The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
TALKING TO A FUGITIVE
better connected with publishers and agents, and more than a decade on, Eglinton has written or co-written more than 20 books.
While people have pushed ideas his way, he has also learned to approach people with no fear of rejection. It’s into this spirit of “nothing ventured, nothing gained” that his interviews with McAfee came to pass.
“McAfee was somebody who’d always interested me,” explains Eglinton. “He was an interesting man. Born in the UK, he moved to the US when young. For the first half of his life he was known as the guy who put that logo on computer screens – McAfee antivirus.
“But that was only a miniscule element of that guy’s life. Really from the moment he left that company around 1994-95, he lived the kind of life that really defies description in terms of being completely itinerant in terms of doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Obviously it helped to have a lot of money, which he did have on flotation of the company.
“But John was just one of these complete and total mavericks. He was extremely charismatic. He was extremely wise and very funny. I followed the latter years of his life when he ended up down in Belize in 20082012 and had got into a lot of trouble down there. He’d flown Belize, gone back to the US and gone on the run on a yacht. It all sounded very glamorous. But it was anything but glamorous.”
Eglinton thought McAfee’s backstory was “just incredible” and couldn’t believe he’d never written his autobiography. It begged the question, however: why hadn’t he?
“I literally just direct messaged him on Twitter and said ‘you’ve got to write a book’,” says Eglinton.
“He replied straight away and said ‘will it cost me anything?’ I said ‘well no, it won’t from me. All I need from you is, given I don’t know where you are, you are on the run in hiding, I need you to appear on Skype, face to face, and we need to have a conversation’.
“He was a bit suspicious, which I totally understand – he had good reason to be suspicious of a lot of people. He wanted to know that I was legitimate. I sent him some PDFs of my work and he came back and said ‘I think you’re the guy’!”
Eglinton will never forget the moment in October 2019 when, driving back from Edinburgh with his wife, his mobile phone rang and on came John McAfee via Skype.
“I literally hauled the car off the M90 at Kinross, pouring with rain on a Tuesday, and there was John McAfee on my phone screen saying ‘what are we going to do? How are we going to do this?’,” smiles Eglinton.
“And that’s how it began. It was nothing but pleasure for the whole time I spoke to him. And the purpose, just for clarity here, is that he wanted me to write his autobiography. We did all the conversations, we did the talks, we talked for days, weeks. They were very philosophical conversations about his life.”
Eglinton explains that McAfee shared his description-defying life story “like it was his last will and testament”.
Conversations ranged from revelatory details on the abusive father who shot himself when McAfee was a young boy to the lifechanging LSD overdose in St Louis, during which he was nearly convinced by voices in his head to try to kill his first wife and daughter.
He talked about the unexpected government clearance that led to him working on CIA dark programs and the combined
affinity for mathematics and hallucinogens that informed the hedonistic nature of his software company in Silicon Valley.
He went on to talk about his attempt to find a quiet life in Belize, only to become a pariah in the eyes of the local militia, from whom he’d later flee, having been framed for the murder of his neighbour.
He also talked of his subsequent years on the run in the US, evading a cast of pursuers, including the Sinaloa Cartel, while burying bags of money and valuables in marked locations before fleeing the country on his yacht.
When they reached a point of approaching publishers, however, McAfee’s larger than life circumstances became a problem in themselves.
McAfee insisted on being paid in cryptocurrency only. But Eglinton revealed “publishers are just not at that point yet”.
“We got pushed back to the point where the deal fell apart,” he adds. “He said ‘if we can’t do that this book does not fly. I just cannot deal in cash. There’s nowhere I can sign a contract. It’s just not going to work’.”
Eglinton was understandably devastated. With hours of material on tape, he knew he had a great book. He let it sit for a while and “dug around” with publishers of his own.
Then, when one publisher said they’d be interested in a biography, Eglinton went back to McAfee to ask if he’d be OK to use the material for a book of his own. Expecting to be told to “get lost”, McAfee said “that’s absolutely fine”.
The result is No Domain: The John McAfee Tapes – a book that morphed from an autobiography co-written by Eglinton to a biography that is essentially their conversations.
“I didn’t know it at the time but he was in Spain at the time of the interviews in a
place that is known as the Bitcoin Hotel – the premises that was mining Bitcoin in the basement,” says Eglinton.
“No one knew he was there. Shortly after our last conversation in September 2020, he was arrested in Spain and died in Spain in June 2021. In-between those times I had no direct conversation with him.
“The only dialogue I had with him was via his wife Janice who I relayed information about the book to. She relayed it to him and he came back and said ‘I really look forward to reading it. I’ll 100% support you when the book comes out.’
“That was the last dialogue I ever had with him before he died.”
Eglinton has heard McAfee described as a provocative “king of misinformation” and is certain he “did enjoy putting stuff out there to self-promote and confuse.”
He also thinks, however, that McAfee was “misunderstood” and that his book contains “the most honest account that exists”.
He adds: “Unlike a Bill Gates or someone else in big business who make a lot of money and stays in that business, McAfee was
somebody who never really wanted to be a high-flying executive or anything like that. He never wanted that life. He was someone who only worked ever to fund having fun. He just wanted to live. He had a real zest for life. But I think he’s also somebody who pushed against the general belief of what a wealthy executive should be. He didn’t want that life. He wanted to push away from it.”
The film and TV rights for Eglinton’s book were recently acquired by Amanda Milius’ AMDC Films. The filmmaker, who is the daughter of legendary Apocalypse Now screenwriter John Milius, is developing a feature narrative film as well as a companion documentary based on the book.
It will be her follow-up to Plot Against the President – a film based on Lee Smith’s 2019 bestseller of the same name, that was sceptical of the origins of and reliance on the so-called “Steele dossier”, which pointed to a highlevel conspiracy between then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and Moscow.
Eglinton adds: “Amanda Milius is young, she’s anti-establishment in terms of Hollywood. She believes in strong male leads. Her pitch to me was pretty compelling in terms of what she could do with the McAfee book.
“It is unusual for a book to be auctioned before it is published, but I took that as a real compliment – the fact they were willing to come forward with an option for a documentary deal and a feature a couple of months ahead of publication.
“They are getting the book and the tapes. And there’s some audio on the tapes that’s not in the book. All of that will add to what I think will be a very rich documentary with a script. That’s very exciting.”
HE WAS SOMEBODY WHO NEVER REALLY WANTED TO BE A HIGH-FLYING EXECUTIVE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. HE ONLY WORKED EVER TO FUND HAVING FUN. HE HAD A REAL ZEST FOR LIFE
No Domain: The John McAfee Tapes, by Mark Eglinton, is out now published by Post Hill Press, £14 (hard cover).
Caroline McKenna, the founder and CEO of Social Good Connect, which makes employee volunteering easy, shares her highs and lows. Her platform connects skilled volunteers from businesses to the communities and causes they care about.
Q
Where in the world are you happiest?
A Broughty Ferry beach, I am lucky that I live a few steps from the beach and it’s a great place to unwind, think and spend time with family and friends.
Q Favourite part of Scotland to explore? A The Highlands – most amazing scenery.
Q Who inspires you? A Maya Angelou – her tenacity empowered and inspired communities.
Q Your house is on fire, what one item do you save?
A My bag of memories – photos, daughters’ drawings.
Q Theme song for your life?
A Lose yourself, Eminem.
Q
A Nachos, macaroni cheese then strawberry cheesecake, washed down with a lovely glass of wine.
Q
Dream dinner party guests?
A Kevin Bridges, Barack Obama, Reese Witherspoon, Dalai Lama, Monica Galetti.
Q
A Give everyone a full stomach to get through each day. So many people are hungry.
Q
Last meal on Earth? If you could rule for a day, what would be the first thing you would do? Tell us something
about yourself that most people don’t know?
A I played in the Scotland Basketball team when I was in high school.
Q Where would you rather be right now? A With my family on a beach in the Maldives.
Q What was the last book you read?
A Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King.
Q If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A Salt and vinegar crisps.
Q Do you believe in love at first sight?
A No – I believe that getting to know someone and building a friendship creates love.
Q What was the first album you ever bought? A Keith Harris and Orville followed swiftly by The Nolan Sisters.
Q What’s your favourite song?
A Nina Simone – Here Comes The Sun.
Q And your top movie? A A Few Good Men – “You can’t handle the truth!”
Q What is the best advice you have ever received, and who did it come from?
A Go all in, stop hesitating, you’ve got this.
Q How do you unwind?
A Curl up on the sofa and watch a movie, walk on the beach, catch up with friends, read books – I have three bookcases full!
Q Happiest memory? A I have lots, but more recently being with my family at Christmas.
Q Most embarrassing? A Skirt tucked in pants when accepting an award in school assembly – it’s haunted me ever since!
Q Biggest regret? A Spending my life trying to get to the next thing instead of enjoying the
ride.
Q
What or who are you proudest of?
A My daughters, they make me burst with pride.
Q Who do you admire most?
A Melinda Gates and her philanthropic work on gender equality worldwide.
Q
And who do you detest?
A No one, but I dislike people in power who bully others.
Q Who would you like to thank?
A My parents for showing me what great relationships look like.
Q
What advice would you give to your younger self?
A Eat the cake, drink the wine, meet your friend, spend time with your family. Life is short, enjoy every moment.
Q
How have your priorities changed as you have got older?
A I care less about what people think and more about how I can live a life of purpose and kindness.
Q What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?
A Start a business! I had no idea it would be such an emotional rollercoaster.
Q
Thing you are most looking forward to in 2022?
A Scaling our business.
Q
Could you save someone’s life if they were dying in the street?
A No – but I could tell them some jokes to make them feel better.
Q Write your own epitaph?
A “Well, this was fun”
Q
What keeps you awake at night?
A Worrying if I have done enough to be a better mum, wife, colleague, and help others.
Q What have you got in your pockets?
A Dog poo bag, lipstick, gloves.
Q Tell us a joke.
A I am a big fan of bad dad jokes – Why did the scarecrow win an award? He was outstanding in his field...