Ian Burns

Publisher info

Ian is the fourth generation in his family to become a published author, his maternal grandfather, Bernard Capes, Bernard's uncle,and Bernard's son, Renalt, preceding him.
Ian’s own writing began in secondary school, and extended into comedy sketches and lyrics for the stage in his early twenties. Later he found himself writing for the Education Department, and, after going into private practice, writing reports, proposals, and scripts for training videos and some television commercials.
The catalyst for fiction writing was a story a colleague told him one day about a bunch of kids riding home on the back of a huge horse, which insisted on walking through a dam!
This led to his first book, Scratcher (1987).
Since then he has written and published Lissie Pendle, The Search for Quong, Ranga Plays Australia, The Day and Night Machine, Possum and Python, Twevven and the big bigger biggest baby burp, and Twevven in a very dangerous situation for children and, for adults, Thomas Bulford’s English Companion, Thomas Bulford’s Essays on Life, Language & Love, Ranga Plays Australia, and The Alone Man.
Ian is active in his local community, having being involved in Scouting for more than thirty years, founded a Friends environmental rehabilitation group and is an active member of another, was President of a badminton association for seven years, and has arranged for a group of family and friends to provide long-term support to third-world women seeking financial assistance to grow their businesses. He received a Commonwealth Community Australia Day Award in 2006.
He has three adult children and nine grand-children.
Currently he is Chairman of Fairy Green Australia Pty Ltd, a company dedicated to inspiring and connecting the children of the world through an internet project titled The Great Hall of Dreams.

Where to find Ian Burns online

Books

Messing With Your Mind
Price: $2.50 USD. Words: 74,710. Language: English. Published: January 21, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Historical, Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
A murder mystery where the mystery isn't the murders, but a mystery third party's unimaginably horrific but exceedingly-tempting offer.
The Package on the Tram
Price: $2.97 USD. Words: 28,970. Language: English. Published: January 19, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Action & Adventure / Survival Stories, Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary
A mystery fantasy - a sequel to "The Day and Night Machine" - for 10-14 year-olds. The main protagonists are 13 year-old girls.
Ranga Plays Australia
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 60,860. Language: English. Published: April 6, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » General, Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
A lad in a small village that would later become part of the great city of Bangalore dreams of playing cricket against Australia. As it is 1949, this must be an impossible idea. But, once a dream gets out there, amazing things may happen...
The Day and Night Machine
Price: $2.49 USD. Words: 26,280. Language: English. Published: March 26, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Action & Adventure / Survival Stories, Fiction » Children’s books » Entertainment
It’s Jess’s thirteenth birthday. She’s been in bed for nearly a year, the result of a car accident that killed her father. Surprisingly, she finds a birthday present from her father, an unusual gift for a girl and one which she, her grandfather, and her mother, puzzle over. In the course of playing with it she discovers that it has some highly-unexpected properties. Then, purely by accident...
Lissie Pendle
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 49,520. Language: English. Published: March 25, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Entertainment, Fiction » Children’s books » Family / General
Lissie Pendle lives in an outback country town in Australia, the daughter of the local doctor. She spends much of her time thinking about boys (not always favorably), and the injustices associated with being a girl. In between all this thinking and questioning and philosophising in general, she becomes involved in things that range from the potentially dire to straight-out mayhem.
Scratcher
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 46,040. Language: English. Published: March 21, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Short Stories, Fiction » Children’s books » Entertainment
Scratcher is a young lad growing up and getting into trouble - lots of trouble - lots of FUNNY trouble - in a country town not too long after World War 2. Illustrated by Bruce Rankin
The Search for Quong
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 16,980. Language: English. Published: March 19, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Imagination & Play, Fiction » Children’s books » Short Stories
Quong was a creature of the olden olden days, even before grandmother. He was a short fellow, or, at least, that’s what they said, with long, thin legs and an even longer, thinner tail. His face was fat and wrinkly, and big bushy eyebrows kept out the sun and flies. Or maybe not.
Possum and Python
Price: $1.95 USD. Words: 6,340. Language: English. Published: March 19, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Animals » Wild animals (general), Fiction » Children’s books » Fairy tales & fables
A story of rainforest love, beginning on a branch above and a branch below,with the mortal enemy of one causing something quite surprising.
Thomas Bulford's Essays on Life, Language & Love
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 44,860. Language: English. Published: March 19, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » Parody, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
An eclectic collection of essays allegedly written by the late polyphilologist Thomas Bulford (Thomas Bulford’s 'English Companion'), mostly short enough to ignore or to completely overlook in the general pursuit of particular happiness which, it must be said, will not be found in this volume, or, indeed, elsewhere, unless one diligently practises the ancient art of
Thomas Bulford's English Companion
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 44,050. Language: English. Published: March 18, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire, Fiction » Anthologies » General
A new compendium of words by a little-known but infinitely-self-important, self-proclaimed aficianado, on why English is the greatest language.
The Alone Man
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 7,530. Language: English. Published: March 16, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » Australia & New Zealand, Fiction » Inspirational
The Alone Man draws on the concept of ‘dreamtime’. It is a ‘double love story’ about a man’s love for his wife and family and his love of the land and nature.

Ian Burns' tag cloud

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