THE tradition of bush ballads and the tales and landscapes that inspire the classic Australian works have been captured in a book by Darling Downs author Tim Borthwick.

Waltzing Australia is a celebration of the Australian bush written by Mr Borthwick, 47, who has spent much of his life working on the land.

Fifty of his poems and stories that reflect the heartbreak, humour and hard yakka that comes with life in the bush are shared in the book, many of which were written on long days of droving or in remote camps.

Though he is now based in Toowoomba, Mr Borthwick was raised on a sheep and cattle station in Quilpie and still returns to the bush whenever he can.

"We had a big season in 2010,” he said.

"It was really wet and we had the biggest body of feed we'd ever had.

"So with our family situation it was the right time to sell but it's a big thing to walk away from.

"Being out on the bike droving all day gives you something to think about; you come up with good ideas for stories.”

Despite growing up reading a lot of bush poetry, Mr Borthwick said he only put pen to paper when he was aged nearly 30.

"I've always liked the challenge of setting a story to rhyme, which is the style of the book,” he said.

After about a year of living in the Garden City, Mr Borthwick ran into a man called Jeff Close in Toowoomba.

Mr Close had founded a writers' festival at Winton and convinced him to head out and take a look.

While he was there, Mr Borthwick met Sue Williams, who had written a book on the legendary Fred Brophy's boxing tent.

"She was inspired to go into training and have a go in the ring herself, ” he said.

"There weren't many women doing it - just this one woman they called The Beaver, so she went into training in Sydney and later she fought The Beaver.

"So we were up there in Winton having tea and Sue told this funny story about how she went into training and how she fought The Beaver.

"I went home and later wrote a poem about it and sent it to her.”

Ms Williams forwarded the poem to her agent in Sydney, who came back to Mr Borthwick and said Harper Collins was interested in picking up the book.

"She gave me the opportunity to put 30 poems together, but I sent her 50,” he said.

"I paired each poem with a short story that inspired it.

"It was only about a year after I'd started writing again and I'm so glad I did.

"It's only been out for about three months now but I've had really positive feedback so far.”

When he's not writing, Mr Borthwick runs a small private tour company, Timbuktours around Australia.

The author says he is looking forward to sharing his work when he comes to Warwick and Stanthorpe next week.

On November 10, Mr Borthwick will speak at Warwick Library at 10.30am before heading to Stanthorpe Library for the next session at 2pm.

"I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about the book and bush poetry,” he said.

"I know Warwick fairly well and approached them first.

"Marianne (Potter) said she would be keen and then we worked out I could do Stanthorpe on the same day.

"I'd love the chance to put another book together some day; it's turned from a hobby into a passion.”

A light tea will be provided and those people interested are urged to RSVP by November 6.

For more information, phone Warwick Library on 46610342 or Stanthorpe Library on 46812141.