Jem stood up on a little hillock, tall and splendid, with his open brow and his fearless eyes… Let the Piper come and welcome’, he cried, waving his hand. I’ll follow him gladly, round and round the world.’

— LM Montgomery

@gracefatchen

Up the Creek Without a Paddle' is inspired by a family trip up the Murray in a houseboat. Happy Australia Day Featuring: A PREMONITION FEATURING: Another short story for November... Born in the south, how could she leave it? That land of sunshine and wattle bloom, where the dusty summer evenings scented the world ruddy? "Long, long ago, a people came back to their own land after being away a long time..." Spent the weekend in Naracoorte. As we drove off through the dawn, I thought to myself: You can't take the home out of Kanmantoo (or wherever home is for you). The simplicity of home-things and childhood beckon on into adulthood. And aforementioned post is up a lot sooner than I thought it would be: a dialogue between two poets and the Springtime...

Latest Posts

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    I wasn’t particularly drawn to rabbits before reading Watership Down, but having done so, I think them the most noble, mischievous and intelligent of animals. I’d like to think I’m endowed with a certain amount of luck whenever one skitters… Continue reading

    BOOK REVIEW: WATERSHIP DOWN

  • THE TRUTH ABOUT STORY

    The truth about Story is really a fascinating adventure; it’s a grand scheme, testing the strength of our virtue and carrying us on – further up and further in.    Humans are a storied people. For thousands of years, we’ve… Continue reading

    THE TRUTH ABOUT STORY

  • TO AN OLD FRIEND

    A memoir (of sorts)… I People say the opposite of dying is living. But it’s not – the opposite of dying is beginning. And in this case, death is a slow, slow thing, and seems out of place with the… Continue reading

    TO AN OLD FRIEND

  • BOOK REVIEW #5

    The first phrase in this ruddy account of the Plague in 17th century England runs thus: A parcel of patterns brought the Plague to Eyam. Published in the 1980s, A Parcel of Patterns is the sort of historical fiction I… Continue reading

    BOOK REVIEW #5

  • THE DAY SPENCER HUEGOLD DIED

    The story behind the story: Wrote this one while holidaying in Tumby Bay and walking past the local sea-front hospital almost everyday… It was a dry, overcast, sea-smacked day when they took Spencer Huegold to the cemetery. The air reeked… Continue reading

    THE DAY SPENCER HUEGOLD DIED

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