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I have just published and launched my first fiction novel, 'Lighter Than Air'. The setting is a small flying school located near Coonabarabran in 'Corby', a fictional town of some 4000 inhabitants set about 8km south of Binnaway where the Gamble Creek joins the Castlereagh River. Naturally, I've made some necessary fictitional changes to the area concerned to suit the story, not the least of which is turning Gamble Creek into a river. The characters also are completly fictional. A brief synopsis is: The action begins at Moorabbin Airport and follows its hero, Don Worth, through an adventure leading to romance, murder, arson and intrigue. Don didn't want the job Jan Garreth offered him as Chief Flying Instructor of a defunct flying school in the small country town...until he met her. Just seeing her weakened him. The five Cessna aircraft sitting idle in a large hangar tempted hom almost as much as her clear brown eyes and slim figure. But it was her determination to restart the flying school after an air crash that killed her husband Jeff and his uncle Reg that finally persuaded him to give it a shot, despite questions that lurked in the back of his mind. Was the crash an accident...or sabotage? Who had torched the crop duster planes in the large hangar the flying school now leased? Were the two incidents connected? His search for answers leads to a fast moving adventure, romance and a final terrifying flight (around the Warrumbungles), but it was a job he wouldn't have missed for worlds.
I've visited this part of NSW several times, both by air and by car, and I've driven around the district generally. Following one of the earlier visits,I decided to use it as a setting for a series of novels using the same town and characters as a background. 'Lighter Than Air' is the first of the series to be published. Launched on 21st June, it has been well-received and almost half the initial print run has been sold. As it is set near Coonabarabran, I felt that local readers should be made aware of it. Further information is available online from the printers and distributors at palmerhiggsbooks.com.au. I would appreciate your response.