It’s sitting at number two on the most popular creative bucket list activities to do in 2022, and there are already people putting pen to paper to tick ‘Be Published’ off their list.
Sunshine Coast self-funded retiree Geoff Glanville got an early hop on his list.
Initially, he started on his book some 15 years ago, but it wasn’t until COVID lockdowns and isolations came into place that the 69-year-old decided there was no better time to get back to the manuscript and finish it off.
“I have always loved writing,” he said.
“In my teenage years I thought I had a book in me.
“Post-school, I flirted with the idea of becoming a journalist until a friend who was a journo talked me out of it.”
A career in journalism was put to bed but the love of words remained during Geoff’s career in property.
Diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2011, he undertook years of aggressive cancer treatment and was just getting his health back when he was given another unrelated cancer diagnosis.
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While convalescing from that cancer operation, Geoff was dealt a further blow – he had relapsed from the first cancer.
“It is amazing how motivated you can become when confronted by your own mortality,” he said.
While he recovered from his treatments, Geoff turned his attention to his bucket list and in particular, his book.
“When I first started writing 15 years ago, I struggled to find time to commit to the process and I was unable to put myself in the mind of one of the main characters who is really vindictive, so I shelved the project,” he said.
It took around 18 months from the time Geoff picked up the manuscript and to craft the final version of Justice Denied, a crime thriller largely set in the Queensland towns of Toowoomba, St George, Tara and the Gold Coast.
He asked family friend Neil Bryne, a professional reader, to view the work he’d done and instead of just a passing comment, Neil gave Geoff a lengthy assessment of how he could develop the work further.
Four months later, with the revisions from Neil’s assessment completed, Geoff sent his manuscript to colleague and 10-time bestselling author Rachael Bermingham, who heads up Bermingham Books.
After Rachael’s review, it was found the story required just a few more days of re-writing to sharpen up some areas before the book was accepted and put through the production process.
What resulted was Geoff’s 400-page, 80,000+ word crime novel Justice Denied.
So, what did Geoff think of his completed bucket list activity?
“I am proud of it and trust readers will really enjoy the twists and turns I have developed,” he said.
The official release was on January 29 but Geoff had at least 20 family members and friends who purchased a copy beforehand.
“The early feedback has been fantastic,” Geoff said.
“One person said he read the whole book in two days and another said she couldn’t put it down. These simple testimonials please me no end.”
Geoff said the experience was a satisfying one and he urged others “to have a go”.
“I mostly wrote at home in the late afternoons or evenings, and did my research, or more intricate story formulation during the day.”
“I particularly enjoyed developing the storylines and characters; much of which was derived from my own life experiences, people I have met, or heard about.
“The story itself was born many years ago when a good friend had his life nearly ruined by a false accusation.
“I struggled to deal with the fact that I couldn’t help him but I realised that I could at least help myself by committing my thoughts about his situation to paper which became the foundation of the book.
“The most complex character in Justice Denied, and the most challenging to write about, was Marion.
“Despite her hard life, Marion will no doubt be voted the least favourite character.”
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Even though Geoff didn’t have formal writing experience, he had time to cultivate the craft.
Drawing upon a lifetime of experiences to colour and pepper throughout the book, there were areas in the story that required research on unfamiliar topics.
“The beauty of approaching 70 is that you are not in the least bit shy in asking for help or shy about asking silly questions,” he said.
Without a background in law or law enforcement, approaching the collection and collation of evidence to first create a potential crime, and then devise and mount a criminal trial, was a challenge.
He overcame that challenge by extensive research and by enlisting help from the Queensland Police Force’s Media and Public Affairs Group, along with Google, friends in the auto industry and others in the legal and medical fraternity.
Now that Geoff has finished Justice Denied, he wouldn’t rule out writing another book if he had an ember of a motivating idea.
“I enjoyed the process and learned a lot from the exercise. It would have to be easier the second time around.”
For now, however, Geoff enjoyed seeing that tick off his bucket list and he looked forward to enjoying, sharing and talking about his new book, available now at stores and online retailers for $29.97.
Justice Denied will also be available as an eBook on various online book retailing sites.
