The Cleveland bowls club has became the inspiration for disaster, comedy and murder in Peter Baines' latest novel Dead End in Barra Bay.
Mr Baines, 76, of Thornlands joined the bowls club a few years ago to gain fitness and for the love of sport.
He said he didn't realise when he did that it would also be a place of inspiration "to keep the grey matter working".
"You always find a few characters at the local bowls club and I have mixed up some of the characteristics to create some of the roles in the book. Mind you, it would be pretty hard for anyone to recognise themselves. Just turning up for events generates lots of ideas around which to construct an interesting storyline. It occurred to me that the setting of a bowls club would make an unusual setting for mischief and crime," he said.
"That's why I write - to keep my grey matter working. I never expected both mental and physical exercise at the bowls club. I enjoy playing bowls and it's very therapeutic. I'm into therapy."
Mr Baines said he had written three earlier books, based on naval experiences. Previous titles are Deep Down Under, 2018, Blunder Down Under, 2019 and They Called Me Bondi, 2019.
"I never start a fictitious story with a planned outcome. I start with one or two main characters and hope that my mind will be creative enough to take care of the rest. This is challenge enough but I find the bigger challenge is keeping the text fresh and descriptive. Dialogue is what brings my stories to life," he said.
"When I joined the bowls club, it triggered a new idea for a new story. I am already working on a sequel."
Mr Baines said the story revolved around the shenanigans of the local club, set in a fictional town on coastal Queensland.
In the story a pair of business advisers stop at the town on their way to north Queensland where they are seeking an alternate lifestyle. In trying to improve the bowls club, disaster and comedy ensues.
"It even ends up with a murder and becomes a whodunit. There is a lot of stuff seen on and off the green, with just a smidgen of bowling thrown in," Mr Baines said.
"It's a story about the fragility of relationships - about love, hate and deceit. But it's also about frivolity and good times."
"A lot of members want a copy."
Copies of the book are $13 and can be purchased via amazon.com/dp/1701706725 (available also as an eBook).
