‘Once upon a time in the outback…‘
– Magpie
Magpie by Alan Ryan was published in July 2021 and has just been voted Fiction Book of the Year at the recent Irish CAP Awards 2023.
‘The Carousel Aware Prize for Independently Published Authors (The CAP for Indies) aims to provide a platform to showcase the cream of Irish Self-Published authors, bringing them to the attention of book shops, distributors, and the media in Ireland and abroad, with all money raised going to the charity Aware. ‘
Magpie is described as ‘a tender journey into the broken heart of Australia…strives to capture the atmosphere and sense of an extraordinary place.’ I am delighted today to introduce you all to Alan’s winning novel and Alan has also kindly shared a short extract below, which I do hope you enjoy. You can read more about Alan at http://chaosireland.com/alanblog/
Purchase Link – Magpie
[ About Magpie ]
It’s 1990 and Jim Macken talks to trees. He dances around the fire and has made peace with the flies. In a bid to escape a mundane life, the broken-hearted Irish backpacker has gone walkabout in the West Australian Goldfields. The scorched land is hurting. The summer rains never came and the temperatures soar.
On a rare trip to a remote inn, an assault brings Jim’s day to a premature close. He sleeps outside, sprawled across the wide front seat of his beat-up truck. A body lies in the dirt. The evidence, much of it manufactured, suggests Jim is a killer, and Kelly Porcini, the disillusioned barmaid, is an accessory to murder.
Fearing for their lives, Jim and Kelly flee into the hostile interior of the continent. Along the way, the young couple find a beautiful but damaged country. There is the possibility of love and the opportunity for betrayal. Ultimately, an ancient and indigenous Dreamtime landscape may decide how their stories end.
[ Extract ]
At least the pub’s quiet, she thought, and the early lunchtime air was still free of smoke and the stink of thirsty miners coming off shift. Except for the young Irishman, who took his lunch away from the dining area, and the two old boys nursing stubbies at the bar, the place was empty. Kelly liked when Pete and Ron were in. They had elevated themselves to regulars in recent weeks and were always eager to chat.
The Aurora Inn was a solid, single-storey structure, built of cut red sandstone blocks. The fine-pitched cross-laminations visible within the blocks told a story of deep geological time, when water flowed more freely through an ancient landscape. There was a look of permanence to the inn, unusual for Goldfields buildings of its age. The red brick quoins on the corners and around the windows and doors added a dash of flair. A double-hipped corrugated roof sloped down to meet a broad verandah apron that wrapped the building on all sides in shade. There was nothing brash about The Aurora Inn. It sported none of the ornate filigree and ostentatious facades of the big, Federation-style public houses common to large country towns. It stood almost alone, but proudly, at the junction of two wide dirt roads.
‘You finished? Will I take your plate?’ Kelly asked, passing by Jim’s table.
‘Yes, thanks.’
‘Everything OK?’‘Lovely. Actually, I was—’
‘Statistician!’
Jim looked perplexed.
‘Statistician.’ Kelly gestured towards the television. ‘Burgo’s looking for an occupation that gathers, and analyses data.’
‘Oh, right. Very good …’ He glanced at the screen. ‘God, it’s a dreadful quiz. Still if it’s on, you kinda have to watch it. There’s some head on that Burgess chap.’
Now Kelly looked confused. ‘Can I get you anything else?’
‘Actually, how’s about another steak.’
‘Another twenty-ounce steak?’
‘You might as well give me the chips and coleslaw too.’
‘OK. Medium rare, mushroom sauce?’
‘No, wait. Pepper sauce. To be honest, the mushrooms tasted a bit mouldy. Tinned, I presume?’
‘That’s what they are, aren’t they … mould?’
Jim smiled and nodded.
‘Hard to get fresh veg out this far,’ Kelly added, in defence of the cook. ‘So, medium rare, pepper sauce it is. Won’t be long.’ She cleared the table in front of Jim and started to walk away, before looking back. ‘Free coffee, if you eat it all!’
On the television, the Wheel of Fortune clicked to a stop and a lady named Sue won enough money to buy a Fowlers Vacola preserve making kit. Behind his moustache, the host, John Burgess, prattled with delight and complemented Sue on her ‘lovely yellow dress.’
[ Bio ]
The idea for Magpie first germinated thirty years ago when Alan lived in a treehouse on a sheep station in Western Australia. Over the intervening years, Alan experimented with different careers, most notably working as a geologist in Australia. In middle age he took up long distance triathlon. Slow and steady, it suited his temperament. Aged in his forties, he set an Irish Ironman record and has known success at world level. Around this time, he became a father.
He lives in Wexford with his wife and two children. When not writing, he paints oil paintings, and still enjoys the odd run, bike or swim.
Website: http://chaosireland.com/alanblog/
