Beyond the Dusk

The Story 'What is it, Gran?' Peter demanded, pulling urgently at her sleeve. 'What's the matter?' Meg didn't answer. She was staring down at the book they had been reading together, a shocked expression on her face. For there on the page she had just turned was a picture of the thing itself. Not a photograph, naturally, that would have been impossible. This was merely an artist's impression. Still, there was no mistaking what she was looking at: the self same creature she had encountered all those years before, when she had been not much older than Peter. What a long time ago that was! Over forty years, and in all that time she hadn't mentioned what she had seen to anyone. She had thought about it often enough, though. And now, confronted by the creature once more, here in the pages of a book, she almost felt that the long years had never passed. Those ancient eyes, gazing up at her from the painting, seemed to plunge her back in time, back to the lonely country road which ran between school and her grandmother's farm. It was as if she were actually there, surrounded by the sounds and smells of the bush; as if she were a fourteen-year-old girl once more, hurrying through the dusk towards that first unsettling moment of contact ... The 'creature' referred to here is a marsupial leopard. Is it real, or a figment of the imagination? The Author Victor Kelleher was born in England and came to Australia via Africa and New Zealand. After an academic career he now writes both children's and adults' novels full-time from his home in Sydney. He has won and been shortlisted for many awards. The Illustrator Gregory Rogers is best known for picture books such as Way Home and Lucy's Bay and for dozens of cover illustrations of books for children and adults. Greg lives in Brisbane and is the first Australian ever to win the Kate Greenaway Medal, for Way Home. Sales Points * We plan to re-jacket Del-Del and To The Dark Tower to start a "Victor "series * A new story with classic black & white and colour plates from award-winning artist Greg Rogers. * A book to be compared to Where the Whales Sing which sold 10,000 copies in hardcover and on-sold to Japan, Spain, England and Canada. * A powerful new story from a story-telling master with exquisite imagery and language. * Topical subject matter: are there large wild cats in Australia? Many say they have seen them.