Ken Vincent – July 16 2017

National Pyjama Day (The Pyjama Foundation) – July 21 2017

Wear your favourite PJs and make a donation to improve the lives of foster children.

Ken was born in Tasmania and educated in South Australia and Victoria. He holds a degree from the University of South Australia. Ken worked in a variety jobs in agriculture and industry, held a commission as a lieutenant in the Army Reserve, and was an administrator in equestrian sport before becoming a social worker working with young offenders, children in care and victims of child abuse for almost 40 years. Now retired, Ken sometimes reads at the Gawler poetry readings and has co-founded the North Eastern Writers Inc. Ken’s other work includes Tammy, his first book written for children; The Day I Didn’t Die, about a 72 year old man discovering the truth about the after-life when a surgical procedure does not go according to plan; the follow-up novella Reincarnation; A Different Love; and The Shaggers’ Tale. He has also written a dark poetry collection, No shoes and the day was freezing.

Butterfly Girl (novella)
Ginninderra Press, 2009; ISBN 9781740275484
Tracy would give anything to be popular instead of a figure of fun. Though intelligent beyond her years neither her family nor those in her school can see past her obesity. She is part of an affluent but highly dysfunctional family which finally dissolves into chaos. Tracy finds herself rejected by her father, isolated from her siblings and living with an alcoholic mother. After experiencing horrors no young woman should have to endure she is taken into care where she experiences the strengths and weaknesses of the system.

Chains of Fear
Ginninderra Press, 2009; ISBN 9781740275743
Chains of Fear follows the life of a young woman, Nancy Overton, as she flees from a brutal marriage. She is pursued by her ex-husband who has always threatened to kill her if she left him. She hides away in a Queensland cattle station but even there he finds her and makes several attempts on her life. Good friends help to keep her safe but she changes from the innocent victim into a woman who can care for herself. At first she is very reluctant to commit to any new relationship but in the end she cannot deny her love for Joe.