#17 Son of Hydra—the day Ghikas stole my pen

My lovely email people—you absolute champions—you’re finally getting the update you deserve.

Son of Hydra has been out for three weeks, and the response has been so good I’ve had to lie down several times with a cold cloth. Honestly, I thought you’d all pat me on the head politely say well done and wander off. Instead, you’ve gone completely spare. But would you believe, I’ve sold more in the US than in Australia? How marvellous and deeply confusing is that? I hope he becomes an Australian folk hero—if Americans don't get to him first.

And I hope you ended up liking the cover. After all that angst and lavender-sky litigation.

Here’s what readers are saying:

‘Extraordinary… I couldn’t wait to get back to it.’

‘A gripping and beautifully written novel.’

‘A rollicking read… I did an all-nighter.’

‘A brilliant story! Hot-headed youths, colonial grit, hope, romance—the lot.’

And then the big guns rolled in:

‘Son of Hydra has it all. Ghikas emerges as the anti-authoritarian hero Australians love best.‘

—Kyra Geddes, author of The Story Thief.

‘Once you start reading Son of Hydra, you cannot put it down.‘

—Heraklis Kalogerakis, Vice Admiral Hellenic Navy (retd)

‘A transportive and beautifully written story that needed to be told.‘

—Yvette Manessis Corporon, triple Emmy-award winning producer and international bestselling author of Daughter of Ruins

‘Dark’s vivid prose, attentive characterisation and commitment to ethical storytelling combine to produce a work that honours the complexity of the past without succumbing to nostalgia or triumphal myth-making.‘

— Dean Kalimniou, poet, scholar, translator, Greek cultural commentator, columnist for Neos Kosmos

‘Son of Hydra moves like saltwater through the consciousness of every Greek-Australian who has ever reflected upon the history of their forefathers.‘

— Dean Kalimniou

‘Dark’s perceptive handling of gender, power and the hidden migrations of shame across cultures grants the novel a rare depth.‘

— Dean Kalimniou

‘As cinematic as Master and Commander, as heartfelt as Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.‘

—Peter Barber, internationally awarded and bestselling author of The Parthenon Series.

I can‘t tell you what it is to read messages like that when you‘ve put your baby up as a target in a shooting gallery. A little confession about writing Ghikas. I was always worried about writing a story through the eyes of a teenaged Greek boy (turned pirate) in the 1820‘s. For most of the writing process I had Ghikas in third person—he did this, he did that—behaving himself. Well. Trying to.

Except he just didn‘t feel right—too neat, too grown-up, too much like he was applying for a job at Price Waterhouse.

So one day, absolutely fed up, he marched into my head and said: ‘Step aside. You’re making a complete hash of this. It’s my story—I’ll tell it.’

So I stepped aside.

And suddenly it all worked—the voice, the pulse, the emotional engine of the book. He started saying things I’d never write. Knowing things I didn’t know and had to look up. Having opinions I‘d never given him. I sat there thinking, I beg your pardon—who’s running this show?

It was chaos. It was glorious.

it's been Book of the Week in a widely read US magazine

Of course, once he got going, I occasionally had to wrestle the pen back because he was making himself look a total rooster strutting around Hydra thinking the sun rose exclusively for him.

We had words.

He thinks he won. I think I did.

And yes… the love story. He’d never admit it, but Mary knocked the wind out of him. I didn’t plan this love story the way it happens. I truly didn’t. But once he took over the narration and she walked onto the page—well, that was that.

They were off.

What I refused to do:

I told myself three things writing this novel, apart from sticking to the facts, which matters very much to me after all that research:

1. Don’t romanticise him into a Disney prince.

2. Don’t turn it into misery-porn.

3. Don’t let him get away with nonsense.

Son of Hydra isn’t a misery-fest. It’s hopeful, fierce I think, but human. A story about privilege, about making a mess of things, learning slowly (oh so slowly), finding love, and becoming the man you were meant to be.

You can buy signed copies at Annie’s Books (Peregian) and Mary Ryan’s (New Farm)—both have been absolute angels asking for stock. I’ll drop more around Brisbane soon. And any bookshop can order it in.

Or here‘s the Amazon link. They deliver in two days, and it‘s a great Christmas gift for both men and women.

Honestly, if you've read it, thank you for the reviews, the messages, and the sheer joy you’ve sent my way. You’ve made this launch feel like a festival.

If you’ve read it, tell me—did you want to throttle Ghikas? Did Mary steal your heart? Did the hope shine through? Any questions?

And yes, I’m trying to work out how to do an audiobook without bankrupting myself or traumatising a narrator.

Wishing you and your family the happiest Christmas imaginable.

Please hit reply and tell me what you’re up to—I love hearing from you.

And you know I wait you, always.