Ideas come in all shapes and sizes, even in the longest form of all - a published manuscript. Mechanic founder Richard Loseby has enjoyed success with three best-selling titles, all of which were published around the world by major global booksellers Penguin Books and Harper Collins.
The incredible story of the search for one of Mao's lost children, set against the extraordinary backdrop of modern China. 'A son is very important in Chinese society,' he had said. 'To lose one is careless. The ancestors would be angry.' Intrigued by stories of a son given away by Mao and his then-wife during the Long March, and mystified by the ‘official' explanation of the boy's fate (Whereabouts unknown - No further information available), Richard Loseby sets out alone across China in search of answers. Tracing Mao's own revolutionary journey, the author encounters the extraordinary realities of a new revolution, one that is transforming an ancient culture into a modern economic powerhouse. At the heart of the journey is the hunt for an elusive truth about a brutal and traumatic time in the nation's still raw history. Who was that abandoned boy? Might he still be alive? Would he even want to be found? The result is an amazing traveller's tale – revealing, poignant, funny, sad and unexpected at every turn. A Boy of China takes the reader on an unforgettable journey that is at once intimate and epic.
https://www.harpercollins.com/9781775540885/a-boy-of-china-in-search-of-maos-lost-son/
This is the story of an astonishing adventure that began in the mind of an eight-year-old boy, obsessed with 'looking for the Afghan' and ended with a perilous dash to safety. Avoiding land mines and bullets, he spent months travelling through Iraq and Iran negotiating a way into Afghanistan. Joining forces with the war-weary Mujahedeen, he found unexpected allies and unforgettable friends.
https://www.harpercollins.com/9781775491293/blue-is-the-colour-of-heaven/
Against all the best advice from family and friends, writer Richard Loseby decides to return to Afghanistan at a time of turmoil in the Middle East to discover the fate of his friend Nebi, the young Hezbollah mujahed who had saved his life long ago. This is a story that comes along only once in a lifetime. It is about discovering what really matters in life. Told with insight and humour, and treading pathways few would dare to travel, Loseby takes us on a magical journey of the heart that grips the reader at every twist and turn. Part travelogue, part personal quest, and part mystery, Richard Loseby again reveals his brilliance as a writer, storyteller and photographer.
https://www.harpercollins.com/9781775491286/looking-for-the-afghan/