At the age of
60, after working for most of his life in mining: gold mining
and prospecting in Australia, copper mining in Zambia, tunnelling
in Hong Kong and Singapore, Harrow member, Wally Robson,
has written his first novel, not based on his own adventurous
life but post-apocalyptic children’s book.
When a mile-high tsunami, caused by mankind's inability
to stop global warming destroys the known world, Celia,
a female, talking snake, detective steps in to protect the
survivors.
A
member of the Harrow Writers’ Group led by Siobhan
Curham,Wally won the Donard publishing prize for his children's
adventure novel Ear2Ear and the Gem1's which
he is now self-promoting and is doing ‘quite well’.
‘I
had always wanted to write a novel but it seemed such a daunting
task,’ he says.
Two years ago he had a life saving liver transplant operation
which gave him the extra time and impetus to write the book
although he had been writing short stories for many years
and entering Writers’ News competitions regularly.
After trying to find an agent (with no luck) he entered his
story in Donard Publishers’ Novel Competition which
required a synopsis and the first three chapters.
Out of 184 entries, Wally came first and won a publishing
deal worth £13,000.
