Local author Rick Sullivan’s foray into children’s books with Buster and Us, a story about six-legged guest

Local author Rick Sullivan’s long list of experiences has shaped the many short stories and pieces of bush poetry he has written over the years, but it is a new experience — being a grandfather — that has pushed him to publish his first children’s book.

Buster and Us tells the story of a bug who moves into the home of a family after the tree it lives in is knocked down.

Having been a station-hand, explosives offsider, deckhand, motorcycle racer, skydiver and more, Sullivan has had a long list of inspiration for his previous works, such as Sausage, his collection of short stories about a man from Northampton.

For this book, it was being a grandfather and teaching and learning from his grandchildren which inspired him.

“I love to watch my grandchildren interact with nature . . . I think it’s a big thing for kids to be kind to people and bugs as well,” he said.

The story gave Sullivan an outlet for a new style of writing, more fun and whimsical than his usual darker, more mature style.

“It was like a puzzle, I just had to put the pieces together. In the end it came naturally,” he said.

“The little rhyme at the start came to me one day . . . and I just took the story from there”

Sullivan will be signing books from 9am-noon at Northampton IGA and most Sundays at Geraldton Platform Markets.