From encountering an evil dragon in the mines of Mount Kilamanjaro to being attacked by the mysterious Yowie, the Keegan James young adult book series has a number of twists and turns through mythology and fantastical words.
The work of Yarraville author Peter Leslie, the recently released series currently features five books about the adventures of Keegan James, his sister Terri and a 150-year-old teenager named Tosh.
He has been working on the series since 2000 to cope with his bouts of insomnia, but has only decided to release the books to the globe after calls to do so from friends and family.
“The whole book just kind of appeared in my head,” he said.
“Keegan is a combination of life experiences for me.”
Mr Leslie said he was “really excited” with the reception of the series so far, including from his 23 nieces and nephews.
“I’ve been getting some positive feedback,” he said.
Including a number of other quirky characters, such as Charlie the Bunyip and the Yeti, Mr Leslie said he enjoyed incorporating fantasy with history.
“I like to weave in mythology with real places,” he said.
Mr Leslie said he would be keen to move away from his career in IT towards writing and has already made headway on the writing process on the sixth Keegan James book.
“I’m about 40,000 words in,” he said.
Copies of the Keegan James books can be purchased from The Sun Bookshop in Yarraville.
Details: keeganjames.com.au
Matthew Sims
