The release of Yuin man Gary Lonesborough's debut novel means he has achieved a dream he has held since he was young, and it contains a story that comes from a very personal place.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
"Ever since I was little I just loved telling stories," the 26-year-old former Bega resident said.
"I think being an Aboriginal person, it is in our DNA to be a storyteller.
"I like the feeling you have when you're writing. Growing up, I was on the lower end of the economic ladder and it was freeing to write about anything I wanted to."
He said with his new young adult novel The Boy from the Mish he wanted to write a book about a teenager falling in love and accepting himself.
The novel features a funny and heartwarming story about seventeen-year-old Jackson, who lives with his family on the Mish and meets Tomas who is quiet, artistic and from a troubled background.
Tomas forces Jackson to confront his sexual identity, who he is, take that step towards adulthood, and fall in love for the first time, Lonesborough said.
Lonesborough said growing up in Bega struggling with his own queer identity was hard, as he had "a lot of internalised homophobia" and did not have many other queer people around him.
"Growing up in a small town, the queer people are so rare everybody knows who they are and I didn't want to have that label," he said.
"But these things have a way of forcing themselves into the open.
"All the struggles I had as a teen made me who I am, but I would have liked to have more help, more courage and maybe more confidence in my own skin."
A lightning bolt to the soul. The Boy from the Mish announces a bold, necessary new talent.
- WILL KOSTAKIS
He said one of his hopes with his new book is to help other young people who may experience what he himself went through when he was growing up.
"Maybe they will come across this book and it will show them they are not alone and there's nothing wrong with them," he said.
The Boy from the Mish, which Lonesborough started writing in 2018, has already received rave endorsements from the likes of renowned authors Ben Law, Gabbie Stroud and Nina Kenwood.
The Boy from the Mish is an extraordinary debut novel, and I loved this tender, beautiful story with all my heart. Jackson and Tomas stole my heart, and I'll be thinking about them for a long time.
- NINA KENWOOD
He was grateful to have already received positive feedback on his novel and was excited to release the book.
"I feel like I'm fulfilling my purpose in life and this is a big step towards that," he said.
"It feels nice, I feel validated as a writer now. I feel that's what I am now."
The Boy from the Mish releases on Tuesday, February 2 through Allen & Unwin.
A Bega book launch with Lonesborough in conversation with fellow Bega Valley author Gabbie Stroud has already sold out!
Albert McKnight
Journalist at Bega District News.
Journalist at Bega District News.
