‘Catch you later,’ he said over his shoulder as he started crawling away.
‘No worries.’
What else could I say?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks must first go to Mia, my beautiful Mia. Without your feedback, encouragement, enthusiasm and love, The Rain Never Came wouldn’t exist. I couldn’t have done it without you.
Thanks must also go out to Rose and Steve—a son couldn’t ask for better or more supportive parents—and to Lucy, the best little sister a brother could have. Who would have thought that a long ago move from the suburbs to the bush would have helped create a book?
An extra special ‘thank you’ goes out to all the fine folk at Odyssey Books, but especially to Michelle. Your careful eye, attention to detail and flair for editing made the book what is today, and your endless patience with my innumerable questions will always be appreciated. And, of course, thank you for picking it up in the first place and giving a budding author a chance.
Thanks, as well, to Alexis and Chris, who supervised and supported me during my PhD days. Your expect feedback helped The Rain Never Came move from an idea to a reality, and your guidance through the world of literary theory and criticism allowed me to invest the book with a rich and undeniably ‘Australian’ flavour.
Thanks to Matt for the inspiring images and for being my brother in science-fiction, and to Merlin for all the good times and for collaborating on the musical side of the publicity machine, and to the rest of the fellas: Andy, Craig, Riah, and Jules. I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of mates. And thanks to everyone at BAAG, and especially to Lindy and Paul—your patience with my odd rosters and on-off hours gave me the freedom I needed to just get it done.
Lastly, thanks go out to you, dear reader. Without your interest in Australian science-fiction, we wouldn’t have our own particular Antipodean take on the genre.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lachlan Walter is a writer and nursery hand (the garden kind, not the baby kind), who has completed a PhD in Australian post-apocalyptic fiction and national identity. He writes science fiction criticism for Aurealis magazine, reviews for the independent ‘weird music’ website Cyclic Defrost, and is currently writing a serious book-length story cycle about giant monsters, as well as a science-fiction western. He loves all things music-related, the Australian environment, overlooked genres, and gardening.
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Copyright
Published by Odyssey Books in 2017
Copyright © Lachlan Walter 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Lachlan Walter
Title: The Rain Never Came / Lachlan Walter
ISBN: 978-1-922200-93-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-922200-96-9 (ebook)