Novel in running for prize
TO SAY he has a way with words would be an understatement.
Former School of Total Education student Chris Currie has a talent many only dream of mastering - writing.
Mr Currie has been nominated for a Commonwealth Book Prize in the Pacific region for his first novel, The Ottoman Motel.
His 300-page masterpiece takes readers on a journey with a boy whose parents suddenly disappear.
Mr Currie said writing this novel was no simple date with a laptop.
"I was writing it on and off for 10 years and I gave up on it more than once when I thought it wasn't going anywhere," he said.
"It was one of those things where I would toss it in the bottom drawer and then pull it out and dust it off again."
There were times when Mr Currie thought about giving up writing altogether, until he committed to his blog, furioushorses.com, where he vowed to post a short story each day.
"I became that short story a day guy and it gave me my routine back," Mr Currie said.
The Ottoman Motel will now go up against other novels nominated in the Pacific region.
"The regional winners are announced on May 22, and the overall winner on June 8," Mr Currie said.
He recently won a scholarship to travel overseas to write his third book.
