Drew Bale - author

08/03/2025

Busy start to 2025, but making good with my goals and smashing into.

Already getting excited about this one.

17/02/2025

Get amongst it. No fee, basically anyone can enter. Get your writer on

BANJO PATERSON WRITING AWARDS CALL FOR ENTRIES:

This year, we are pleased to announce there will be NO ENTRY FEES in the annual Banjo Paterson Writing Awards competition.

Entries for the annual Bano Paterson Writing Awards open TODAY Monday 17 February, 2025 – the anniversary of Banjo’s birthday.

The awards, established in 1991, aim to honour Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson, acknowledged as a great writer and favourite son of Orange, with a competition encouraging Australian content. However, entries do not have to be written in Banjo’s style of bush writing.

There are three categories with generous prizes to be won:

1. Short Story with a maximum word limit of 3,000 words. First Prize $2,000
2. Contemporary Poetry not exceeding 200 lines. First Prize $2,000
3. Children’s section, for entrants 16 years and under, Short Story 1,000 words or Poem no longer than 30 lines. First Prize $200, Second Prize $100 and Third Prize $100.

Entries are due Friday 2 May 2025 at 5pm. They can be emailed or posted.
Winners will be contacted by phone on Wednesday 18 June 2025 and publicly announced at the annual Orange Readers and Writers Festival to held on Saturday 2 August 2025.

Check the 2025 Entry Form for full terms and conditions and include with your entry:
http://www.cwl.nsw.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2025-Banjo-Paterson-Entry-Form.pdf

Previous winning entries can be found at Central West Libraries’ online resources Recollect for inspiration at: https://central.recollect.net.au

31/01/2025

A reminder today of when I received the first proof of my first book. I don't need a reminder, I remember very well.

The feeling at the time was very much pride. This is a book. I love books. And, I wrote this book. I wrote a book. How good. I need to tell someone I achieved this thing.

Awesome.

The first proof was grey, the advanced copies were red, and then the current iteration, which will remain for all time, green.

Starting to get some copies into Australia. This is just a proof copy, with a different coloured cover, but the real deal are on the way. Still working on getting some available locally in Orange.

Soon. . .

Please don't forget to support my book by inviting, sharing, liking my author page, purchasing (or saving money for when it's available locally), or, if you have read it, by reviewing on amazon.

23/01/2025

I love creating lists and they can be about absolutely anything. This week is about books, so I decided to share it here.

There was, is, a podcast called Desert Island Discs that I listen to. The premise of the show is that it gives a short interview of a celebrity who discusses 8 songs they would take with them if they were stuck on a desert island.

This list is the same idea, but with books; and ten, not 8.

So here are the books I would take, and why.

1. Ivan Cleary, not everything counts, but everything matters - I am very into this book at the moment. It talks about how to overcome challenges, growth mindset, connection, communication and leadership; revolving around football. It probably helps that he is coaching at least one of my former students.

2. Salamandastron - Redwall was my first big chapter book series I read. This was also my first collection, and this book was the first one I owned. This book was read and reread a thousand times, hence how loved it looks, and reminds me of reading with some friends at school, on the bus, and wherever else I could. It also really reminds me of the school and city I grew up in.

3. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. I love Star Wars, and this is my most loved book. It lived in the bottom of my bag for years. It fits in between 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the jedi'. It fills in the gap between the movies and adds extra information which helps explain those movies.

4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - One of my favourite series, and as this is where it all begins it is easy to fall back in love with the magic all over again.

5. Lord of the Rings - My favourite trilogy ever. If stuck on a desert island what better time to jump back into middle earth. Plus once you finish this story, you can try and decipher the appendices included to see what else is happening and where it all fits in. Such fun.

6. Dinotopia - a childhood favourite. Dinosaurs, what else do you need. The charm of this book is it describes a eutopian society where humans live alongside the dinosaurs. There are still conflicts, but there is also language, laws, history and everything else that makes it interesting. Could get lost in this for a while.

7. Marvel Encyclopaedia - there are hundreds of different characters, teams, places, storylines inside this book. No matter how many times I have read it, I always find something I had not seen before, or simply overlooked. Full of ideas and links that can keep your imagination going for hours.

8. Ready Player One - the book I am currently reading (almost finished). It is a great book in its own right, but it is also filled with nostalgia and references from 80s (mostly) media, including video games, songs, movies and television shows. This would keep the nostalgia sparks buzzing.

9. The Martian - my favourite book (and movie). If stuck on a desert island, what better book would you want than one where someone is alone on a desert planet. All about survival, problem solving, and just getting on with it. A must.

10. Shakespeare, the Complete Works - I haven't read this, but would like to. Again, when you have nothing but time, what better way to spend it then reading, contemplating and analysing Shakespeare's stories. I may even be able to learn part of another language.

Those are my ten. Ideas? What are yours?

23/01/2025

Soon . . .
This was the cryptic message I posted on this day 5 years ago. It was all because I had decided to release a book independently for a few reasons.
1 - I didn't want to face another rejection letter. I have had many, some no responses, and I will get more. But, if a story is good, rejection or not it should be read.
2 - I had a small audience that wanted to read it. That was enough incentive to kick it all off.
3 - being an author was always a dream. Other people should not be able to decide how I dream.
4 - why not?

So, now, there are some numbers to assist with my journey.
5 Years of being an author.
Thousands of books sold.
Some best-selling titles.
4 published books.
5 Completed unpublished books
Multiple rejection letters
Some positive feedback letters
Invitations to author events

but also no books released in over a year.

So,

2 currently in the works.

Hoping a bunch of these numbers change in 2025.

Stop, hoping won't work.

It will happen.

Thanks to those who have followed so far. Let's see what the rest of 2025 brings.

The dream has not been achieved, it has merely been activated.

Back to work

01/01/2025

Happy New Year.

My goal for 2025 is to read more, and to definitely write more.

The stack of books in the pictures are the books that I read in 2024.

The other pic, with the books spread out, are the books I would like to read in 2025. The top row is the ones I didn't get to in 2024, mostly because I got distracted by other books.

Happy reading, and writing.

11/12/2024

I am a person of O-Town this week, grab a copy of this week's Orange City Life and see a face made for radio on the inside near the front. Thanks to Orange City Life for thinking of me, and always Collins Booksellers Orange for supporting this local.

Link in the comments

20/11/2024

Popped into my local to check out some books (I ended up buying 3) and found this awesome display showcasing a handsome young author.

Pumped to see it. Thanks Collins Booksellers Orange . It has all four there, clearly I need to add some more.

Jump down, pay them a visit and grab a book.

05/10/2024

Surely this isn't book related.
It absolutely is, and don't call me Shirley.

When writing my latest book 'The Wrangler', I created a bikie group which was completely badass. Each member is inspired by someone that I know. If you read along you may find a character called Justin Rhymer, biker name 'Justice'. The care free guitar playing, punch swinging, cavalry riding, kiss stealing son of a gun, may be somewhat familiar. Look no further.

Bound to be an awesome show, I love his first hits like 'Chase the Sun', 'Dashboard Drummer' and 'Mountains and the Sea', and how good are his new hits 'You got that love', 'This one's for you', and the cracker 'Blow the Speakers'.

Get behind this legend, especially if you a local; but if you aren't, make the journey and you won't be disappointed.

26/09/2024

Heart on my sleeve for this one. Check out my new blog at the link below.

A longer read, but hopefully it opens some eyes.

This is the question that I am going to focus on in this blog; which I have been asked multiple times. There are other questions, but they can wait for another time.

27/08/2024

It has been a week or two between information. Have a read. This blog is about the creation of Creek Crew.

Keep the questions coming. I will keep adding them to my list of topics.

As always let me know what you think. I don't mind the conversation.

2 Weeks.

06/08/2024

Books have memories, a new blog, has just been posted on my website, sitting alongside my previous posts.

Have a read and let me know what you think.

I have been getting questions on my website and through messages on my page. If they warrant a longer response they are being added to my blog list.

Thanks for your early interest and keep your responses coming.

It could just be me, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was just me, but I have a huge belief that books hold memories. I mean this in the same way that when you look at a photograph you are taken back to the place and th...