Darren Groth – January 17 2021

Darren has appeared at numerous writers’ festivals and has been a guest speaker, workshop and masterclass facilitator and writer-in-residence for literary organisations, writing groups, schools and libraries. He has written articles for publications including The Courier-Mail, Writing Queensland and Mamamia. A former special education teacher, Darren is the proud father of an autism spectrum disorder son and is passionate about promoting awareness and understanding of ASD. Originally from Brisbane, he now lives in Vancouver, Canada, and his books have been published on both sides of the Pacific and include Munro vs. the Coyote (YA), Most Valuable Potential, and The Articulate Conception (formerly known as The Umbilical Word). His latest publication, co-written with his younger brother Simon Groth, is the fabulist novella, Infinite Blue.

Are You Seeing Me?
Woolshed Press, 2014; ISBN 9780857984739
Young adult
Nineteen-year-old twins, Justine and Perry, are about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime. It’s been a year since their dad lost his battle with cancer and Justine is now the sole carer for her disabled brother. But with Perry’s acceptance into an assisted-living residence, their reliance on each other is set to shift. Before they go their separate ways, they’re seeking to create the perfect memory. For Perry, the trip is a glorious celebration of his favourite things: mythical sea monsters, Jackie Chan movies and the study of earthquakes. For Justine, it’s a chance to reconcile the decision to ‘free’ her twin, to see who she is without her boyfriend, Marc – and to offer their mother the chance to atone for past wrongs. But the instability that has shaped their lives will not subside, and the seismic event that Perry forewarned threatens to reduce their worlds to rubble….

Kindling
Hachette, 2010; ISBN 9780733625022
Young adult
Nate Monk, one-time ruler of the charts with a hit song, gave up his musical aspirations to be a widower father of ten year old Kieran, a boy who is “wired differently”, who seeks counsel from his superhero bobble-head and sometimes views the world through a CD case. Five years after the blaze that claimed wife and mother, Felicity, Nate is trying his best to raise Kieran protected from the spectre of a horrible secret. But on an autumn afternoon, as a bushfire threatens surrounding neighbourhoods, that awful truth is revealed during a casual get-together with friends, shattering the worlds of both father and son. When Kieran disappears, Nate knows, instinctively, where his boy has gone: To the fire. As the chase unfolds, one question burns: Can Kieran be saved from the flames of Destiny? Beautifully written, at times lyrical, the tale is told in the alternating first-person voices of father and autistic son.