Today at Uniquely Moi Books, please welcome, Gary Taaffe! He is here to talk with us not only about his new series, give away (four) sets of his novels in your choice of what ebook format you prefer, and to get deep into discussion about:
How a Simple Idea Transforms into a Story
One day I was wondering about rustic knives. You know, knives made from materials at hand, rather than the artistic marvels made by custom knife makers around the world. Perhaps one made from the leaf springs of a car. They have a high carbon content that’s perfect for hardening into an excellent hunting knife. I imagined a fish scale type pattern a ball pein hammer would make as it was hammered into shaped. And then perhaps the handle could simply be made from nylon cord wrapped around and around the handle until it formed a nice palm swell for good grip.
Then I wondered about what type of person would make such a knife. A survivalist in a pinch, a military man, or perhaps a kid with skills living on the street.
As you can see, I have a very imaginative mind. An inventive mind. I can take any idea and run with it, just for the fun of it.
That’s how I came up with the Urban Hunters series.
I wanted two street kids for the story. A boy and a girl, each thirteen years old. That would put me in the young adult genre which I liked. Young Adults are full of fun and adventure and that is what I wanted to write about. I also wanted each of them to already know how to hunt and make their own weapons. A girl who was into hunting with her father gave me a tomboyish type character. She has other skills too but I can’t go into them yet as the story is still unfolding. Same goes for why she ends up cold, wet, upset and wearing a bloodied pair of pink pyjamas when our other character, Billy, finds her in a back alley in the city of Sydney.
So the boy needed hunting skills too but how and where would he have learned them? An Aboriginal boy from the bush would have some amazing skills. And if I put him in the city, completely out of his comfort zone, well, the possibilities were endless. But what on earth would bring an Aboriginal boy from the bush to the city, and what was he still doing in the bush in this day and age? Well that’s where the story really got interesting - creating his back story. It turned out to be so amazing that it started dominating the whole story. Taking away from my original idea of the feral street kids theme. So I had to find a way of combining them. And combine them I did.
Billy’s family have been living hidden in the bush for the last 48 years. Hiding from the white government who were about to steal Billy’s father from his father, as a baby, to give him to white folk to bring him up proper. Two families fled the government missions back to the bush. It’s now 2011 and they’ve been hiding all this time. However the isolation and harsh conditions have decimated the small tribe leaving only a small clan of men, destined to die out. Billy’s mother comes to him in a dream asking him to go to where the whitefellas live, to see if it’s safe for his family to come out of hiding. His great-grandfather explains to him that really, if they don’t find some girls for Billy and his brothers, it will mean the end of the Dreamtime. So, after painful initiations that turn the boy into a man, Billy sets off for the city, wearing nothing more than a loincloth and having never even seen a girl before.
What ensues is hilarious, heartwarming and inspirational. Billy and Amber’s adventures will have you laughing your head off, crying your eyes out and wishing you could join them.
As soon as the rustic knife idea evolved into the street kids, I knew I had a great story. And then when Billy and his back story came onto the scene, well, that was truly exciting. I just had to tell it.
I’m a keen hunter with a love of writing, however I only ever wrote up my hunts in my hunting journal. I ended up elaborating of course, turning them into hunting stories that I showed my hunting buddies. They said I should write a book. That’s why I developed the idea of the rustic knives into the Urban Hunters series.
I spent the next four years writing thirteen episodes into an amazing story. As of December 2011, #3, “Walkabout”, is currently being edited and proofread and is due for release within weeks. I could have released the episodes as I wrote them, however having never written anything professionally before, I figured by the time I finished the thirteen episodes, my writing would have improved to a point that I could be proud, hopefully...
A book critic recently wrote to me personally to say (her official review is due out in January, so I won’t mention her name at this point): “I just finished Four Small Stones and I loved it! Loved your writing and I can’t wait to read the next episode! I really, truly did love your writing. I would describe it as vivid and visual. Every word created a picture in my mind and it was a joy to read. Keep up the great writing.”
A simple idea has turned into a new career for me. I now write all day every day and I am loving it. Amazon sells my eBooks all over the world, as do Smashwords. Soon I’ll be releasing episodes one to three as an old fashioned printed novel, and 2012 will see at least another six episodes released. All because of the idea of a rustic knife.
Please read the Urban Hunters series, I promise, you’ll love it.
Thanks so much Gary!
Walkabout isn't quite ready, so for the giveaway, there will be four winners! Each will get an ebook copy of Four Small Stones, and Tribal Scarring!
Open to everyone
Giveaway ends January 6th
Enter Here
