Left of the Rising Sun – John Holland

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On this festive Christmas week, I’m hosting author, John Holland.

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John Holland grew up in the Australian outback.  He has been a stockman, miner, roadworker, professional hunter, newspaper columnist and media officer for a politician.

His poetry and fiction are about life and the question of where we fit into an uncertain universe.

Left of the Rising Sun

~ Ten-year-old Buck Brown is the sole survivor of a plane crash in the interior of Australia’s Northern Territory. Watching the plane sink into the murky water of a remote outback billabong, he remembers the pilot saying they had been flying off-course for hours. Search parties will never find Buck, he decides. There is only one way out, to walk several hundred kilometres home.

With grim resolve, Buck sets out on a trek that will require resolve, knowledge, and ingenuity, a journey that will test his strength to the limit. He will be a participant in the elemental struggle for life and survival.

Buck’s gruelling trial will also teach him surprising lessons about friendship and loyalty. If he is successful it will be a trek that leads not only back to his family and home but also to a maturity not always achieved in a full lifetime. ~

Here is an excerpt:

~Buck took inventory. He was wearing a light shirt and drill shorts. The nights        shouldn’t be cold, though, so he wouldn’t freeze. He also wore new sandshoes and short socks. All he had in his pockets were a handkerchief, which might come in handy, and his beloved “army knife—” a Christmas present from his family. It wasn’t really an army knife, but it might be even handier. It was a folding knife with two cutting blades of different lengths, a serrated blade you could saw with, a tiny pair of scissors, and a tiny magnifying glass. The magnifying glass interested him the most. He should be able to use it to start a fire!

It was early afternoon, and the sun was still high. With the sun where it was, he could work out the direction he should take. Well…pretty closely anyway. Buck pointed himself along his chosen path and aimed for what looked like a gap between hills in the far distance. He knew enough to pick out a landmark and adhere to that direction.

Each morning he would have to pick out a new landmark to aim for that day. Home should be roughly east north-east. If he faced the first light of the rising sun each day and spread his arms directly outwards, his left hand should be pointing north, and his right hand pointing south. Bring his left hand around halfway to the sun, and that should be north-east. Bring it from north-east halfway to the sun again and that should be east north-east. Maybe that wasn’t the exact direction to head, but it would be pretty close. To make it easier he would just steer each day’s walk to a landmark picked out on the horizon not too far to the left of the rising sun.

Fortunately he would be travelling through mostly savannah country with quite a few hills. These would make good landmarks to steer towards if the hills were close enough to his chosen direction.

Daylight dimmed as Buck neared the first hills. He started looking for shelter and found a small waterhole near the foot of a hill. Time to stop before darkness made it impossible to keep to his path.

The water tasted like washing-up water, but it would do. He drank thirstily and then picked up some wood and grass as well as dried leaves, which he took up to a spot where the rock of the hill was slightly undercut and gave some overhead protection.

The afternoon sun was low and sluggish, but he might still have time for a fire. After crushing dry leaves and dead grass to a powder with his hands, he focused the beam from the magnifying glass on them. He concentrated hard to make sure he held the glass the exact distance from the powdered grass and leaves. When smoke started to curl from the powder, his heart lifted. After a few tries, and by using his breath to fan the smouldering pile of powder, he was rewarded by a small lick of flame. Quickly he fed it with dry leaves, grass, and twigs until it caught, and he could use the bigger sticks of wood he had gathered. Success! He could make fire!~

New Left Cover Smaller

Links:

Website:  http://poetrysansfrontieres.weebly.com/index.html 

Louisa Publishing:  http://poetrysansfrontieres.weebly.com/louisa-publishing.html

Blog page: http://poetrysansfrontieres.weebly.com/beyond-the-barricades—blog-page

Amazon link:  http://amzn.com/1502861933 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/john.holland.56884

John and I would love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave a comment.

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About Evelyn Cullet

I write mystery romance and romantic suspense novels. I'm an avid organic gardener, and I play the piano. I have a spoiled Black Lab mix., Bailey, whom I adore. Visit my blog every Monday to discover new authors and their novels at: http://evelyncullet.com/blog/
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11 Responses to Left of the Rising Sun – John Holland

  1. すべての通り、腕時計は小さい不思議な彫刻家の創建アーティストウィラード維岡マイクロ。多くの細い点ともっと見るタイプ片、検査を私達の手で1型の文章はここで。この件が黒くて、彼を飛び出してそれからカードと彼の作品は明らかガラスを通して統合一面を例に、画像上の湖。同協会は明確には間違いない:それはAさんといいました。週知のトリックは、カードは、その魔法のように飛ぶ。 アクアノウティックコピース これは1つの執行はフランスの「激浪派の芸術家に敬礼」ロバート、誰が作った作品としての監督、彫刻家で、と事件のマスター。 http://www.gowatchs.com/brand-204.html

  2. スーパーコピーロレックス時計販売 はレプリカロレックス時計通販専門店です . 0.701167888 ロレックスコピー時計の私はパテックロレックスコピーは通常パテック時計は非常にエキサイティングなまたは十分に近代的ではないと感じ、古典的な時計愛好家のためにここにスイートスポットをヒットだと思います . ロレックス工場は生産ラインを設けないで、彼らはベテラン職人に知らせて、彼らの手が完成のに行くのは一件一件の芸術品で、その上ずっと更にの挑戦が蓿の彼らを待っている難度があります。スーパーコピー時計. デイトジャストコピー時計 : http://www.gginza.com/%E6%99%82%E8%A8%88/%E3%83%AD%E3%83%AC%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9/daytona/07a18fdca7e3553b.html

  3. この新しいlum-tec腕時計のスタイル(「スーパーダイバー」または1000メートルダイバーで暫定的に知られている)は、本当に素晴らしいです。それはクラシックとモダンなダイバーウォッチの必需品とデザインの両方の本質を捕えることなく、見かけ倒し。pvd症例は黒または色のついた顔で崇高に見えます、そして、顔には、素子の寸法は、ちょうど右に見えます。スーパーコピー時計どういう意味ですか?例えば、手のすべての右の長時間の指標は、まさに正常なサイズです、そして、冠を簡単な操作のために大きいです、手袋でさえ。これらの基本的なものは、あまりにしばしば、だいなしにしたことは驚くほどになります。lum-tec見ていない過去の重要な詳細が知られています、そして、私はそれを評価します。より多くのイメージのために、下記のギャラリーをチェックアウトしてください。 http://www.newkakaku.com/lxq8.htm

  4. Marja McGraw says:

    Buck sounds like a smart, mature ten-year-old, and the story sounds exciting. Thank you so much for sharing the excerpt!

  5. It’s always great hearing from you, Celeste. Hope your holidays are jolly and bright.

  6. Nia Simone says:

    Thank you for hosting John on this wonderful site. I appreciate having his wonderful work showcased here!

    Warm wishes,

    Nia Simone

  7. John Holland says:

    Thank you for posting this Evelyn. Merry Xmas & a Happy New Year!

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