An Afternoon of Storytelling at Inverell Library
Date: Wednesday May 13, 12.30-3.30pm
Cost: FREE author talks, refreshments, book sales + signings

Join New England-based crime writer Michael Burge to celebrate the launch of Dirt Trap, the sequel to his acclaimed debut rural crime novel Tank Water.

12.30-1.30pm: Authors D’Arcy Lloyd (pen name of Virginia Eddy), Barbara Maxwell and Narelle Fernance in conversation about Diving Into Deep Water (a short fiction collection published by High Country Books with stories of mystery, history, speculative fiction and horror) in a session moderated by Sonya Wilkins.

1.30-2.30pm: Complimentary refreshments

2.30-3.30pm: Authors Michael Burge, Narelle Fernance and Brydie O’Shea in conversation with Sonya Wilkins about crime writing and journalism, historical fiction and speculative fiction.

This stop on Michael’s national book tour is a free event in his hometown. Come for a drink and a nibble, snap up some thrilling reads and have them signed by the authors.

Praise for Dirt Trap:

“Everything you love about classic rural noir but with diverse characters who better represent the complexity of Australian country towns.”
Gabrielle Chan, author of Rusted Off

“Lays bare the human cost of silence within the closed ranks of a rural Australian town – and what it takes to break it.”
R.W.R. McDonald, author of The Nancys

Praise for Diving Into Deep Water:

“A testament to the breadth of writing talent that exists in rural areas.”
Kristy Reading, ABC New England North West

Guests:

Michael Burge
A journalist and author who lives at Deepwater, Michael’s debut crime novel Tank Water and its sequel Dirt Trap are a storytelling cycle about homophobia and justice in the bush, released by MidnightSun Publishing. His journalism has appeared in the Guardian, Fairfax Media and The Journal of Australian Studies.

D’Arcy Lloyd (pen name of Virginia Eddy)
Strategic and analytical by nature, education and practice, it is no surprise that these traits have followed D’Arcy’s late-life transition from corporate advice to creative writing. Long-term consequences of historical decisions made – or not – lie at the centre of D’Arcy’s works-in-progress, drawing on fragments of historical facts from a celebrated station in the Matheson Valley.

Brydie O’Shea
A former mounted policewoman and now prolific gardener who lives in the New England region, Brydie’s mystery-themed micro-fiction features in Diving Into Deep Water. Her short stories appear in Dark Sky Dreamings, Outer Space Inner Minds and This Is Not A Horror Story. Her poem ‘The Min Min Lights’ was long-listed for the Heroines Women’s Writing Prize.

Narelle Fernance
Narelle’s novel To Those That Wait challenges the theory that it was Fred Ward lying dead in the Kentucky Creek when bushranger Captain Thunderbolt was shot in 1870. Her other novels are: On Roads Most Travelled and The Outback as Never Before or Since.

Barbara Maxwell
Child, student, public servant, wife, mother, traveller, manager, organiser, taxi driver, public servant, and finally a farmer. ‘Maybe I’m even a writer,’ she says, and of working on her microfiction in Diving Into Deep Water, she adds, ‘it has been a blast!’