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?
