Two local women in Grenfell have had their stories published in a new anthology all related to the skies across regional Australia.
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Gai Lander and Alison Rumps along with a list of other authors have had their work put together and published in the anthology Dark Sky Dreamings.
The book was the brain child of Forbes based author Dr Merril Findlay and is based off the stories local writers came up with from the Big Skies Collaboration's Skywriters project.
"The topics were open to anything as long as it was to do with the sky," Gai said.
"It all came about with the fledgling Astro Trail."
Gai's story in the book is based around cloud moods, taking from her own personal experience and observations of the clouds and how her moods related to them.
Alison's topic of choice of story is a fictional tail inspired by her real life experience of the moon landing fifty years ago.
"I was in school and I always link up the moon landing with the death of my father," Alison said.
"He died when I was young, but he didn't commit suicide like the character in the book does."
Alison's story relates to suicide and how it affects those left behind, all while the race to the moon occurs.
"As soon as you've got the hook in your mind, in my case 'one small step', it helps to link it to yourself personally," Alison said.
"You try to make it personal with little details that you can't make up."
Gai said when she was a child she was fascinated by clouds and their formations.
"When I was little and there was a storm my father would say, 'don't worry pet, it's only the clouds banging together,'" Gai said.
As a child Gai researched cloud spotting.
"I wrote my story in the first four months of 2018 when the clouds were very thin, there was no rain," she said.
"I would keep a journal of the type of clouds I saw and the effect on my moods.
"I would get a feel for the day comparing my moods to the clouds."
Both ladies said they really enjoyed being a part of the book and both praised the hard work and dedication of Merrill in bringing the book to life. Each story in the anthology is different, from the style, composition to the perspective with a range of authors from across the country contributing.
The the official launch of the book was held in Tamworth at the end of October. The book is currently available for Kindle on Amazon Australia with the official launch in Grenfell on December 3.