On The Job

Chapter 2

My love of crime fiction began at a very early age, thanks to a steady diet of mystery and adventure stories, as did my dream of becoming a crime writer. But if the pull to be an author hadn’t been so strong, I fancy I would have been a police detective.

When I left school, I failed the Victoria Police height requirement, which was later abolished. After that, I came close to joining up a few times, but ultimately chose to fight and solve crime from behind my computer instead. It was the right choice. But that doesn’t mean my interest in policing has diminished.

This is my first short-fiction collection and each story features police characters. Some of these short stories are award-winners and have been previously published. Others are new and never-before-released tales, including ‘The Job’ parts I to VI, a series of verse shadowing the careers of fresh-faced uniformed officers, seasoned detectives, and old coppers on the brink of retirement, and each part links with what follows in the next short story.

Any mistakes are my own. But I give thanks to the police members who assisted with my procedural questions: David Spencer, then attached to Victoria Police Media & Corporate Communications Department, Film and Television Office, and Tessa Jenkins and Joanne Morrison. Special mentions are also extended to Ruth Kennedy, Marianne Vincent, Lana Pecherczyk, Ebony McKenna, Judy Elliot, Raylea O’Loughlin, Sharon Gurry, Michelle Somers, and Rowena Holloway.

My sincere thanks too, of course, to the team at Next Chapter.

There are many others who inspire, encourage, and support me, but none more than you, my readers. Thank you. You keep me writing and sharing, and I’d love you to join me on f*******: and i********: or follow my website.

And last, but never least, cheers to Glenn, for always believing in me.