Sundowner of the Skies: the Story of Oscar Garden, the Forgotten Aviator had a long gestation. It wasn’t the sort of book that grabbed me by the throat and said “write me now”.

Until I embarked on this journey, I knew little about my father’s life as an aviator. When I was growing up in Tauranga, New Zealand, he seldom talked to me about anything, except to bark orders. By then he was a tomato grower but commanded our family as if he was still the captain of a flying boat. I only became interested after writing an article for the Australian Financial Review in 2005.

The response was astonishing. I got emails from all over the world. Deepak Somar, a retired Air India pilot, wrote: “I consider your father’s solo flight from England to Australia in 1930 the single most sustained feat of courage in aviation, since he had little flying experience, he did the maintenance himself, and navigated with just an old-fashioned compass. It would make a good movie.”

I became hooked. I began to dig up my father’s past, write more articles, and think about a book. After a few years I gave up. It was too hard. There were too many gaps. There was always my sad childhood rearing its ugly head. What was I doing? I hated my father. Why was he worth a book?

Over the years my father’s story continued to haunt me. I felt I was letting people down. Mark from Sydney wrote to me in 2006 that he had been delighted to read my AFR article and was wondering where he could get copies of my book. In 2012 he wrote again: “It is now some time since I wrote to you. Are you at a stage of completion yet?”

I decided to have another go. Eventually I had a rough draft, although it was bogged down with factual detail. Then I had a breakthrough. What was needed was my story as well. A biography threaded with memoir.

After several edits and revisions, I began the submission process. I soon discovered that unless you had a literary agent most doors were closed. Luckily I was able to get through the back door of one of the big publishers. She was following me on Twitter so I simply asked if she wanted to read it. A few months later I was thrilled to get her rejection. She said it was “very elegantly written” (aha, my work was not crap!) but the sales team said it would be hard to get viable sales. Oscar is just not well known enough. Her New Zealand counterpart said Oscar isn’t a household name; they would struggle to get the kind of publicity they would need. Smaller publishers gave similar feedback: “Memoirs and biographies of lesser-known figures aren’t commercially viable in the current market”; “There would not be enough sales in it because your father was not sufficiently well known.”

Not well known enough. This did not make sense. The whole point was my father was unknown. I decided to include the subtitle, the Unknown Aviator. Some weeks later I changed it to the Forgotten Aviator. That will teach them, especially when my book became a bestseller, I thought to myself.

At the end of the year I got lucky. An offer! With glee, I emailed a few publishers I had not heard back from and told them the good news. Only one replied. Imagine my delight to get this: “I can understand New Holland accepting Sundowner of the Skies. I loved it. We had a submissions meeting earlier this week and of the 45 submissions yours was the only one accepted. All the best with the book’s publication. It deserves to do very well.”

Six months later the book was released. I sent one to Mark of Sydney who had been waiting 14 years. A few days later he replied: “Oscar has arrived. What a triumph. A searingly honest, raw and expressive narrative. He is no longer forgotten and his unique Scottish spirit intact.”

Sundowner of the Skies has been out only three months. It has had lots of publicity and flown all over the world. For me it has already been a success, regardless of sales. While a book may not be a bestseller – very few are – there is much to be said for succès d’estime. I’ve had scores of emails from readers, from my brother-in-law to a retired Qantas pilot.

I hoped my book would appeal to readers of all ages, and not just those with an interest in aviation. It is the first book Max, my 94-year-old next door neighbour, has read for 10 years. He said he couldn’t put it down it down and is now reading it again, more slowly. Another reader said it was a trip down memory lane, that there were so many similarities with his own dysfunctional family “it’s freaky!” Even teenagers have read it.

In the end, an author just wants people to read their book. Success is about reaching out to readers and knowing that you’ve been able to share your story with them.

Oscar Garden, my father, is no longer the unknown aviator.

• Sundowner of the Skies: the Story of Oscar Garden, the Forgotten Aviator is published by New Holland Publishers