| Geoff Pike | |
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| Born | 17 October 1929 Tottenham, Middlesex, England |
| Occupation | Novelist and Cartoonist |
| Nationality | Naturalised Australian |
| Period | 1974–present |
| Genres | Adventure novel, Historical novel |
| Notable work(s) | Red Lotus |
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www.paikitfai.com |
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Geoffrey Morgan Pike (who writes as Geoff Pike and Pai Kit Fai) is a British-born, naturalized Australian writer and cartoonist. He was born in in Tottenham Middlesex, England on 17 October 1929. His parents are Mildred (Mim) and Robert Pike. He has two siblings, Anthony J. Pike and Peter Robert Pike.
At age 14 he entered training on the Navy ship Indefatigable, and went to sea in 1945 aged 15. In 1949 he emigrated to Australia where he worked in the outback breaking horses, felling trees and sailing aboard deep-sea trawlers before he signed on as an artistic director on many popular cartoons such as Beetle Bailey and Krazy Kat with American Paramount Studios.
Pike worked with Bryce Courtenay at McCann Erickson advertising agency, most notably on the Mortein advertisement, "Louie the Fly". Bryce wrote the jingle and Geoff created the cartoon and animation. He also created the animation for the McWilliams Monk advertisement.
In 1977 Pike was diagnosed with throat cancer and learned the art of Chi Kung (also known as Quigong) and traditional Oriental medicine rather than surgery, beating cancer and becoming a master of Chi Kung and creating books and videos teaching others the philosophy and practice of aligning breath, physical activity and awareness for mental, spiritual and corporeal health.
In 1974 he published the first of many books, Henry Golightly, a story of the sea. Published by Angus and Robertson, it was the story of a Gweilo (caucasian foreigner) living in Macau and building a boat amongst the locals.
"Henry Golightly inherited his old man's rebel soul and roving Romany heart. This is the story of a youthful search for adventure and love among the post-war wreckage of 1945. The journey leads from the spring sunshine of an English river to the shock that was Hiroshima."1 (Alibris entry)
Now he writes under the name Pai Kit Fai which was given to him by his Chinese in-laws which loosely translated means 'White Person of Letters and Grand Ambition'. He has written two books under this nom de plume: The Concubine's Daughter and Red Lotus.
Fiction:
Non Fiction:
1995–2001:
Children’s books: 1960–1965
Animated film script :