Rockfall

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Rockfall (Post 114)

Rockfall (1999), was written in response to a prompt from a publisher. The brief, as far as I can remember eighteen years after the fact, was to write a fictionalised version of events that occurred when a well-known landmark collapsed into the sea. I'm pretty sure it was in Victoria, but not one of the apostles. I did some research, and found original reports of the incident, but none of the ones I discovered said anything about the people who were tapped on the formation. I don't think it said whether they were adults or children or a mix. I consulted with the publisher and rather than invent people for the adventure and have a potential problem if someone who knew the facts happened upon the book, we decided to invent a rock formation and simply base the events on the real incident.

Thus Skate Rock came into being. The narrator, Angie, who is twelve or so and her previously unknown younger cousin Llewellyn spend a holiday with their mothers, who are taking a trip down memory lane to the place they stayed in childhood. The kids each wanted a different kind of holiday, but once Angie has laid down the law about being seen with Llew in public, she discovers her "gifted" cousin is reasonable company. Angie details the events that lead to their stranding, occasionally breaking the fourth wall by writing a highly embroidered account and then retracting it to say what really happened.

While stranded, Llew admits to being afraid, but his fear is not of the cold, wet night or of the rest of the rock collapsing; it is a more insidious fear of realisation. As he says, and Angie agrees, they have not been careless. They have obeyed all the signs and not taken any risks and yet... here they are.

As Angie says, after the rescue. Sometimes accidents just happen.

About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, post a comment and I'll get back to you.