Sunday, February 18, 2018

Between the Pages of After Sundown


Hi, there.
As most of you know I lived on the edge of the Outback for some time. It was a wonderful experience. I glean my stories, settings, and characters from my experiences during my time in this great wonderful land.

One of my ancestors was a tracker with the New South Wales police force many moons ago. Therefore, I gleaned what little information I could and gave them to one of my characters. I also put a in a twist. It's fun inventing people. Seeing them in my mind’s eye. They truly come to life. 
Did you know that an experienced tracker can read the ground like a book? Often in harsh and remote areas, trackers are famous for using their bush skills to spot the slighest of markings and reveal the direction a person has taken. They sound out things which are unnoticed to the untrained eye. Footprints, broken trees or a camp fire. Even working on a large cattle station, they find cattle and horses if they disappear.

If they are tracking an animal, they can probably tell us the size and weight and approximate age of that animal. If the animal is female, he will know by the spacing of the hind legs wheter or not it is carrying young.   

He can usually tell us the species of a lizard and not only which way a snake is travelling, and its size, but how fast it is moving and whether it is harmless or venomous. Such talent is priceless.
I also use German Shepard’s in After Sundown. You'd know the reason why, while reading. Here is a glimpse of Bear, the second dog I used in After Sundown, who was a gift from the hero to the heroine. 

Isn't he cute?