Some people find themselves by sitting still. Ren found himself by leaving.
In 1987, I travelled east for the first time, towards Asia. Inspired during frequent eight-hour bus rides, I wrote a series of travel stories and upon my return, I introduced them to a writing group in North London, known as much for its consumption of wine as of words. The travelling then inspired more travelling, more stories, and some Tai Chi with a sword.
Since returning to writing thirty years later, some of these stories have been published in acclaimed literary magazines such as Five on the Fifth and the University of Chicago affiliated Euphony Journal.
My fictional memoir Rubies and Rucksacks focuses on Southeast Asia and comprises interconnected tales which can be read individually, or as an end-to-end narrative—now available in DC’s local bookstore Politics and Prose, or worldwide as an eBook.
100% of the author profits from the sale of this book and its individual stories go to charitable causes.
A companion website to Rubies and Rucksacks is accessible here.
Mel Christie
July 28, 2026
Copyright © 2026. All rights reserved.
All photos, unless otherwise stated, were taken by me.
All book related content was inspired by real events and people, in that all were real, but some were more real than others. Names and characteristics have been changed to preserve privacy, experiences have been compressed, some have been rearranged, and some have been somewhat tweaked. Any further resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.