Peter Russell introduced guest speaker Tony Park, author of 19 novels and 7 biographies. Born in Taupo, NZ, his family moved to Sydney when he was 3. He served in the Royal Australian Infantry from 1984-1996 and as part of the Army Reserve served in PNG, East Timor and Afghanistan. He served as a press secretary in the NSW Government and in 1996 was a print journalist in the UK.
Tony grew up surrounded by books and said that from a very young age he had always wanted to write. The first thing he did when he decided to start this process was to buy a book on how to write a book. He was guided by the processes in the book, which in the long run didn’t help at all.
The Process of Writing
As a first time author, Tony made a lot of mistakes. He thought he should write something people would read. He realized you need time and a place to write, and it comes at a cost to work life and family life. He quit work to write. He didn’t enjoy the process, knowing his writing wasn’t good enough, and his first attempt was rejected by the publisher.
After his initial lack of success, Tony returned to work. He then told us how a trip to Africa in 1995 planned by his wife changed their lives. He had no idea what it would be like, but once they arrived at Kruger National Park they immediately fell in love with the place. At the end of their trip they knew they would return there and have done so every year since, except for the year he spent in Afghanistan with the Army Reserve and 2020 because of Covid.
On their third trip to Africa 1998 Tony decided to try writing again. He wrote about a fictitious tour around southern Africa which was accepted for publication, and eventually published as “Far Horizon” in 2004. Since that time he has spent 6 months living in Australia and 6 months living in the African bush, researching and writing. He draws his inspiration from the animals, the people he meets and the environment in which he travels. He has written one novel a year since 2004, and co-written seven biographies.
Apart from Far Horizon, Tony’s many novels include Zambezi, An Empty Coast and African Dawn. His most recent novel, Blood Trail, incorporates the huge problem of rhino poaching and the ongoing war to conserve and preserve these animals. Because of COVID, this novel had to be written in his apartment in Artarmon!
Peter thanked Tony for his interesting talk and for entertaining us with his delightful presentation, and suggested that he might perhaps write a novel set in the Australian Outback!
A little bit of humour ....
