Local couple Alicia Lovelle and Julian Wicksteed are making a splash in the writing scene with their new novel Fearless Finley and the Runaway Salmon.
The story explores tolerance, friendship and chasing dreams while remaining scientifically and ecologically accurate, with a target audience spanning generations from eight to 80.
Author Julian said readers could expect a fun story with subtle humour throughout.
“I’ve written seven fishing travel memoirs and a couple of photographic books over the years,” Julian said.
“I thought I could make significant change if I now start to write environmental issues into fiction for readers of all ages.”
The couple share a passion for conservation, with Alicia a qualified environmental scientist and Julian a former science teacher.
Alicia grew up in country Victoria, where camping and fishing with her father helped foster her love of the environment.
“I knew since school that I always wanted to get a job working in water pollution,” she said.
Plot Inspiration, Environmental Care, and Future Books
The idea for Fearless Finley and the Runaway Salmon came to Julian during a backpacking trip in British Columbia.
The book follows four tiny chinook salmon escaping a high-tech Alaskan fish farm into a world of predators, human greed and climate change.
Its environmental message also hits close to home, with Julian spending two months collecting rubbish along the Sandgate waterfront early last year.
Whipper-snipper material, suspected of washing into the ocean through stormwater drains, was among the most common plastics he found, followed by cable ties.
“In one walk, I picked up 135 cable ties,” Julian said.
The couple encourage locals to dispose of bait packets and bottle caps responsibly to help protect waterways.
“It’s up to all of us to take care of our local waterways,” Alicia said.
“We have such a special community here in Sandgate and surrounds. We could all achieve something really great.”
Alicia and Julian plan to continue Finley’s adventures in a trilogy called the Fishy Tales Series.
Fearless Finley and the Runaway Salmon is available through select independent bookstores and online, including on Amazon.
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