THE INK BRIDGE

Each step becomes a heartbeat and I feel the distance between Omed and me closing. I remember when I first met him when he had showed me what bravery meant. How he had stood up for what he believed. In the end that had been his undoing.

The Ink Bridge is the compelling story of two young men. Omed, an Afghani refugee who, after his father is murdered by the Taliban, undertakes a perilous journey through Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia to seek asylum in Australia; and Hector, an Australian boy consumed by grief, who has given up on school and retreated into silence. Their paths meet at a candle factory where they both find work. But secrets fester behind the monotonous routine: secrets with terrible consequences. Two silent boys. One born in a land of great beauty... and great violence. The other unable to escape the past. Both tied together by words. Silenced by tragedy. The hardest bridge that Hector will ever build is the one that leads to Omed. Their story will grab hold of your heart and not let go. Neil Grant was a little amazed and a little perturbed when the Australia Council awarded him a grant to go to Afghanistan in the midst of war. How irresponsible of them, he thought, as he renewed his passport and bought his ticket to Kabul. He kept a fascinating blog of his trip see www.neilgrant.com. Neil was born in Scotland and migrated to Australia at the age of 13. He has lived and worked in many countries and is the author of four previous books. In 2005 Indo Dreaming was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Literary Award and the Melbourne Prize for Best Writing. At every opportunity he escapes to write and dream in a mudbrick cottage he built himself on the south coast of NSW.