Why have I chosen to set some of my books in Tasmania?

Simply put, my wife and I lived there from late 1999 to 2007 in a town called Huonville. Before that Britain, after that Brittany in France. When we move we don’t just move houses or suburbs, we move countries. I had just been given early retirement for a debilitating health condition. I’d had three breakdowns all work related. To retire at 49 might sound like a dream but I was a broken man. I did return to work, part time firstly as a real estate agent. In Tassie we were qualified to write contracts for property sales (quite unusual). After a heart scare I moved back into teaching, mainly in Cygnet. It was my go-to job. I loved it. I was trained as a Science teacher but ended up teaching Art and Maths part time. That helped restore my shattered self confidence.

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At the same time my wife Anne had a gift/antique shop in Huonville. It was called Now and Then. I sold my paintings and animal sketches there as well as joining a U3A writing group in Cygnet. I’d always enjoyed fabricating stories. Although many short stories that I wrote then were , in retrospect, basic, I learned a lot from my fellow writers. My tastes ran to the experimental and macabre. I had another writer Moira Kirk (in her seventies) who shared my love for the quirky. We stirred things up.

My story Rainz, The Pastel Blue Kangaroo and Tourist were written then. Rainz and Pastel Blue is on this site. At the same time I began sharing my stories to magazines and competitions. I won a few and lost a few of those. I wrote a children’s story Possum which was well received by my students at school. I later sold Possum to The School Magazine, a publication distributed to all state primary students in New South Wales.

I had the bug. Commercial publishing and being paid had to wait a few more years when my time in Tassie were cherished memories.

Here are some photos of our 5 acre property in Huonville. Mainly gardens with over 500 trees and a dam. The property was very old by Australian standards, pre Federation. 1800s. It was over 400 sq metres, seven bedrooms, three bathrooms and probably too large for the two of us and our three cats.

That property and my life were the inspiration for my novels Firestorm and Tasmania-The Neverwhen Paradox. Write about what you know. Right?

Here are some photos. Thanks for reading this and sharing a bit of my life.

Front Entrance DrivewaySecond Lounge areaPart of Eastern GardenRear of old part of house looking northPath to new extension