The idea of Haighs Flat came to me back in 2018 when I was seriously contemplating writing my first novel. Where did the name Haighs Flat come from? That I cannot answer you, it just came to me as a name for a typical country town, and thankfully there is no town of the same name that I am aware of.

The next thing I had to do was paint a picture of the town in my head. In order to have the story make sense, I had to be aware of directions, travelling and have a general layout in my head something of what the town would look like - and yes, it is loosely based on an existing town in the North-West of New South Wales.

What I wanted for the book was something uniquely Australian. Something that not only Australians will relate to, but something that will attract the attention of international readers as well, hence the culprit in the story is pulled out of an Aboriginal legend that may or may not have had an element of truth about it. Being a Christian, and a creationist at that, I believe that the earth is much younger than the majority of the world believes. I also believe in the creation account as described in Genesis, thus I believe that dinosaurs existed alongside of people.

In chapter ten of my novel, the question is asked: "We read in the Bible of animals which we can interpret as being dinosaurs, existing alongside of people, but why do we not see this in other texts from the past?”

Hopefully I have answered this question in this book by explaining that there is much evidence of dinosaurs having lived alongside of people. While this book is fictional, I have tried to keep things historically accurate - especially where it relates to Biblical issues.

As far as the book goes, chapter ten, which is in a Bible Study setting, would be my favourite chapter. I picked up my pen at around 9 o'clock in the morning and didn't put it down again until the early hours of the next morning, stopping only for meal breaks, and doing a bit of research. The whole chapter just flowed out of my pen and I couldn't stop until it was over.

I hope you enjoy this book and I look forward to hearing from you with your reviews - either positive or negative.

Every novel begins somewhere.

This one began in a quiet, wind‑swept cemetery in Denison Town, near Leadville in Western New South Wales.

I was walking among the old headstones when I came across a small, weathered grave bearing three names:

• Grace Ann Bayliss, died 1897, aged four

• Hannah Bayliss, died 1898, aged thirty‑six, during childbirth

• Stanley Ronald Bayliss, died eleven days later

Beneath Hannah’s name was the father’s: J.F. Bayliss.

History tells us almost nothing about him. No diary, no letters, no recorded memories. Only his initials carved into stone — a silent witness to a man who lost a daughter, a wife, and a newborn son in the space of a year. His grief is unrecorded, but it is impossible to stand before that grave and not feel the weight of it.

That moment stayed with me.

I didn’t want to tell his story — because the truth is, we don’t know it. But I wanted to honour the reality of such loss, and to imagine what a journey toward healing might have looked like for someone who had endured so much. The novel that grew from that place is fictional, yet its emotional core is anchored in the lives of Hannah, Grace Ann, Stanley Ronald, and the man named on the stone, J.F. Bayliss. Their suffering was known only to God and time, and I wanted this book to acknowledge that truth with gentleness and respect.

Two Scriptures shaped the heart of the story as I wrote.

The first is a promise that threads through Joseph’s journey:

Even when Joseph cannot feel God, God is there — steady, faithful, present in the darkness.

The second verse whispered through the quieter moments:

These words became the heartbeat of the novel. They reminded me that hope often arrives softly, like an echo carried on the wind — not loud, not dramatic, but unmistakably there.

My prayer is that Echoes of Hope offers readers the same quiet assurance:

You are not alone.

You have never been alone.

And even in the stillest places, hope continues to echo.

I grew up in a Christian home, but at fifteen I walked away from my faith. For years I lived in rebellion — smoking, drugs, broken relationships, and a growing emptiness I tried hard to ignore.

Everything changed in 1994. After a frightening, drug‑fuelled night, I cried out to God for help. He answered instantly. That moment didn’t fix everything overnight, but it began a slow, unmistakable pull back toward Him — a pursuit I couldn’t deny.

A few months later, through a chain of “coincidences” that were far too precise to be accidental, I found myself praying the sinner’s prayer in a friend’s living room. I added my own quiet challenge: “God, if I do this, make Yourself real to me.”

He did.

My smoking addiction disappeared immediately, and a hunger for Scripture — something I had never experienced — took root in my heart.

Soon after, I found a church where God’s presence was tangible and His Word came alive. Over the next several years, I witnessed healings, served in ministry, and watched God transform my life from the inside out.

But transformation often brings tension. My marriage struggled under the weight of these changes, and in 2004 it ended. Even in heartbreak, God remained faithful. He provided for my children, opened doors I could never have forced open, and led me — through dreams, confirmations, and perfect timing — to relocate to Coffs Harbour, where He planted me in a new church community.

From deliverance to healing, from protection in a near‑fatal accident to miraculous provision for my family, the first decade of my Christian walk became a living testimony to one unshakeable truth:

God is faithful. Always.

When I began writing this book, I didn’t want it to be just another testimony — as powerful as God’s work in my life has been. I wanted it to become something that would help you recognise God’s hand in your own story. That’s why at the end of each chapter, I’ve included reflections, questions, Scriptures, and a simple takeaway designed to help you pause, look back, and see where God has been pursuing you too.

If you need encouragement, hope, or a reminder that God has not forgotten you, this book was written with you in mind.

The Haighs Flat series is a pair of interconnected novels exploring faith, trauma, community, and the unexpected ways lives collide.

Haighs Flat introduces Bryan Morgan and Sara Whitney at the beginning of their relationship. The Honeymoon follows them into marriage — and into a crisis that sends ripples back into the town that shaped them.

I felt compelled to continue Bryan and Sara’s journey, not just for the sake of story, but to allow readers to see God’s hand still at work in their lives. Many readers also asked why the Bunyip in Haighs Flat was being kept in the first place, so this book offers a brief explanation that ties that thread together.

As an author, I can map out a book and think I know exactly where the story is heading. But sometimes the journey takes unexpected turns — the kind you don’t see until you’re already walking the path. The Honeymoon became one of those stories.

What began as a simple honeymoon narrative grew into something far larger:

murders, courtroom drama, restoration, redemption.

The more I wrote, the more unfolded — far beyond what I had originally planned.

Perfect for readers who love heartfelt Australian fiction, redemptive arcs, and stories where faith and community intertwine, The Honeymoon continues the emotional journey that began in Haighs Flat. It expands the world, deepens the characters, and reveals that even the most fractured stories can find their way home