My name is Gail Killen. I have just completed my first manuscript called Metal and Bones. This is where I am supposed to tell you that I have had great success, and the manuscript has been approved for publication through a large international publishing house and is now being made into a TV series or a film. I am sorry to say, that is not the case. I am here to document my travels as emerging author and let me tell you, I see a long road ahead.
Gail Killen on ideas: Where did Metal and Bones come from?
Metal and Bones started out as a short story that I wrote when my husband was overseas. We had been traveling for quite a few years. We found a home with some acreage in a town north of Brisbane to settle down. He would leave to look after our boat halfway across the world while I stayed and look after the five acres. I’m not sure who had the better deal but at least I didn’t have to worry about dragging anchors and rough seas.
Our acreage had two dams. When I say two dams I mean one dam, the other was a large ornamental pond full of weeds the ducks liked to paddle in. When the large dam was full used it to water the property. That was until we experienced our first drought. Every now and then, depending on the rainfall, the hull of a little upturned boat would appear then disappear when the torrential rains came. One year the water level went down so far we ended up with the dilapidated boat sitting in a deep mud hole.
I remember mentioning to my husband on one of his visits home, while he was knee deep in mud fixing the pump, wouldn’t it be funny if there was a body in there and that’s where I got the idea for Metal and Bones.
I thought typing ‘The End’ on the last page of my manuscript meant the hard work was behind me. How wrong was I?
All I can say is the next step for me it to bite the bullet. I now have to be brave and let my creation go, let it fly. This is the beginning of a long road. Watch this space.
