Dear friends,

Due to unforeseen circumstances, my September newsletter is a few days late. It all came about because I tripped, landing on my knee and fracturing my kneecap (patella). After an emergency hospital visit and follow-up with an orthopaedic surgeon, it got me thinking about how, as a writer, we deal with injuries in our stories.

We want our stories to be as authentic as possible. Still, it is not until experiencing a damaged kneecap that you appreciate the tasks, we expect our heroes to perform with, say, broken bones. In Racing Dream, James McKenzie breaks his leg. My critique partners of that time thought it would be difficult for him to make love in the way I portrayed. The cast would hamper movement. I did not think about that. I had thought about it from his perspective: Where there is a will, there is a way. Anyway, I was howled down and changed the scene by putting Annabel Martin in charge. It made for a far more exciting love scene.

In book one of my West Series, Destiny. There is a scene where a bear attacks my hero, Dan West. The setting is in the wilds of British Columbia, and there is no nearby hospital or town. They are fifteen minutes away from the Bear Lodge, on a boat in an estuary looking for bears. Initially, I wrote that Dan is in the water, and when the bear attacks, Ellie throws the rifle to him. He shoots the bear but is badly mauled. Ellie gets him ashore, and half carries him to a cabin where she builds a fire and keeps him alive through the night until help arrives in the morning. Ellie is a doctor. I considered she was qualified and up to the task. But those dreaded critique partners (I do not know what I would do without them) pulled the scene apart. So, I rewrote it, placing the responsibility of shooting the bear into Ellie’s hands, giving the scene far more tension. She needs to act fast and get Dan out of the water, so she drags him onto the riverbank, and returns to the boat for the first aid kit and calls the Bear Lodge for assistance. She goes back to the shore and triages our hero. I researched how a critically injured person is dealt with in such circumstances. Emergency services send a chopper with paramedics to stabilise the patient before transporting to a hospital. The scene felt real and worked.
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I have always felt personal experience matters when writing some of these scenes. My knowledge of horses and the Outback comes through in the Racing Series. I like to set my stories in places I have visited, but there is nothing like touching the ground, breathing in the air, and absorbing everything around you. Setting is crucial if you want to immerse your reader in place, as does managing the reality of an injury.
 
Until next time
Suzie

To escape the Southern Hemisphere winter here in Adelaide, South Australia, we decided to join friends for a week in Broome. Broome is a town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It sits 1,680km (1,000 miles) north of Perth and is known for the exploits of people who developed the pearling industry, from harvesting oysters for mother of pearl in the 1880s to the large present-day cultured pearl farming enterprises.

The weather in Broome is hot and, in the summer, very humid. We traveled in the dry, and although it was in the low thirties C for our stay, the humidity was low enough that we could walk the famous Cable Beach and enjoy what Broome has to offer.

Our first visit was to the local museum. A story drew me instantly: In March 1942, three Japanese Zeroes attacked a DC3 plane carrying refugees from Java (Indonesia). The pilot put the severely damaged plane down, but many passengers were injured. A passenger threw a brown paper package at the pilot. Little did the survivors know there was a fortune in diamonds inside. When a rescue team arrived at the crash site, many survivors had perished from their injuries and thirst. In the confusion, the package was forgotten—or was it?

The story, of course, did not end there, and for me, it opened a heap of possibilities. A new series was already taking shape in my mind. I could visualize the heroine and hero, their occupations, backgrounds, and personality types.

Walking the streets of Broome, chatting with locals, dining out, and going to the local outdoor cinema – Sun Pictures - which alone has a remarkable history—all help a writer with authenticity. I like to be drawn into place when I read, and, in turn, I set place when I write.

One of our memorable tours was with Kimberley Air. We flew north and over the Horizontal Falls, described by Sir Richard Attenborough as “the 8th Natural Wonder of the World”. Landing at Ardyaloon (One Arm Point), where the Bardi Ardyaloon hatchery has successfully produced trochus shells. For years buttons were made from the trochus shell and still are but to a lesser degree today because of plastic. Our next stop was the red dust airstrip at Cygnet Bay for lunch and a tour of the pearling operations, followed by a boat trip into the bay to feel the power of the world’s largest tropical tides, up to twelve metres (40 feet,) moving through giant whirlpools and standing tidal waves.

Back in Broome, we watched the staircase to the moon. It is a phenomenon seen between March and October each year when conditions are exactly right. It is best seen from Roebuck Bay when the full moon rises over the exposed mudflats at shallow tide, creating a beautiful optical illusion of stairs reaching the moon.

While in Broome, one cannot resist checking out the cultured pearls on offer. The history of pearling in Broome is not pleasant reading. Indigenous people, mainly women and girls were first forced to dive for pearls. In 1871 and 1875, legislation prohibited this practice, and the Japanese took over. The industry thrived and prospered, and each year Broome celebrates the fusion of diverse cultures brought about by the pearling industry.
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If you are ever in Australia and looking for somewhere different to visit, I recommend Broome.

Until next time
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Suzie