………Meet Our Gold Coast Anthology Authors………….Di Morris

In ‘the clearing,’ a place of mystery and revelation. Written by Di Morris.
Twin Falls in the Warrie National Park, Springbrook, Queensland, 1956 [picture] / Ray Sharpe, photographer.
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What are you reading at the moment?
Summer of the Hot Tubs by Annie Proulx. I love her short story collection (which includes Brokeback Mountain). It is full of Wyoming characters, written with droll humour, an acute eye for detail encapsulated in brilliant spare prose.
What’s your favourite place on the Gold Coast, and why?
The beach, because the sound soothes and the visual is always changing. Obviously also, the Lamington Plateau and other rainforest places in the Hinterland.
What does your story convey about the Gold Coast?
I hope it conveys the fact that the rainforest is near and that it is a wonderfully replenishing retreat for all kinds of people. Also that we have to cherish the green environments we have left.
What attracted you to the photo you selected?
It fitted a story that was languishing in a bottom drawer.
Tell us about your story in one sentence.
Three very disparate characters meet at a Rainforest Resort, the result of which is a blend of humour, sensuality and empowerment for all three.
What else have you published?
Articles in British magazines and newspapers, two short stories in One Book Many Brisbanes, book reviews in M/C Reviews and TEXT Journal, short story and poem in Idiom 23, Song for Tallebudgera music and lyrics, and an M.A. Creative Memoir entitled ‘Photographs and Stories’.
What are you working on now?
One of five unfinished novels, working title ‘Prep School Story’. It’s set in a small English Preparatory School.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I have just returned from a road journey from Gold Coast down the East Coast of Australia culminating in Phillip Island, Victoria and exploring all the towns and coastal features on the way. I was struck by the fact that each place, whether large or small, had its own particular atmosphere.
I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the stories in ‘Undertow’ because I’m interested to see this composite view of Gold Coast over time which I hope the anthology and the archival photographs will provide. The City of Gold Coast has an identity that has been largely subsumed by holiday brochures and its history of corruption that went with the glitz and glam image. I’m glad to see the inception of this celebration of ordinary lives in story.