The Tower Mill

I wondered suddenly what she was thinking and decided she was trying to love me, this son of hers in a school uniform she seemed to despise. It was as though she knew she had to love me, but didn't have the first clue how to go about it.

In 1971 the South African Rugby team came to Australia. It was the apartheid era and young demonstrators gathered in protest. Near the iconic Tower Mill, a relic from convict days, they clashed with police. The events of that shocking night would reverberate for the next thirty years through the lives of Susan Kinnane and her son, Tom. When Susan returns home in 1988 for an inquiry into police corruption, she must confront a past she has never reconciled and a son she has never truly known.

The Tower Mill is a story about anger and grief and the bond between mother and son. It's also a story about politics, when two decades of backroom deals and shady powerbrokers prompted an entire state to question what it valued.

About the Author

James Francis Moloney was born in Sydney, Australia on 20 September, 1954. When he was seven years old, his family moved to Brisbane. James started work at Marist College Ashgrove, an all-boys school in Brisbane, where he stayed for fifteen years. During this time, he became interested in writing for young people. After his early attempts were rejected, the first of James' novels, Crossfire , was published in 1992.

James and his wife have three children, all of whom are now studying at University. James is into great food, movies travelling and painting.