisher.
I share some of its bizarre highlights in this exclusive 10-minute video interview with my publicist Ian Spindley...
INTERVIEW ABOUT NEW 'CUCKOO' BOOK! (Link to YouTube)
It is available to buy or pre-order from the stockists listed on my Contact/Order page, ahead of its official UK-wide release on 28 August.
Latest News
'English, Solitaire, Cowboy, Cuckoo... Real Life Tales Of Travel Troubles And Madcap Misadventures', is my latest book, available now! Specifically chronicling my bizarre journeys and death-defying solo-mountaineering escapades at home and abroad, it is a companion volume to my general-lifestory 'Yeti Seeks Mate: In Pursuit Of Dreams.' To read more about it see my Books Page, and to order now from my publisher, visit their website shop: https://www.bookguild.co.uk/bookshop/english-solitaire-cowboy-cuckoo/