Introduction
An instant crowd-pleaser,
Gary Seeary cut the red ribbon
and opened our eleventh series of
"An Author for All Seasons"
in his natural, personable and earnest style.
Passionate about local history and celebrating the landmarks and characters of our municipality, Gary engaged us with honest and compelling story-telling and dialogue.
Proceedings were opened by
our library president
Graeme Johnstone
and
Cr Tamsin Bearsley
of Kingston Council's
Yammerbook Ward.
Cr Bearsley remarked of Gary's
"very moving extracts.
You are clearly a very talented writer."
Adding,
“This particular forum in promoting local authors is
one we have got to extend and promote.”
While Graeme commended Gary
for how his research and narratives inspired a
"most educational discussion..."
More on this from our Blog reviewers below...
On Saturday, 20th March
2021, Gary Seeary treated an audience of book lovers to a talk about his newest
book, The Moonbeamers.
This is a book that was easy to relate to in many ways,
as it is set in the Bayside/Kingston area of Melbourne, where I currently live. The story
is a family drama which takes place in the 1990s.
The basic premise of the book
is that shortly after a mother (Fiona) enters a new relationship, she goes away
temporarily for work, and leaves her teenage children
(Pixie and Zac) with her
new partner (Michael), and some drama gradually unfolds throughout the book.
Gary explores the
dynamics of step-parent families in a relatable way, including the challenges
of introducing a new person
to one’s teenage children; he also covers difficult
topics
such as indecent assault sensitively.
As part of his talk about The
Moonbeamers, Gary
read out the first chapter, entitled “Beach”, to give the audience a taste of
what the book is about. I found this captivating, as when he was reading, he
was completely immersed in the story and the characters.
The audience could
sense each individual personality, whether it was Pixie being determined to
make life difficult, or Michael just trying to keep the peace and maintain some
sort of relationship with his new partner’s children.
He did not hold back on the language either -
curse words interspersed in the dialogue of the teenage characters - bringing an immediate authenticity.
There was clear tension in the relationships between
characters, and this could be felt in the way Gary delivered the dialogue.
****
REVIEW PART TWO
by
Nathaniel Davies
One
comment from the Zoom audience was that Gary
covered many themes in his earlier books still relevant now.
"Sebastian Carmichael"
Covering the late years of the depression to the start
of the Second World War, it showed relevance in the political tensions
portrayed across the Spanish Civil War, The Great War and World War II.
The
excerpt Gary read was exciting, while the audience commented that it brought back
memories of how people of that era spoke.
 |
| Australian 1942 propaganda poster. Australia feared invasion by Imperial Japan following the Fall of Singapore. Cartoon conveys Japanese soldier with Rising Sun Flag ready to stake claim on Australia. |
The main character, a country lad,
came to Melbourne
to find work in a time when people were wondering what was going to happen with
their lives. The text Gary read centered around the tension of communism via meetings held at "Red Square”: historical events that attracted thousands of people to the
backstreets of Yarra Bank, the South Melbourne
Market and corner of Bridport and Montague Streets, Albert Park.
The excerpt seemed like a micro-metaphor: a warning for how
bad things could become again in Australia
if the the ideologies of democracy turned sour and broke down, revoking adequate impartial protection for some, while granting free reign to others.
“The Beautiful Journey”
is a novella set in Zumsteins, a former
small township and camp site in the Grampians, Victoria. This is an area near where
Gary grew up. Described as a coming-of-age story about a group of
young adults camping at Easter in 1977, where the main character Chris has
fallen for his best friend's sister. An awkward situation then arises from that
circumstance. The blurb promises there is a choice between friendship or love
in a decision which could cost Chris everything.
After
some fascinating conversations about Gary's books during Zoom Q&A, interesting discussions arose about the editing and writing processes Gary followed.
A topic for a future library workshop perhaps?
****
To discover more about
local author Gary Seeary and his works,
you can visit his Official Website or Facebook
Mentone Public Library will also be extending an invitation to Gary to join us again for our grand finale with local author George Ivanoff, traditionally concluding with an Author Appreciation Ceremony
to pay homage to our Series Eleven line-up.
Be sure to diarise
11am, Saturday, 11 December 2021!
Gary, thank-you again for a perfect and most fitting start to our eleventh series of
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