I’ve got this book out. It’s called Death Most Definite (UK | US | AUS),  and it’s about Death and it’s set in Brisbane and Hell. That’s Brisbane, Australia (not Brisbane, North Dakota, which Wikipedia informs me is a ghost town, so it would have been kind of appropriate).

Most of you have an idea of where the Hell is, but, probably, not so many would know about Brisbane.

So here’s what you need to know.

It’s Australia’s third most populous city.

The outer eastern suburbs rub up against the coast, the inner suburbs cluster around Mt Coot-tha (a low mountain, really more of a hill, that I can see from my window as I type this). And all through it the Brisbane River winds– a tributary of the River Styx, but then all rivers are.

Brisbane is hot and humid in Summer, kind of like a sweaty old sock, but with better views.  The Winters are mild though you wouldn’t realise that if you looked at our clothes – the slightest drop in temperature and we’re all rugged up as if it’s snowing.

Now, some stuff you probably don’t need to know. Brisbane’s where I fell in love with my wife, it’s where I, shortly after, moved, because I’d fallen in love, and it’s where I’ve lived and worked for fourteen years. It’s the only city I know intimately, and it still surprises me.

So when I decided to write a book about Death, and love, it was the obvious choice. Death has been done before and love, yes, but Death and love set in Brisbane – not so much. Where else could I convincingly blow things up, or know the best way to flee for your life (guided only by a dead girl).

Brisbane is also a city reflected in Hell. Not the fire and Brimstone Hell, but an Underworld where the mirror city exists beneath the branches of a soul devouring Moreton Bay Fig (think that giant tree in Avatar, but BIGGER, and you’re on the right track) and souls are sent there by Pomps that work for Death – and earn a decent sort of wage doing it.

And everything is running smoothly, if a little dully, until Steve de Selby falls in love with a dead girl, and someone starts killing Pomps.

I’d like to think that Death Most Definite is a funny, fast-paced romantic action adventure. And I’d like to think that it shows my city, as I see it. A city grown up. A city filled with challenges and adventure. A city where Death might set up his Australian operations.

And a city of love.

Welcome to Brisbane. Steven de Selby’s city. My city. I think you’ll like it a lot, maybe even learn to love it like me.