Having taken four and a half months of leave to travel down the Murray River and to spend a month on a permaculture farm I suppose it would be fair to say I’ve had a short hiatus from writing. The moment I got back however, I hit the ground running.

I began by writing a novella of my Murray River trip which while based on actual events is not strictly factual. The book details my reasons for going on such a journey as well as highlights the poor state of health the river is in and my thoughts on how to fix it. It also brings to light the adversity I went through while traveling from one end to the other as well as the pain of having to say farewell to the river which had become my friend.

I had literally just typed the last words when I got the devastating news that my friend and fellow initiate, English language mentor and editor, Heather Kerr, had passed away. Although she never got to read the book, she was the driving force behind me writing it and we had many text conversations about it while I was away. It is without hesitation that I have decided to dedicate the book, tentatively titled The Covenant, to Heather. I should not be surprised at all if Heather made contact via Ghost Radar to attempt to correct grammatical errors.

Having drafted The Covenant and sent it out to beta readers, I immediately began to put the finial polishes on my new science fiction novel tentatively titled The fourth way. This book has been through a formal critique and a secondary review following a re-write and I think it is my best work to date. The book blends science with spirituality, which for me are the same thing, to show how the fourth way (unconditional love) can conquer all. The book is a classic science fiction thriller with a feel-good ending. I have begun submitting the book to potential publishers.

Having finished polishing that book, I was considering what was next when the proofs for my non-fiction book Island Life arrived in the post. This book is an autobiography of the six years that I lived on Clarke Island between the years 1984 to 1990. This book is not just a personal story for me and my family, it is a piece of important history that has never before been told. The book is being published by Ginninderra Press and hopefully will be released before Christmas.

Amid this period of busyness, it occurred to me that there is only a little over two weeks to go before Conflux. This year I will again be sitting on panels as well as launching my science fiction book Satellite Attack. Conflux is arguably Australia’s best speculative fiction convention and I can assure you there is something for everyone so do make the effort to come along.

So, until next time, happy reading and writing.