tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25768757399664612612012-01-24T08:14:50.241+10:00An illustrated novelAriadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-31428654889898291142009-05-06T09:21:00.005+10:002011-12-14T23:38:05.475+10:00

– The letter that started it all - 4:00pm Friday The letter was written on a piece of pale salmon pink paper with a feint white flower printed in the corner. It, the flower, was meant to looked like it was watermarked, but it just looked like a cheap piece of paper that comes with a matching envelope. One of those letter writting sets you are given as a kid by that Aunt that you don't really

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‘Where ever you go there you are.’-Anon‘The fun is not here on the side of the road.’ Lotus observed as she watched a car approach from the south. It appeared to be slowing down as it came closer but it was hard to be sure, might just be wishful thinking. The vehicle was a new model red Ute with mags and spoiler; just right for a young man and his big ego. Lotus kept her eyes on the car and

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-41984981108988825612009-05-04T15:39:00.002+10:002009-10-08T13:36:00.305+10:00

The sun was rising determinedly up through the smoggy skirts of the city skyline as Lotus also rose determinedly. There was no need for her to dress; she had slept in her clothes. She pulled on a black jacket to combat the cool Autumnal chill in the air, pushed her feet into her black boots. Her sleepy fingers fumbled with the laces. She shoved a couple of T-shirts (all black) and some clean

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-30444333553646088072009-05-03T16:01:00.001+10:002009-10-08T13:36:34.864+10:00

‘A man is related to all nature.’- EmersonLet’s pull back from Lotus for a while or rather pull upwards for a birds-eye-view. Float up on the wave of heat rising from the highway, soar so our view-point is above the smoky haze from the scrub fires. Even though we are marginally closer to the sun now, it is cooler here. There are air currents in the upper troposphere created by the rising heat and

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‘The difference between a weed and a flower is merely a name.’ AnonLotus was still cursing when an old Holden skidded to a stop not far from her feet. It sprayed up a shower of gravel and dust which stuck to her sweaty face. She stood, brushed the gravel from her jeans, intending to tell the driver that he was a ‘belligerent bastard’ but as she inhaled a cloud of exhaust fumes, propelled by a

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-15494859790505540822009-05-01T01:50:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:25:20.437+10:00

The two travellers pulled over about mid-night. Lotus nibbled on a half a packet of un-cooked noodles that she had taken from the food shelf in Brisbane. It seemed like days ago that she had left her musty bedroom but it was only this morning, she thought suppressing a yawn. Aaron took a bed roll from the back of the ‘Golden Holden’, as he affectionately referred to his car, and set it on the

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Rocket Boy saw his car up ahead and felt like he was coming home. The Yellow Datsun 180B was still parked where he had left it a couple of days ago; at the back of the Pub that looked more like a tin shed than a drinking establishment. He sigh with relief. He only bought the car a week ago when he flew into Cairns. It had been a busy week.He picked up his pace as he glimpsed the sun reflecting

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The Australian outback is vast. The wide, desiccated landscape feels immense. And though there is nothing around, the vastness can feel suffocating. Surrounded by the desert, about three hundred and fifty kilometres from the nearest town of Charlottesville, Penny stood looking at a large granite boulder. The sun beat down upon her head. She swished her pigtails to shoo away the black flies from

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‘Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away.’ AnonThe green van bounced along the old coast road singing its own travelling tune; the music keeping time with the ruts on the road. The beads hanging from the mirror clattered, the bells in the back jangled, the van rattled and Rainbow, the driver, hummed a happy hum. She was feeling very

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Rocket Boy’s Datsun had given up the ghost fifty kilometres north of Cooktown. When the car had started chugging just out of Laura he hoped that the problem wasn’t serious. Ten kilometres further down the road it had started to make decidedly un-car-like noises. Rocket tried to convince the car that it could go on indefinitely if only it believed it was possible. But one minute into his

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-43009515239121732982009-04-25T15:37:00.001+10:002009-05-12T05:20:59.726+10:00

Lotus had slept at the rainforest camp, on a woven mat on the sand with one of Rainbow’s sarongs over her. It had been the most peaceful sleep she’d had in months - once she had fallen asleep that is. At first the night noises of the forest had kept her awake. She thought the city was supposed to be noisy but last night every forest creature imaginable had scurried and scampered around her;

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Aaron got down on his hands and knees and foraged around in the under growth. Lotus was getting used to his strange antics, she waited patiently. A moment before she had been asking Aaron’s advice, when he took off. She was trying to weed information from him about Rocket Boy, but he refused to comment. So she changed tack and asked what Aaron thought of ‘love at first sight’. Everything had

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-16220873768402774182009-04-23T21:45:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:19:26.388+10:00

The two men in dark suits sat down at a table in the darkest corner of the Charlottesville Pub. The shorter, bulkier of the two was wearing a cheap suit. He pulled his chair close to the table and tugged at his collar. A trickle of sweat ran down his throat. It was a requirement of his occupation that he wear a suit and tie but he had never gotten used to the tight, hot feeling of the collar

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Lotus was still thinking about her conversation with Aaron as she sat on a palm frond mat at the camp she shared with Rainbow. She was peeling potatoes for their lunch. She told herself she would try not to analyse everything so much; she would just see what unfolded. As she reached for a bowl for the potatoes she heard someone coming along the path. Lotus looked up from the pile of vegetables

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‘I love thee like pudding; if thou wert pie I’d eat thee.’ - Old English saying.A cacophony of night-bird calls startled Lotus as she walked through the dark forest. She was used to the creaking and cranking of the city; not these forest sounds. In the city, her lullaby had been composed of sirens and screaming. It was a dirge in a minor key. Somehow the sounds of suffering had reassured her; she

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The two men in dark suits looked at one another and grinned. Brett giggled and slapped Casmir on the shoulder. Casmir blushed. They had so carefully avoided drinking the water. They had been so sure of their ability to blend in with the crowd that they didn’t even consider the possibility that Penny was onto them. She had mixed their glasses of Gin and Tonic with her own special tonic water;

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-16005077687577548652009-04-19T23:44:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:16:35.377+10:00

A wave washed out over the sand. The rush of water dragged at her feet, the moon tugging gently at the water. Lotus’ eyes were focused on the sand where the water ran off and exposed it. She spotted some small bubbles rising to the surface so she ran to the spot and dug her toes deep into the sand. With a quick motion she flicked her foot upwards. Sand flew into the air and with it came a small

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-31978816993485990512009-04-18T20:41:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:15:58.159+10:00

Lotus angrily wiped the tears away from her cheeks. She looked up at Rainbow with a glint of humour returning to her eyes. ‘I never cry. You must bring out the worst in me.’Rainbow laughed. ‘A good cry never hurt anyone. You’re not a weak person just because you have feelings.’ Lotus nodded half-heartedly in reply.‘So what are you going to do Lotus? If you think Rocket is going west and that he

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As dawn took out her crayons and coloured the horizon pink Penny opened her eyes. She stretched; as much as it is possible to stretch behind the steering wheel of an ice-cream van. She exited the van, clumsy, still half asleep and stretched properly. She inhaled the cool morning air; her arms stretched above her head and wondered if it was true that early morning air was more energized than the

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-27875380405580046242009-04-16T06:46:00.001+10:002009-05-12T05:14:36.472+10:00

‘There is nothing left to you at this moment but to have a good laugh’.-Zen Master. ‘Hurry!’ Lotus shouted over the sound of the revving engine. She clutched at her stomach and glanced at the map that lay open on her lap. She looked up, out of the windscreen towards the horizon. Her eyes focused intently on a small building in the distance. It was slowly growing bigger as they approached but it

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‘My emancipated bodyMy chemically altered brainI’m the scum in the gutterFlesh eaten by acid rain.City opens at both endsSimultaneously shits and spewsLick its bile from my woundsWipe its shit from my shoes.’ Lotus sang at the top of her lungs. Rocket Boy and Aaron laughed. Lotus was thoughtfully silent for a minute. ‘That one is called Acid Rain. I never realized before just how negative the

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-45221339828193256632009-04-14T14:22:00.001+10:002009-05-12T05:13:23.692+10:00

Agent Casmir Wilson paced back and forth as if he were intent on wearing a trail in the grey, government-issue carpet. He had taken off his jacket and thrown it carelessly onto a desk where it lay sprawled on a pile of papers. His sleeves had been rolled up, his hands were thrust deep in his pockets and his perpetual scowl seemed to have intensified. He was on edge. He hated waiting─ especially

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-21352422986251073552009-04-13T15:14:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:12:40.033+10:00

Penny couldn’t see her Ice-cream van. She could not see the sign painted on the side; the letters written to look like chocolate fudge sauce dripping from the bottle. She couldn’t see the picture of the ‘sundae-with-a-cherry-on-top’ that decorated the passenger-side door or the ‘double-choc parfait’ on the back.She stood only meters from where she had parked the van but now it was gone, invisible

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-88945537036031468802009-04-12T18:17:00.001+10:002009-05-12T05:11:52.066+10:00

Lotus was pleased to have her bum in the sand again. After living in the city for most of her life it hadn’t taken long for her to develop a fondness for the beach. But despite the beauty of the surroundings the tension was almost palpable. They had reached the west coast and Lotus was happy that their destination was in sight. But the distance between her and Rocket Boy had grown to an

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-13635252071645772772009-04-11T15:31:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:11:04.964+10:00

‘G’day Phil.’ Penny said in a deep voice. She looked at her image in the rear view mirror. She was becoming quiet a master of disguise these days. She let out a girlish giggle that was at odds with the face staring back at her. She locked the Van, fell to her hands and knees and crawled out beneath the tunnel in the salt bushes. Standing up Penny brushed the dust from her clothes. She walked

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-12110090426626683642009-04-10T15:40:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:10:24.284+10:00

Casmir donned his black woollen vest. There was a certain satisfaction in the itchiness of it against his skin. Over the vest he strapped on his shoulder holster. He lovingly caressed the gun on the desk in front of him. He picked it up, turned it over a couple of times and stroked one hand slowly along the length of its barrel. He placed it in the holster close to his heart.Agent Casmir Wilson

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-31622271270909484792009-04-09T00:22:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:09:47.435+10:00

The main street of Denham was closed to traffic to make way for the festival fun. Aaron, Rocket Boy and Lotus strolled along the street towards the centre of the fair, in a park by the beach. The day was sunny and the briny smell of bait competed for air space with the atmosphere of carnival.Hats festooned with fishing flies and T-shirts declaring ‘Women want me, Fish fear me’ were the costume de

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‘Today, Ladies and Gentlemen, I will amaze you with some of the secrets of the ancient East. Some of the feats I am going to perform are dangerous── life threatening even─ so I ask you to prepare yourselves to be scared witless.’ The crowd gathered around Aaron tittered. They were used to the outrageous claims made by street performers. Aaron circled the edge of the crowd his blue cape billowing

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-38508392191325247882009-04-07T15:53:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:08:00.205+10:00

Lotus found Rocket Boy sitting at the end of the pier, his fishnet stockinged toes dangling in the water.At the sound of her distressed shout he turned to face her. His face was full of concern. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. Breathlessly she answered. ‘They’ve got Aaron. He’s in hand cuffs. They got him while he was doing his show. What are we going to do?’ She was panting with exhaustion and

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-91074948515237235522009-04-06T10:32:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:06:40.229+10:00

Lotus didn’t wait until the car come to a halt.‘Here we are.’ she heard Aaron announce, but she didn’t wait around to find out exactly where ‘here’ was.She needed to pee.She ran behind the nearest bush to relieve herself. Squatting she watched the trail of pee spreading on the dusty, red soil. The ground was hard baked with only a fine layer of wind blown, ochre coloured sand on top. She shuffled

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-34417426178802743822009-04-05T18:45:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:06:12.229+10:00

The glare of the bright fluorescent lights was aggravating Agent Brett’s headache. His right eyelid began to flicker. He blinked hard and held his eyes closed for a minute. It was no use─ his eye still twitched and his head continued to throb.His migraine had started when they had walked into the Denham police station and had grow worse as he had sat and listened to Agent Casmir Wilson explaining

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-12767358433536824842009-04-04T18:52:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:05:35.983+10:00

Lotus watched the smoke rise from the camp fire into the clear desert sky. She was awed to be here with these three people. No matter what danger she was in she would treasure this moment.Rocket spoke ‘Those guys seem deadly serious. Penny needs to disappear, lay low for a while.’Penny nodded in agreement. ‘And Aaron.’ She said. ‘They think he is my accomplice. He will have to be careful too.’

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-75301275720032307442009-04-03T12:54:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:03:44.059+10:00

Rocket found a place out of the wind behind a boulder. He spread a blanket on the sand. ‘Before we have wildly abandoned sex I have some things I want to say to you.’Lotus crossed her legs and sat up straight like a pupil before a teacher. ‘Yes, Mr Boy. What is it you would like to say, Mr Boy?’ she gently mocked him.Rocket kneeled before her. ‘I am going to look after you and love you. I will do

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Penny and Aaron sat at the mid-point between the two large boulders at the western side of the complex of standing stones. The whole area was a celestial chart. It was a magnificent map that many modern cartographers would struggle to create. It would take four men to move even the smallest boulder. Lotus couldn’t begin to know how the prehistoric builders had moved the rocks into position. But

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-84513310118914274362009-04-01T08:57:00.000+10:002009-05-12T05:01:24.844+10:00

Dilge et Quad Vis Fac(Love and do as you please.) Denham is flat. The land stretches away from the ocean in an endless plain. The soil is red, bare and held together by a few scraggly bushes and grasses. As far as Lotus could see there was nothing to break the monotony of the horizon. She knew though, that about two hundred kilometres inland the starkness of the landscape was relieved by a

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Sorry I was away for so long, my 'puter broke.AND then my usb memory stick said it couldn't remember anything!!!So I eventually went thru all of the CD's and DVD's and found an old copy of 'The Adventures of Rocket Boy and Lotus'Yay...I can hear you all cheering now!!! The sound is overwhelming.But...now I'm working on a key board where half the letters don't work properly.What's a girl to do?

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-59369904502578105472009-01-30T01:31:00.003+10:002009-02-01T10:17:28.331+10:00

Leave me some bloody comments or you will never know the end of the story! At least one comment per chapter or I refuse to go on...Now I stomp off in an artsitic huff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576875739966461261.post-21809796361450697332008-09-30T08:10:00.008+10:002008-11-29T19:40:17.746+10:00

I started writing The Adventures of Rocket Boy and Lotus about four years ago. (I know it sounds like a long time but I been pretty busy having babies and homeschooling my two oldest children.) During the process of writing I came up with the notion of publishing it in a new format. I wanted to include illustrations, drawings, comic strips, photos and website addresses. I wanted it to appeal to a

Ariadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664753428007951602noreply@blogger.com1