As a boy, I was mesmerized with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’ Narnia and Greek mythology. Due to my parents’ occupations in ornithology and genealogy, I often found myself camping in some pretty remote regions of outback Australia.  Instead of taking in Australia’s breath-taking panoramas, I would spend my time day-dreaming I was in European landscapes fighting alongside mythical heroes from one of my many books.

Later as an adult, I thought why, instead, couldn’t I have been imagining I was a dashing light horseman fighting the dreaded Ooroo; or maybe a reformed Bushranger saving a town from a plague of Wild-things; or a crafty Jackaroo battling wits against a wizarding Swagman – all with the backdrop of a spectacular Australian landscape?

Australia has a countless multitude of colourful characters, strange creatures and unique vocabulary to inspire a child’s imagination; yet, we feed our children a literary diet of fairies, knights, castles, princesses and wizards, all in a European setting.

So, being a proud Aussie son, I combined my love of Australia with my love of myth and fairy-tales to create a yarn that keeps on spinning. Everything has been written from a desire to create a series of fables relevant to Australia, its oddities and its way of life, and then to showcase it to the world.

MythoCreatology and Tattles Wag-Tales are true-blue Aussie concepts featuring home-grown heroes, a bit of bush magic, the old slang (revisited) and magical creatures that can only be found in Australia. This concept endeavours to introduce new generations to old Aussie customs and slang which, sadly, are slowly disappearing from the Australian stage.

Australia is the world’s oldest land mass. It is the remotest, driest, lowest, flattest and most sparsely populated inhabited continent. Australia also has one of the most diverse and fascinating landscapes of any country on the planet.

This huge land mass has more than a million species of the most unusual plants and animals. Among them are the world’s deadliest snakes, sharks, spiders, crocodiles, jellyfish, ants, octopus, birds and fish.

However, the list does not end there. Unknown to but a few, Australia is also home to a vast menagerie of strange magical creatures - some so lethal they would make the bravest soldier go white and turn the most terrible dragon to jelly.

Australian MythoCreatology features home-grown heroes and unique creatures that can only be found down-under. It lifts the lid on this country’s mysterious world by providing a comprehensive study of its magical creatures; probing their strengths, weaknesses and their uncanny ability to exist undetected.