Colleen Flanagan

About Colleen Flanagan

Passionate Writer

I live in Redcliffe, Queensland with my husband Peter and our cat Wyndoe. Peter and I have been travelling to Africa for more years than I can remember. We took our Jeep and camper trailer to Africa in 2019 and spent ten months camping in the southern African countries. Between game drives and sitting around our campsite, I started writin

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Chapter 1

Bella stood on the foreshore staring into the hollowness of the sky. It had been a week since that night, but still, the memories clustered about her. The sun slanted behind her, digging into her shoulder blades; beads of sweat trickled down her back. The rays so thick with remorse you could cut through them with a knife, trailed low over the ocean. Bella tried to catch at snippets of her married life. Where had it gone so horribly wrong? Bradley had been too overpowering for her gentle nature. Bella’s anxiety twisted inside her. She had tried several times to apologise but Bradley refused to speak with her. He even refused to allow her to visit her cat. Dorset must surely be fretting for her. His tolerance for having to deal with her depression and anxiety now floated out of reach.

The air back in her stark motel room, across the street from the beach, had stifled her. The lingering reminder of previous forgotten guests laced permanently into the threadbare wallpaper. Bella had needed to breathe in the salty tang of the ocean.

Bella ran barefoot along the beach; her dress clung tightly between her thighs. She thought she could outrun the bubbles of resentment that bounced off her husband, but she couldn’t. The loneliness shadowed her everywhere. Strolling to the water’s edge Bella let the pull of the waves suck around her ankles. Strands of seagrass nibbled against her toes. She shivered when a slight breeze floating over the water tugged at her dress.

Unpublished-Sequel to The Hunted - African Justice

Vietnam

Chapter One

The day Sable’s sister washed up on the banks of the Thu Bồn River became the day she planned to leave home. And yet she never did. Not then anyway.

Sable went to the riverbank to say goodbye to Mai. The body of her oldest sister was bloated and fish had nibbled at her fingers and toes. Mai’s spirit watched over her. Sable reached out her hand to touch it, but there was nothing there, only memories and drops of salty tears.

The tears fell down Sable’s cheeks. She scraped at the tears, like they were her own. She wondered if it was possible to cry without realising it.

People from the morgue came, in a big black van, to remove the body. They took no notice of Sable sitting quietly beside her dead sister, crying softly.

When the big black van disappeared into the smog of the city, a wet puddle and indentation remained. Sable swirled her fingers through the puddle. She had no tears left and Mai spirit was drifting further from her.

Sable wiped her muddy fingers on her dress. She looked down at the mud caking her legs and scuffed shoes. She sighed, then began the slow walk home. She was expecting a backlash from her father as soon as she went into their shabby apartment. An apartment too small for her siblings and drunken father to live in harmoniously.

Blurb Back Cover

Bella has the peace she has always craved. She has finally accepted Bern’s love. She has put a tumultuous few weeks behind her and is ready for happiness.

But happiness will elude her as she and Bern are again drawn into the lion poaching racket.

This time, it is Bella’s ex-husband, Bradley Chister, an overconfident solicitor, and his girlfriend, Sable, with links to the poaching racket, who wreak havoc in their quest to kill a lion.

Bradley inadvertently shoots Bern and Bella, and Sable shoots a lion. This marks the beginning of their entanglement in the Botswana legal system.

Bradley tries to create various scenarios for his and Sable’s crimes, but the Botswana legal system maintains a proud and honest belief that justice will be served.

Unpublished-A Witch, A Baobab and A Sausage Tree

Chapter One

Etta’s body tightened as the pangs of childbirth clutched at her. This baby would be born under a sky confused with wispy mackerel clouds and upheaval, not in an air-conditioned hospital. The storm that had scudded low before dawn was a distant memory out in the bay. The sticky humid air pressed down on Etta. She prayed for Jesus to bless this wondrous occasion and to lift the curse. Etta left the confused stems of the geraniums to twist through the lavender which was wilting in the heat. The coolness of her weatherboard Queenslander made her body shiver or was that the child struggling to get out?

Banksia was already locked in his office preparing the sermon for Christmas Eve Mass. He would be no help with the birth. Etta phoned her neighbour, Clementine, to come over. She had brought six babies into the world; this was Etta’s first.

The baby would always recall the exact moment her first breath of clean air entered her. She came in a rush, ignoring the yelps of pain from Etta. The suffocating heat of a room with all the windows shut tight stifled her. The baby settled in Clementine’s outstretched arms. Drops of perspiration splattered over her skin as she was laid across Etta’s breast.

A flurry of wind rose from nowhere in the airless room. The windows flew open, letting in the sweetness of lavender to mask the cloying traces of afterbirth. Etta’s howl of panic peeled off the walls. Clementine fell to the floor, crossing herself and covering her head against the squall.

Back Cover Blurb

Set in the stunning Kruger National Park and the chaotic border town of Komatipoort, Sapphire finds the answers she has been searching for, her entire life. She soaks up all the secrets and magic that comes from being a witch.

But there must be more to life than changing forms, changing the seasons, getting animals to do her bidding and drinking tea with the troubled Father Joseph.

When she learns about the evil witch, Clara, destroying the wildlife in Kruger, Sapphire makes it her mission to save the endangered animals and rid the world of evil.

Along the way she befriends an ancient baobab, a sausage tree and a hyena with a lineage that is over one thousand years old when witch-hunts were blood sports.

Unpublished - White Mountain

Chapter One

Shimmer

When the seatbelt sign flicked off, Shimmer reached for her duffle bag and day pack. The aisle was cluttered with weary passengers, jostling for their luggage and wishing the doors would open. The air was so thick with body odour and excitement that you could swirl through it with your fingers. Shimmer bent to look out the porthole. The light hurt her tired eyes, making her squint. Her oversized sunglasses did little to mask the brightness. Her hair was a heavy, tangled mess down her back.

The guy she had been sitting next to on the short flight from Nairobi to Mount Kilimanjaro International Airport, was standing too close to her. She could feel the rippling muscles of his chest against her back. She tried to squirm away from him, but there was nowhere to go. She was already invading the personal space of the lady in front of her.

The guy bent even further into Shimmer, offering to help her carry her bags. ‘Perhaps we could have dinner and a few drinks tonight.’ He murmured in her ear, as though they were lovers on a romantic getaway. His breath was stale from too much beer and lack of sleep.

‘Sorry? What? When are they going to open the doors?’ Shimmer wished she could step away from him. Why couldn’t they make the aisles wider? Then she wouldn’t have to be melded into him.

Back Cover Blurb

It was supposed to be her honeymoon, but Shimmer found herself alone in Tanzania, determined to climb Mount Kilimanjaro by herself. After being abandoned by her first guide, she was even more on edge with Rory, the cantankerous, Irish guide who would now accompany her up the mountain.

In addition to Rory, she had to adjust to the other clients: a sweet older couple from England and a bratty guy from Norway.

The brochures never mentioned myths, sacrifices, a restless mountain, or angry spirits. If they had, Shimmer might have chosen to stay in Moshi.

However, had she stayed, she would have missed the opportunity to begin her journey of self-discovery and find love.

About Colleen Flanagan

Passionate Writer

I am passionate about writing stories that take place in some amazing African countries. Botswana, South Africa, and Tanzania hold a special place in my heart. The animals, people, and scenery are awe-inspiring to me, and I hope you enjoy reading my work as much as I love writing it.

Writing Safari

Passionate Writer

In 2022, Peter and I went on a writing safari in Zimbabwe. We stayed at Nantwich, which is Tony Park's lodge, in the beautiful Hwange National Park. The safari was hosted by Tony Park and Jo-Anne Richards, and seven other talented writers joined us. I learned a great deal about creative writing during the trip. I am now a member of All

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Courses

Passionate Writer

Courses

I have completed a Creative Writing course and a Thirty-Day Bootcamp with All About Writing.

Also, Jo-Anne and Richard mentored me with the first chapters of my manuscript - The Curious Incident of the Komatipoort Witches.

I am also a member of the Queensland Writers Centre.