Prize of the month

Someone is stalking gold hunters. Now a bushman is stalking them.

Terry Drage is not the first amateur gold prospector to rock up to the Murchison Hotel, brag about an exciting discovery — and then vanish into thin air.

But Gabe Ahern is determined he will be the last.

No-one knows the land around the remote Western Australian town of Cue better than Gabe — a wild dog trapper who’s in his element in the bush. Feeling responsible for his friend’s fate, he races there to join the search.

But it won’t be an easy ride. For a start, the local cops seem sure Terry going missing is nothing more than a tragic accident.

It’s down to Gabe to spot the sinister pattern of disappearances and deaths in recent years.

Plus, the last time Gabe was in his old home town it was under the very worst of circumstances. And now, to stop a killer, he’ll need to confront the ghosts from his past.

This is the third book in the Gabe Ahern series.

Blood and Gold by Michael Trant is published by Penguin, RRP $34.99.

On This Ground edited by Dave Whitty

Many of us gain inspiration, solace and a sense of wonder from our interactions with nature, and writers have long plumbed and explored these depths.

At the same time as many of us tune in to natural landscapes, our environment is imperilled as never before. We are in the midst of a climate emergency that is challenging the future of our species, and all living creatures we share the Earth with.

This unique collection of Australia’s best new nature writing gathers together some of our most widely known and original voices to reflect on our relationship with nature.

These pieces — by turns compelling, urgent, poignant and passionate — offer an insight into the wonder of the natural world around us, and form a clarion call for its protection.

With an introduction from Dave Witty, and featuring contributors including Tim Winton, Bruce Pascoe and Inga Simpson, this collection makes the perfect summer read or gift for the nature-lover in your life.

On This Ground: Best Australian Nature Writing is edited by Dave Whitty and published by Monash University Publishing, RRP $34.99.

Rural Dreams by Margaret Hickey

From award-winning crime writer Margaret Hickey comes a collection of captivating short stories celebrating the Australian countryside.

Rural Dreams takes a look at life outside the big smoke, featuring the kind of characters you might expect in the country — as well as some you might not.

A football coach ponders obsession; a mouse plague dictates school yard politics; a failed playwright asks ‘who gets the farm?’; and a young woman returns to her fire-ravaged town.

People we know. People we grew up with. Some of them might even be us.

Funny, heartbreaking and true, Rural Dreams highlights the richness of life on the land and showcases the beauty of lives lived outside city walls.

Rural Dreams by Margaret Hickey is published by Penguin, RRP $22.99.

A Woolly Tale by Jackie Hosking

This children’s book is inspired by the true story of a Merino ram who was lost for five years in the bush near Canberra and set the record for the world’s heaviest fleece.

A Woolly Tale follows the life and adventures of Chris, the world’s woolliest sheep, whose fleece is on display at the National Museum in Canberra.

The book is a creative retelling of Chris’ adventures, brought to life by Jackie Hosking’s words and Paul Lalo’s striking illustrations.

It is the third in a series of books produced by the museum and inspired by the stories in its Tim and Gina Fairfax Discovery Centre.

National Museum director Katherine McMahon said Chris the sheep was a beloved Canberra character who has enchanted visitors since his 41.1kg fleece was acquired by the museum in 2016.

“Chris became an international media story after his fleece was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s ‘heaviest sheep fleece’, breaking records previously set in New Zealand by a whopping 12 kilograms,” she said.

In the book, Chris is nervous about his first shearing and escapes into the bush. At first, Chris enjoys his new life among the gum trees, but as the years go by, his fleece grows heavier and heavier and his journey into the unknown takes an unexpected turn.

A Woolly Tale by Jackie Hosking is published by National Museum of Australia Press, RRP $26.95, and available from: https://shop.nma.gov.au/

GIVEAWAY

For a chance to win a copy of one of these books, send your name, address, daytime phone number and the answer to this question: Which country’s farmers are being plagued by iguanas? (Hint: see page 9.) Entries close on Friday, February 28, via post to: Country Life ‘Aussie’ Competition, PO Box 8000, Shepparton, 3632; or email to: competition@countrynews.com.au — please include the words ‘Aussie’ in the subject line.

We have two copies of On This Ground and Blood and Gold to give away, and one copy each of Rural Dreams and A Woolly Tale to give away (six winners in total). Please say which book you would like to win on your entry.

WINNERS

We received hundreds of entries in last month’s book giveaway — one of the biggest responses we’ve ever had. Thank you! The winner of the Thriller book pack (One Of Us Is Dead by Peter James and The Protector by Tony Park) is: Greg Sutton of Naring. The winner of the Family book pack (Wings Above The Mallee by Leonie Kelsall and Inheritance by Genevieve Gannon) is: Marlene Cooke of Rushworth.

Congratulations! You can collect your prize from the Shepparton News office at 7940 Goulburn Valley Hwy, Shepparton.