An author's search for mystery and adventure in outback Australia with three very different fiction titles

My search for mystery and adventure has taken me on the road in Australia where, as well as a considerable library of ancient Egypt fiction, I have penned some mystery adventures with Australia's outback as a setting:

THE HERO VIRUS: Flight into Australia from a world infected by deadly courage ‘Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad...’ Madly brave. Fear spreads like a disease, but what if heroism swept the population like a contagious virus that eliminated caution, the basic survival switch in the amygdala of the brain? The contagion began with the arrival of meteorites that flashed down around the globe, spreading clouds of dust and a mysterious agent. Those infected rise up and challenge the law and the system. They run suicide gauntlets across busy highways, stand high on ledges and tops of buildings, front enemies they once feared, spark reprisals, conflict and bloodshed in the streets - and raise the threat of reckless wars between nations. The ‘Hero Virus.’ One man – a rarity – is unaffected. He is a frightened man, an anxiety sufferer and returned Afghanistan war hero recovering from serious post traumatic stress syndrome. He decides to flee crazy civilization in an RV motorhome, along with his wife and children, and journey across the rugged wilderness of Australia to find a safe haven - a sanctuary, where people shelter in dug out dwellings beneath the ground. He keeps a secret Treatment Journal and photos of how he is traveling with his condition. Can a frightened former hero save his loved ones in a world where the brave end up dead? And will the world find an answer to the ‘hero virus’ from space? Goodreads *****5-stars. "What an interesting story. Reading their blogs and each viewpoint was unique. I felt like I was with them on their journey. 5 stars for being so different from other apocalypse books."

LIGHTNING RIDGE Spectre of the Black Opal: A mysterious invasion in Australia's outback Like a bolt of lightning, a mystery strikes the remote opal-mining town of Lightning Ridge in outback Australia. Home of the black opal and its iridescent heart of colour, a precious gem fifty times more rare than diamonds. Have mysterious, spectral invaders come to Lightning Ridge? The only place on earth where 165-million year old dinosaur bones have turned into gem-quality opal... And what is the secret of the freakish, opal anthropoid skeleton in an abandoned mine, an enigma that should never be there? A small group of people must find the answer. A boy with opal fever, a famous Australian actor in search of colour for a movie script. An old Aboriginal wise man. A mysterious young female miner... Can they solve the burning mystery and the threat facing the town when opal thieves, known by locals as ‘Ratters’, threaten to strike?

THE POISONED WELL Shimmering, arid Australia - a family's drama "A huge idea... with a monstrously current and entertaining premise." Beneath the most parched continent on earth, Australia, lies a great freshwater ocean bigger than South Africa or Iran. But it becomes a poisoned well for one family when a high-powered and ruthless overseas company plans to build a nuclear waste dump on their property and tempts them with an offer of money they desperately need. Can a rebellious daughter and her mysterious new allies prevent a disaster? And what is the deep secret from long ago that poisoned the family well? On AMAZON