Bega born and bred author Hugh Watson is receiving great praise following the release of his second novel, The Silo, in mid 2021.
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The Silo is a compelling thriller set in the brutal world of country politics in Gwydir NSW.
The novel takes readers on a journey of intrigue around a series of mysterious and troubling murders.
Mr Watson said he had been longing to create a story about a despicable character - all he needed was to think of how the first murder would take place.
The idea came to him when he was visiting some friends on their property at Wallendbeen, near the town Young.
"It was a sort of windy day and a truck pulled up to their silo and I went up to watch the grain being put into the silo and said 'oh that could be dangerous'," he said.
Mr Watson said his friend Ken told him a lot of accidents happened around silos and that's when it occurred to him.
"I said, 'Aha, there it is, death in the grain silo, or in this case murder in a grain silo."
Mr Watson said he wanted to incorporate the theme of politics in his second novel, drawing upon his background.
"Basically, the idea was to have an incredibly nasty lead character who was also a politician," he said.
Mr Watson's use of politics in his novel was greatly received by readers, with reviews from Barbie Robinson from Living Arts Canberra commending Mr Watson for his insightful knowledge of politics.
"Hugh Watson ably uses a keen and insightful knowledge of politics gained from his career in the field to paint the picture of the unscrupulous behaviour of the rich and powerful," Ms Robinson said.
"He also understands the challenges of the Australian farmer and the constant battles with weather, stock and crop prices and the like, as well as their emotional connection with their land."
Mr Watson's political past includes being a former private secretary to a Cabinet Minister among many other achievements such as group general manager with the organising committee for the Sydney Olympic Games, and being partner-in-charge of Coopers and Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Canberra.
He is currently an adjunct associate professor at the Australian National University and a director of his own consulting company.
The story is a 'page turner'
Mr Watson said he created The Silo with momentum, so that the readers know after a few pages who the killer is and are left hungry to consume more pages.
"So there's no sense of 'who's done it?', it's more a case of 'is he going to get caught?'," he said.
"People who have reviewed it for me said it really moves along well, and is a page turner."
Book signing in Tathra set for late March
Although Mr Watson currently lives in the outskirts of Canberra in the township of Hall, he still visits Bega frequently.
He is due to visit again in late March, for a performance at the Tathra Hotel on March 20 with his band Willie and the Correspondents.
Mr Watson will also do a book signing at the Tathra Hotel on March 17 at 6pm, with Philip Williams (until recently chief foreign correspondent for the ABC) as MC.
Copies of Mr Watson's latest novel, The Silo, are available at the Merimbula Newsagency and at Candelo Books in Bega.