Where do Titles come from?

The COLOURED SANDS sign post marked the beach where amazing multicoloured sand dunes towered over a pristine beach.  I knew with my next breath that I had the title for my first book of the Outback series, COLOURED SANDS.  

I had to find a way to work the title into the story line. This is how I did it:

1901: The selector's wife Mary is caring for Emily 8, who trundled down a creek bed for two days to find help after the shock massacre of her family. Emily is participating in silent tantrums of a terrible nature and Mary is at a loss to know how to pacify the traumatized child who is without speech, and whom the town has labelled the Crazy Orphan.

The indigenous tribe have brought Mary a baby on the verge of death. Mary places the baby in a steam tent so it might breathe more easily. Emily is filled with jealously and contempt and kicks the cot. The exhausted Mary finally deals with the situation that is do with the colour of the baby's skin,  and soon after falls asleep on the little couch near the woodstove. She has a vivid dream.

This is the dream that she recites to Emily in a bid to calm the tormented little soul – the dream that gives credence to the title of the novel.

Mary’s Dream

She drifted into a dreamy world where

frothy water washed onto a beach of coloured sands –

the colour of people - black, white, yellow and brown;

then suddenly a huge wave, whipped by a fierce wind

churned and swallowed the coloured sands

that kept swirling and curling,

around and over, this way and that way

until one colour emerged - the colour of tan.

People walked proudly out of those waves –

beautiful golden tan people,

the colour of all people combined

and the eyes that shone from those beautiful,

golden, tan faces were full of love and peace.

www.colouredsandstrilogy.com.au