I have spent thirty years working inside the public service in three different states. I have finally retired (resigned in frustration, really - OK,  I may have been sacked; it’s not clear) to write novels.

I have spent decades collecting material, experiencing life and, together with my wife Jan, raising our three sons. I do not own any cats, nor do I live in a ramshackle country cottage. I live in a townhouse in Cairns with my wife and the occasionally “between jobs” son. During my “day job” period I completed three “pre-novels”, none of which will ever see the light of day.

I have authored numerous internal reports, project summaries and other assorted “Yes, Minister”-type documents. Some of the documents were of book length, and some only ran to a few pages. The experience of authoring such a broad range of material, although heavily edited by every monkey on every branch of the tree as it worked its way up, allowed me to do what I love best - write - and it also gave me the freedom to invent, spin, skew, bias and generally prepare documents that had more in common with political farce than independent fact. It is highly likely that some of my best fiction to date may have gone into those reports.






 

Henry Gobus

Henry Gobus is a psychologist working in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He was born in the former Dutch New Guinea and lived in South America and Holland before emigrating to Australia. After a career in both the Dutch and Queensland police services, Henry became a mature age university student, gaining a BPsych and a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology. His interest in psychology led him to contemplate the evolution of human intelligence and thence evolution in general.

To find out more about Henry's ground-breaking work and to purchase a copy of his book, click here.






David Hollands Curran

Adaptation to change has been David's primary survival technique. He attended eleven schools, lived in over sixty-five residences, and had five main  employers, ten occupational titles and over twenty work locations. David has travelled pretty much all over Australia. He had with him his total possessions on two epic journeys, and fate could have made every stop a destination. David has had over twenty best friends as his life has taken him to repeated brand-new chapters. These experiences have helped create more skills, develop insight into personal relationships, understand the pulse of what defnes being Australian, and identify more about his life purpose.

Experiencing Uluru with his Mother, flying from Cairns to Thursday Island in the single-engine mail plane, flying with his helicopter pilot brother over Sydney Harbour Bridge and surviving three near-death experiences have been life-changing and defining events.

All this in a relatively short life-span has fuelled thought and introspection and created a mind which is always active. There is much more creativity in David seeking an outlet. Enjoy the first instalment - his book, "Ever Essence".

To find out more about David's book, click here. The book is available through BookPal.
 

Chris Shaw

After he retired from his fifty-year-long career as a pharmacist on three continents, Chris Shaw embarked on another career as a writer. Was it because his wife, Rebecca, is a librarian and their home is filled with books? Or was it because Chris's creative talent had been suppressed all those years, and the stories just came bursting out when he had the time? In any case, the results are fascinating. Chris has published one book of short stories written during his travels overseas, entitled "Stories to Shorten Your Travel Time". The second is an as-yet-unpublished novel, a very original and unusual story of love lost and found again in England around the time of World War I. His third book, "Hey, Guys! Here's How to get More 'Nooky'!", has just been published in December 2011. It is sure to make some waves as Chris generously shares his knowledge in an attempt to help men get the most out of the relationships with their wives, girlfriends and lovers (or all three together in the one person!).

To check out Chris's talent, click here.

To find out more about Chris's latest book, click here.

Kiri Newton

I came to earth angrily, the product of an odd marriage. My parents were allegedly too old for this caper, my mother 42 and my father 60. I quickly grew into a mouthy, opinionated child, thirteen going on thirty, a bit of a loner and yet oddly extraverted at the same time. Not much has changed, really.

At a very young age I developed a love of books and reading. By the time I reached senior school, I read everything I could get my hands on, in every possible genre and by a galaxy of different authors. It wasn't until JK Rowling and the Harry Potter phenomenon that I considered writing myself. I began to write, sharing my stories with my friends. I wrote about talking cats and other nonsense, but they loved what I wrote. My school teachers, though, were not amused, often finding random chapters of my stories scribbled in school books instead of my overdue homework.

Today I write fantasy, with my book, "Undertow", being my first shot at getting published. Although my genre is fantasy-fiction, I don't see it as fantasy because I believe every word I write.

"Find something you like, be passionate about it and make it your life. If you enjoy what you do, you will be good at it," was the advice my father left me with. My ultimate dream is to be a professional writer, sharing my kooky stories with the world.

Undertow has now been published globally through Bookpal and is available for purchase by clicking here.

For my blog click here.

Gabriele Phillis

Gabriele Phillis grew up in Cologne, Germany, and now resides in Townsville, Australia with her husband and Afghan hound. Gabriele's first book, "To Catch a Butterfly You Need a Net" (Durham: Strategic Book Group, 2011)  is a thriller set in Australia and Germany. The book will be at the expos in New York, London, Frankfurt and Beijing in 2012. Gabriele is now working on a series of children's books.

For more information about Gabriele's novel, click here.

Helena Webb

Helena Webb grew up on the shores of Lake Illawarra near Dapto, New South Wales, Australia, spending most of her early years in Kanahooka Road, Dapto. She experienced the Depression years when her father was in and out of work for a long time, as well as World War II when her elder brother, Bobby, served in the Australian Navy.

At the age of 85, Helena has six children and a large number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her excellent memory has enabled her to write a fascinating account of the first seventeen years of her life and provide a first-hand glimpse of everyday Australian life during the years between 1926 and 1944. Helena now lives in Kiama, New South Wales. Her book is entitled "Kanahooka Memories" (Cairns: Cairns Publication Services, 2010).



 

Dr Neil S I Gordon

 Dr Neil Gordon is a practising Urologist in Cairns, Australia. He trained in Urology in Scotland, Adelaide and Melbourne. Dr Gordon is a pioneer in Urology in Australia, especially with regard to carrying out advanced Urology procedures in a regional city. Dr Gordon has published widely in leading medical journals in his field. His book, "Common Sense Urology" (Cairns: Bydand-Steadfast Publications, 2007), came about as a result of many queries from junior doctors, nurses and medical students about the patients in their care, and covers the processes of history-taking, examination, investigation and management of common Urological conditions. This enables the readers to develop an understanding of the subject and confidence in the care of their patients.

For more information about Dr Gordon and his book, "Common Sense Urology", click here. 



  Nouk Sanchez and Tomas Vieira

Nouk Sanchez

Born in Australia, Nouk originally worked in the cosmetics industry and developed a method for "self-esteeming" cosmetic application. Having blazed a path in this field, Nouk retired from the cosmetic industry, moved to New Mexico in the United States and dedicated herself to pursuing and teaching about ego-release. In 1990, after being introduced to "A Course in Miracles", Nouk embarked upon a spiritual journey. Her personal experiences led her to develop a simple method for removing the obstacles to love in our lives. This resulted in the publication, with her co-author, Tomas Vieira, of a book entitled "Take Me to Truth: Undoing the Ego". Washington: O Books, 2007.

For more information about the book, click here.  

Noela McNamara

Noela McNamara was born in Brisbane, Australia and had two main passions as a teenager – ballet and poetry. Her interest in poetry started when she became fascinated by an old family book of poems. She has been weaving her own memories into poetry ever since. Far North Queensland has been home to Noela and her husband, Des, for most of her adult life. Together they raised a family of four and now have six grandchildren, all of whom play an integral part in their lives. Noela holds a Master of Philosophy for studies in Literature and Indigenous Studies, and tutors at James Cook University, Cairns, where she is undertaking her PhD. Publications include an academic paper delivered in Paris, short stories and poetry in Tropical Writers Anthologies, and book reviews in the literary journals, LINQ and Otherland, Australia’s Chinese Literary Journal.