Hidden among the sands of the Kalcool desert, the village of Sharacan is all that remains of a once vibrant trading city. Jarrak, an archaeologist who arrives from across the vast and desolate lands, encounters Hestean, an inquisitive teen who finds employment with him on the archaeology trail.
Until recently I have always been a grain farmer, but all my life I’ve been a storyteller too.
After finishing my schooling in Sydney, I returned to the family farms in northern New South Wales – north of Moree – and eventually ran properties of my own. I am now retired and live in the Clarence Valley.
Alongside this farming life, as a youngster and then in my teens, I wrote songs and poetry. Then till my thirties I told stories with photography. I have also always been a drawer, and the next phase of my storytelling took me to painting. But although I was good at photography and painting, I’ve been told I paint my best images with words. And so, for the last twenty years, that’s been where I’ve devoted my efforts.
I’m in my sixth decade now and have always written for myself. I think if you don’t, then the stories you tell will never be real. I write mostly in the genres of fantasy and historical fiction with the occasional deviation into no-fiction about the historical aspects of my family.
Although dyslexic, this has never hindered my writing, it just means I’m slow at reading, and no-one should think of it as a disability. I haven’t, as there are ways around everything. You just need to look for them.
I think the English language is a bounty that you have to both see and taste to appreciate. Yes, language has a flavour and so do writers; and they all deserve to be enjoyed by their readers. So, having said that, I hope you might be one of those who’ll like this vision that has sprung from my mind.
