Published at last - like a real author!

The Safari is now a bona-fide real-life published author. 

After many tens of rejection letters from publishers on all continents (except Antarctica), but not as many as J K Rowling, we have now been able to self-publish thanks to the wizardry that is e-books and those amazing pageless reading machines the Kindle...whatever one of those is - the future apparently!

We wrote the story a couple of years ago whilst recuperating from yet another hand operation and after a few tweaks we believe we've developed a good read. 

The amazing illustrations have be drawn by our good friend and former work colleague James McLean.  

In addition a proportion of any royalties we make (hahaha)  will be donated to Maroo Wildlife Refuge in Western Australia where they do sterling work helping conserve some of the world's most endangered wildlife and where inspiration for a significant part of the story came from.

So with Christmas coming up and all those children receiving their new Kindle machines why not download this as their first story...it's only a few quid.

Chapter One

A day at the lake

It was one morning early in the summer holidays and although the weather was warm it was still raining.
Peter and Hannah were playing upstairs, Mum was home doing the laundry... again, Dad was already at work.

Peter was getting impatient with the weather he didn’t fancy spending the whole six weeks of summer indoors. He liked to be outside. “How much longer is this awful rain going to last” he thought. He was getting bored driving his virtual Ferrari F1 around Silverstone for what seemed like the seven hundred and ninth lap. Despite all this practice he still managed to race down Hangar Straight to fast and spin off at Stowe Corner most laps. 

Peter was good at computer games but really preferred to be playing outdoors in the open air.
Suddenly Hannah burst into Peter’s room “it’s stopped raining!” she cried, “the sun has come out at last.” Peter had missed this exciting event, as he hadn’t yet opened his curtains. “Let’s ask Mum if we can play out.” Hannah went on.

“Everywhere is still wet,” said Mum, “and stay away from the lake it will be very muddy around the edge, mind you don’t come back filthy dirty like last week. The washing machine nearly spat your clothes back out at me last time” she joked.

Hannah and Peter lived in a house with a little garden, which had a shed, a bit of lawn, a few bushes and a small pond. There were no fish in the pond but every spring frogs and toads appeared from nowhere, or so it seemed. They spent ages watching the tadpoles develop into miniature frogs. Once, last summer, Hannah thought she saw a newt peering out from under the waterweed at them. 

She put her hand in to catch it, but no luck; it just vanished....

A little later...

 "Look! What could have made a track like that?"

To find out what mischief Peter and Hannah get up to and the adventures that follow you'll have to read the rest of the story which is available for download on Kindle here 

If your children like it please leave write us a good review on  Amazon. 

We hope it will inspire children to look at their local environment, be that out in the sticks, the cosy suburbs or even the concrete jungles of inner city centres. Wherever they are there is wildlife to found, appreciated, enjoyed and protected...case in point the second bird we heard in the darkness of the not-so-leafy suburbs here this morning were the Peregrines stretching their vocal chords even before the Blackbirds had got out of bed...they didn't beat the Robins though; we're not actually sure if Robins ever go to sleep...

We have already started the sequel just in case sales go well ;) ...but where in the world will Hannah and Peter end up and what will they find when they get there???

Where to next? Small matter or some very interesting wetland wildlife to get to grips with later this arvo...if it's not too windy that is - the trees in the garden here at Base Camp have just started shaking somewhat excessively.

In the meantime let us know how many copies have been ordered in your outback.