Award-winning journalist, editor, runner, folk singer, traveller and now author – is there anything Scott Neil can't do? With the publication of his first book, 'Eating Clouds', the answer seems to be no. Mr. Neil is a valued colleague at The Royal Gazette, so you'd expect me to be positive about the publication of this work, but I can say with honesty how much I enjoyed reading it.

What we have here is a collection of 'life stories and journalism', i.e. published articles (references of when and where originally published are listed at the front of the book), the odd poem, some reflections on life in Bermuda, a short screenplay, a 'travelogue of sorts' based on the author's first year in Bermuda, interviews with and articles about interesting men and women, and a short novel, 'Dolphin Girl' – a potpourri of varied material that can be read in any order.

The first question is why 'Eating Clouds'? I assumed it was Mr. Neil's secret to remaining rail thin, but I was wrong. That may be a product of his regular running programme. The title of the book has to do with the author's propensity to read books on aeroplane flights and look out of the window at passing clouds.

Mr. Neil has lived, worked or studied in Bermuda, the UK, Australia, the US and Russia. He therefore brings to his work an international perspective often missing from the efforts of those whose lives have unfolded in a single environment. Mr. Neil's wide-ranging background informs 'Eating Clouds', which contains glimpses of life in those countries, and others.

Topics and interviewees include John Lennon and his time in Bermuda; Robert Kennedy, Jr.; Dr. Ewart Brown (from April, 2006, half a year before he became the Island's Premier); Sangita Iyer, formerly of Bermuda Broadcasting, and her passion for the environment; and people from as far afield as Los Angeles and Moscow.

Mr. Neil has an easy and readable style that makes leafing through this book a pleasure. Having lost the ability to appreciate fiction, I have not read 'Dolphin Girl', the novel that fills the last two-fifths of 'Eating Clouds'. I cannot therefore tell you about it, but then again nor can I spoil it for you.

An example of the author's often arresting style, from the opening paragraph of 'Fire-walking with Tony Robbins': "I stood barefoot in front of a 10-foot carpet of hot charcoal embers that crackled away. It was night and nearby steel drums beat to a pulsating rhythm. In the next few seconds I was expected to stomp across the embers. This was crazy. Runners don't put their precious feet on the line for a deliberate roasting. Then again if I prove to myself that fire-walking was not such a fearful impossibility, then what else in life previously considered impossible or to be avoided would now be seen in a new light?"

To find out whether Mr. Neil subjected his precious feet to the red-hot embers, you'll have to buy the book. It's available at The BookStore on Queen Street, filed, I would imagine, under Bermudiana.

Further details: www.eatingclouds.com