I embarked on writing this novel in 2011 while living in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. The first few drafts were completed on Queensland’s Coochiemudlo Island in outer Brisbane. After moving to Deepwater in the New England region in late 2017, the final shape of Tank Water really emerged.

Along the way I had assistance from several people.

My heartfelt thanks go to the writers who assisted me in identifying the strengths and shaping the impacts of this story from its very earliest drafts: Mary Moody, Patsy Trench and Sarah Michell. Writer and editor Elizabeth Ferretti’s assistance with detailed reads and edits was immense. Thanks for your generous, long-term support, Liz.

I first met Anna Solding of MidnightSun Publishing when she travelled from Adelaide to a New England Writer’s Centre pitch session at Armidale in 2018, a very rare chance for a regional writer to meet an interstate publisher. The team at MidnightSun was incredibly generous and supportive throughout the publication process, and I will forever be grateful to Anna for taking a risk on edgy subject matter.

My sister Jenny has always been a great listener during my long raves about storytelling. This book would not exist without her belief that I would one day manifest a novel. My husband Richard witnessed all my hope and despair over the many years it took to get this manuscript completed and picked up for publication. I am grateful for his love and support throughout the journey.

I pay my respects to the Gundungurra, Dharug, Quandamooka and Ngarabal peoples, on whose traditional lands this work was written; and to the Kamilaroi people, in whose country it is set.

Author’s Note

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The country towns and gay-hate crimes in Tank Water are fictitious, although the incidents are based on my research into gay-hate crimes that took place in rural regions of New South Wales.

While country cases don’t always make the news like several high-profile murders and attacks in cities, rural incidents of this kind have been documented. They appear in academic works, reports and archival records, and the submissions to the NSW Inquiry into Gay and Transgender Hate Crimes Between 1970 and 2010.

The journey to uncovering the truth was started by others long before I embarked on writing Tank Water, and still has some way to go. I commend all those who have researched, spoken and written about these attacks and killings, and encourage survivors, families and friends to keep doing so when it feels right and safe.

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo by Max S Harding

Michael Burge is an Australian author and journalist who lives at Deepwater in the New England region of NSW with his husband and their dogs.

After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Michael undertook media studies in the United Kingdom.

His non-fiction debut Questionable Deeds: Making a stand for equal love lifted the lid on familial and institutional homophobia in Australia during the marriage equality campaign.