About Peter Purchase

I’ve written six books. The first three: Bright Flame Dark Shadows, The Kite Flyer and Alicia are adult novels with interrelated characters and plotlines forming a trilogy. I’ve called it The Truth & Reconciliation Trilogy.

The next two books: My Brother Andrés and The Dreams of Summer Dartson are young adult coming of age novels. Set in Mexico and Western Australia respectively, their storylines concern the younger years of two characters in the trilogy.

The sixth book: Thank You, Gabe is a collection of 24 short stories and 3 short pieces. Most of the short stories stand alone, while some are inspired by scenes and plot twists drawn from the adult novels.

In a sense you could consider all six books a series.

Born in Tanzania, I was reading by the age of five. In my earliest memories I’m sitting on outspread newspapers in the lounge, reading the latest news concerning World War II. I had no clue about the war, but was developing a love of reading that has lasted.

I lived in Kenya from the age of six, fortunate to grow up on the coast in Mombasa, where I became familiar with the rich history of the Arab, Chinese, Portuguese and Dutch explorers who sailed along the Swahili coast for centuries. There are traces of them everywhere. It’s no wonder one of my earliest goals in life was to research their stories and dream of becoming a writer. I’ve kept notebooks ever since.

A university dropout at nineteen, I joined the hippy diaspora of the swinging sixties. I enjoyed adventures ranging from delivering Phoenix Beer in Rotterdam, crewing aboard the cargo ship Kenilworth Castle visiting Mauritius, Sri Lanka, India and Lebanon, attempting unsuccessfully to imitate Gauguin painting in the Seychelles, and hitch-hiking round France and Spain until my funds ran out.

That was a reminder that you have to grow up some time. So I migrated to Perth, Western Australia, in 1963. I married my beloved Jeanne, and after qualifying enjoyed a 7-year stint as a High School teacher. I then transferred to Human Resources and worked on remote mine sites in the Pilbara, Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea. This brought me into close contact with local Indigenous people. I found their culture, deep rooted love of country, resilience and unfailing sense of humour inspirational.

I retired in 2008 and since then have dedicated myself to writing. I trust you enjoy reading my novels and short stories—it makes the time I spent writing and revising them worthwhile.