The Kids from S.N.O.O.P

Memories of an Australian Childhood


Spoiler Alert:
this post contains details which reveal plot elements of The Kids from Snoop

The Kids from S.N.O.O.P interweaves personal memories of growing up in inner suburban Melbourne in the 1960s with the fictional adventures of three aspiring young detectives and their quest for mysteries to solve.

 

The Kids from S.N.O.O.P has been a lovely excuse for me to revisit people, neighbourhoods, school, customs, fashions and foods from the past, as well as particular memories.

The Seekers

I recall the 1960s as an era when children's external possibilities for entertainment were much more limited than today, yet in many respects we were freer to play, invent and explore on our own in ways which would be unthinkable nowadays.

The storyline reflects that contradiction: Rache, Suzi and Tom dispose of seemingly endless and countless days to play at being detectives, and although their means and scope are limited, their imaginations have free rein. All the same, their peaceful, ordinary environment frustrates them time and again: where are the crimes they are so keen to solve?

Lily of Lonestorm

the second volume of the 

Threepenny Tales 

series:

Lily of Lonestorm

The 

Seafaring Adventures 

of a Girl 

in search of her Parents

The second in the 

THREEPENNY TALES series, 

Lily of Lonestorm

is a touch more melancholy than its predecessor Barnaby Twickins, however Lily's lonely life is soon cheered by a band of extraordinary pirates and an unusual friendship, as she launches a quest to find her long-lost parents. 

The Adventures of Barnaby Twickins

the first volume of the

Threepenny Tales
series: 
 
The Adventures of Barnaby Twickins

The 

Nonsense Adventures

of a

Clowning Prodigy
  

The first in the 

THREEPENNY TALES  series,
The Adventures of Barnaby Twickins 
was born of a desire for something light, 
after three serious novels.

  

No research was required, except for a little inspiration from the 17th/18th centuries.

Dante's Gift

Fiorenza mio amore

 

  SPOILER ALERT: 

this post includes details which reveal

plot elements of Dante's Gift

The Dove was begging for a sequel; although it was not planned from the outset, it became clear while I was writing. The story did not end with the executions of the Goodmen and women and with Sibilia's escape. Others fled and carried their message abroad, the Goodmen's religion survived at least into the following century and their fate was possibly caught up with that of other persecuted groups such as the Templars. 

Bonshommes being banished from Carcassonne in 1209; some of those who survived would have fled to communities in northern and central Italy

Although Sibilia's mission would not be described in detail, it also seemed necessary to trace her legacy. There was the added temptation of transferring the sequel to Italy and Florence, and of introducing a protagonist I have revered for many years. I confess I hesitated to include him at all: it seemed impertinent at best and hubris at worst. Perhaps I have committed hubris, but it has been a great adventure doing so!

Sandro Botticelli's portrait of Dante Alighieri, 1495

The Dove of Montségur

Medieval Musings

SPOILER ALERT: 

some details in this post reveal

plot elements of The Dove of Montségur

Although my first love at university was medieval Italy, hence Dante studies, the dolce stil novo, the Sicilian School, the history of Florence etc., I also took a course in Provençal (today more correctly called Occitan), the language of the population of Southern France, and hence of the troubadours, the poetic ancestors of the sommo poeta (the 'supreme poet') Dante Alighieri. The course was dull and poorly taught, but the subject matter was intriguing, the language of the troubadours rich and exciting, seemingly a blend of Spanish, Italian and French with original elements. And the troubadours were such innovators!

Can vei la lauzeta mover  'When I see the lark spread its wings' by Bernart de Ventadorn (circa 1145 - 1200) performed  here by Ensemble Alla Francesca

My first novel, Evin of the Trees, is set within a broad time frame (some time in the Bronze Age) and features extensive travelling. The next story had to be more circumscribed, to deal with one episode in a restricted time and place. What better than a mountaintop fortress during a siege? Research on Southern French history associated with the troubadours brought to light Montségur and the tragedy of the bonshommes, better known as Cathars. It seemed a fitting focal point.

It happened here, almost 800 years ago, in what was then the County of Toulouse