Thank you, Salima! The only fiction of mine that fits the description to some extent, I think, is Black Spur, which is the current Friday Novella. In fact it has turned into more of a short novel, with 45 (?) chapters and about 60k words. That takes place mostly in 1864, towards the end of the first Victorian gold rush. At that stage most of the state had been colonised for about 30 years; pastoralists had carved out huge estates for themselves, and the state government was struggling with agricultural land reform; the first railways and telegraph lines had been built and Melbourne was already an impressive city. The Aboriginal population was declining rapidly and most surviving native people had been displaced from their lands.
Hi Salima, the long-term plan is to publish Black Spur as a book – but the long term is getting longer all the time! What's on Substack is a polished first draft and will need revision before I'd be happy with formal publication. Over the year that I've been writing and uploading it to Substack, there's been a certain amount of 'drift' in my storytelling and certain episodes need more historical research. Although the central story is pure fiction, I'm trying to make it as authentic as I can.
Thank you for your interest in my writing, it means a lot to me.
What an interesting conversation!👏👏👏
Steve, you mentioned “Colonisation” and that brought back the memory of the book you decided to write on this topic.
I remember reading about it on your Medium. And now I am wondering what happened to that book?🤔
Thank you, Salima! The only fiction of mine that fits the description to some extent, I think, is Black Spur, which is the current Friday Novella. In fact it has turned into more of a short novel, with 45 (?) chapters and about 60k words. That takes place mostly in 1864, towards the end of the first Victorian gold rush. At that stage most of the state had been colonised for about 30 years; pastoralists had carved out huge estates for themselves, and the state government was struggling with agricultural land reform; the first railways and telegraph lines had been built and Melbourne was already an impressive city. The Aboriginal population was declining rapidly and most surviving native people had been displaced from their lands.
You should have told me about this, Steve. I thought you were going to release it as a book and I could order a personal copy.
Well currently I’ve borrowed 5 books from two libraries and am about to finish reading the first book 🫣.
My regular weekly reading in virtual world is your blind spot series and Neela’s articles. I do peek into random writings of other writers sometimes.
But I am coming for the “Black Spur” soon. 💗
Hi Salima, the long-term plan is to publish Black Spur as a book – but the long term is getting longer all the time! What's on Substack is a polished first draft and will need revision before I'd be happy with formal publication. Over the year that I've been writing and uploading it to Substack, there's been a certain amount of 'drift' in my storytelling and certain episodes need more historical research. Although the central story is pure fiction, I'm trying to make it as authentic as I can.
Thank you for your interest in my writing, it means a lot to me.