Whenever I make a speech about my books, someone usually says to me,
‘I do wish I had the skill and courage to write a book. There are important things I want to say to the world before I depart’.
If you are one of those aspiring authors, I will be delighted to chat with you if you take a pleasant drive to my former hometown of LINVILLE in the Brisbane River Valley on SATURDAY, 18 NOVEMBER to meet me for an hour at 2.30pm at the LINVILLE COMMUNITY HALL.
My Forum is part of the annual LINVILLE HERITAGE AND ARTS FESTIVAL which begins on that day.
I will start by telling the story of how I went about writing CATCHING THE LINVILLE TRAIN and will then do my best to answer your questions about how you can plan to write and successfully publish your very own book.
Look forward to meeting you there.
Come early and say hello to me at the LINVILLE HOTEL. I will be enjoying one of their splendid lunches at 12.30pm.
I write books as a delightful way to relax as I enjoy trying to relate my life experiences in an entertaining way that my friends will enjoy.
So it is that, in the six years since my 85th birthday, I have written and published 4 books and have just begun the fifth.
May I suggest that you do likewise and commence right after reading this. There is no time to waste.
I can hear some of my friends saying ‘I am no good at writing things down’ but can I nicely say this is just an excuse. All you have to do is ask one of your grandkids to put it into their computer while you chat away about what you want to say. Then you work together to knock it into shape.
When you finish, there is no need to publish it publicly unless you deliberately choose too. If you have a computer and printer its easy to print off 50 copies to give to family and friends.
Just dont die without recording the music that is in your soul. Your accumulated wisdom is of value to all around you. All you have to do is decide whether to tell you life story or just describe important events in your journey or be like Agatha Christie and write a thriller that your fertile mind will enable you to think up.
Let me briefly tell you my story as an amateur author.
During my long career as a fund raising consultant, I wrote some boring books on raising money, then wrote a family history and my personal history.
I enjoyed doing that, even though none of them were a great success, so late in life I decided to get serious about my writing and enjoy doing so.
My first choice was not a hard one to make. John Flynn, Flynn of the Inland, had been a role model of my life since I learned about him at Sunday School so I wrote THE MAN ON THE TWENTY DOLLAR NOTES. I decided to write it as an historic novel, depicting him as an old man reminiscing about his life. I made sure I got the historical facts correct and created conversations that related to the personalities of those involved. It has been my best seller, 6000 copies sold so far.
Buoyed by that, I decided to write another one and chose to tell the story of how the nation of Australia was created in 1901 and how its Constitution was written as I reckon most Australians don’t have a clue as to what happened. DINNER WITH THE FOUNDING FATHERS follows the same theme as with Flynn. I have our first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton, inviting the most famous of the Founding Fathers (Deakin, Griffith, Forrest, Kingston, etc) to dinner after the event to review what they did and what they could have done better.
Then I wrote A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET. It is pure fiction, the story of a man who has a terminal illness and decides to make his last 3 months the greatest of his life despite huge criticism of his decision to depart via Voluntary Assisted Dying. It is a positive tale of life and death and legacy.
My latest is CATCHING THE LINVILLE TRAIN that describes the events, people, places and causes that determined my life of 91 years which began in the little village of Linville. I reckon it is my best and I was chuffed when a reader whom I have never met went on Facebook this week to commend it with these generous words,
“Well, I’ve read a few books but none are as engrossing and well written as this. If you are interested in history or philosophy, grab a copy. It is brilliant.”
Thank you Noelle.
Right now, I am working on another one, WALKING WITH THE GREAT SPIRIT. I will tell you about it another time. As soon as you can, I want you to start writing and enjoy it. There is no hard work involved. The world needs your words. There may be no tomorrow.
But let me finish with a few comments about the photo below.
My computer reveals to you that I am working on ‘Walking with the Great Spirit’. Beside it are my four books and in front of them is my whisky mug called TOBERMORY. It is a splendid whisky from the Scottish Isle of Mull where Australia’s Governor Macquarie is buried and the tiny Isle of Iona is nearby. You will find it is highlighted in the book I am currently working on.
