This is the web site of Rob Beattie, computer journalist, entertainment writer and author of books about camping, fishing and boating. I’ve written 11 books on subjects as varied as Windows Vista and Office 2007 to fishing, family camping, boating for beginners, traditional D-I-Y, home science, making movies and Ray Mears-style outdoors survival; I’ve also written thousands of articles for magazines and newspapers on home computing, music, film and general entertainment.

Meantime, let me commend my three latest ventures - The Boating Handbook, The Office 2007 Handbook and 101 Golden Rules of Fishing. The first is for anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to muck about in a boat whether it's on a canal, a lake or even the open sea. It tells you about the different kinds of boat, where you can buy them and what to look for. It explains how to stay safe on the water and what to do in an emergency - and there's plenty of fun too, including ideas for things to do on board, how to run a galley kitchen, cooking delicious meals on a tiny stove, getting along with your crew mates or how to sail solo. Dinghy Magazine called it "...a perfect training tool for you to look through before you even get in a boat." The second is an easy-to-follow workshop-based book that walks you through all of the major programs in Microsoft Office 2007, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook and explains how to get the best out of them. The third has been praised by Go Fishing's John Wilson and Waterlog magazine said: "This great little book will appeal to most anglers."

If you'd like to know more about anything I've written - or would like me to write something for you - get in touch using the e-mail link at the bottom or by filling in the form on the Contacts page.