From the Studio to the Page: My Journey with King’s Spur

It’s been an incredible honour to have my debut novel King’s Spur featured by the Cowra Guardian. To see my work recognised by my local community—the people and place that have shaped so much of my life—is something I’ll always cherish. This feature not only highlighted the story within the book but also touched on the story behind it: the life I live, the things I love, and the spark that set this creative journey in motion.

I’ve always considered myself a visual storyteller first. As an artist and sculptor, I’ve spent years working with my hands—bringing ideas to life through form, texture, and space. I live and work on a farm in Cowra, NSW, where the natural rhythms of the land are both grounding and inspiring. There’s a certain raw beauty to this place—the rolling hills, the dry heat, the endless sky—that has always stirred something deep in me. That connection to landscape made its way into King’s Spur almost instinctively.

The novel is set in the mountainous regions of Australia, where the vastness of the land mirrors the complexity of human emotion. King’s Spur is a story of intrigue, compassion, and revenge—of people navigating their own inner wilderness as they reckon with past choices and future consequences. I wanted to create characters who feel real, whose actions come from places of pain, love, loyalty, or deep uncertainty. The story touches on themes I think we can all relate to: justice, redemption, and the search for truth.

Writing a novel was never something I planned. In fact, I stumbled into it during a quieter season on the farm, when the sculpting studio was cold and the days were long. I started jotting down ideas—scenes, dialogue, fragments of story—and before I knew it, those scattered thoughts began to form something bigger. Writing became a new kind of creative outlet for me: just as immersive, but with a different kind of challenge. It asked me to shape with words instead of wire and clay, to sculpt a world using rhythm and emotion rather than physical material.

As a debut author, I’ve found this experience both daunting and thrilling. There’s a certain vulnerability in putting your story out there, especially one that comes from such a personal place. But the response so far—from readers, locals, and supporters near and far—has been truly humbling. I never imagined King’s Spur would connect with people the way it has, and it fills me with gratitude.

This book is just the beginning. I have more stories inside me, and I’m excited to explore where this new creative road leads. But no matter where the journey takes me, I’ll always be grounded in the same things: a love for art, a deep respect for the land, and a belief in the power of storytelling to connect us all.

Thanks to everyone who has read, shared, or supported King’s Spur. And thank you to the Cowra Guardian for helping bring this story to a wider audience. I hope the book gives readers a journey worth taking.

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