The idea of Haighs Flat came to me back in 2018 when I was seriously contemplating writing my first novel. Where did the name Haighs Flat come from? That I cannot answer you, it just came to me as a name for a typical country town, and thankfully there is no town of the same name that I am aware of.
The next thing I had to do was paint a picture of the town in my head. In order to have the story make sense, I had to be aware of directions, travelling and have a general layout in my head something of what the town would look like - and yes, it is loosely based on an existing town in the North-West of New South Wales.
What I wanted for the book was something uniquely Australian. Something that not only Australians will relate to, but something that will attract the attention of international readers as well, hence the culprit in the story is pulled out of an Aboriginal legend that may or may not have had an element of truth about it. Being a Christian, and a creationist at that, I believe that the earth is much younger than the majority of the world believes. I also believe in the creation account as described in Genesis, thus I believe that dinosaurs existed alongside of people.
In chapter ten of my novel, the question is asked: "We read in the Bible of animals which we can interpret as being dinosaurs, existing alongside of people, but why do we not see this in other texts from the past?”
Hopefully I have answered this question in this book by explaining that there are many evidences of dinosaurs having lived along side of people. While this book is fictional, I have tried to keep things historically accurate - especially where it relates to Biblical issues.
As far as the book goes, chapter ten, which is in a Bible Study setting, would be my favourite chapter. I picked up my pen at around 9 o'clock in the morning and didn't put it down again until the early hours of the next morning, stopping only for meal breaks, and doing a bit of research. The whole chapter just flowed out of my pen and I couldn't stop until it was over.
I hope you enjoy this book and I look forward to hearing from you with your reviews - either positive or negative.
And keep your eyes open for my next book, The Honeymoon - due out mid 2023.
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