Author: Michel Vimal du Monteil
Publisher: Hawkeye Publishing
ISBN: 9780645084443
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A massive cyclone swell on Sydney’s beaches claims a big wave surfer, leaving his long-term partner without a body to mourn. His four adult godchildren from far and wide gather for the reading of his will. A mystery girl from Tasmania joins them.

Down the coast, a man is pulled from the water and abandoned to his fate with a head injury and amnesia. He sets out on an odyssey along the east coast of Australia in search of his identity.

Will he like what he finds?

About the author and his book

Michel Vimal du Monteil’s name might give you a clue about his origins, but appearances can be misleading. Even though born and raised in France, after 42 years downunder he’s as Australian as they come. His recently published Where There is a Will dispels any doubt about that.

The debut novel has been described by early reviewers as a great Aussie yarn which captures the beauty and power of the east coast and landscapes, from Eden to Lizard Island. It features vivid descriptions of surfing big waves and introduces the reader to an intriguing cast of characters grappling with a man’s disappearance.

Michel is passionate about anything to do with the ocean — surfing, diving, sailing or fishing. After a couple of decades on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and a stint as a windsurfing instructor on the Barrier Reef, Michel settled in Emerald Beach, on the Coffs Coast, ten years ago. It was there that he decided to dust off his manuscript and invest time and energy into bringing it to publishing standards. That is, when waves or his SES volunteering didn’t call him away.

It was not an easy road. Few publishers will look at a debut author unless they are already some kind of celebrity or their story, preferably harrowing — think drifting at sea for weeks or chopping one’s arm from under a rock to free oneself — has made headlines. The best way to a publisher for an unknown debut author is through an agent. Michel was lucky enough, via a chance encounter, to be signed up by New Authors Collective (NAC).

After a thorough review process by a NAC panel of readers, an untold number of re-writes and proofreads, and a few gentle rejections — ‘good work, but no room in our stable right now…’ —  Where There is a Will was taken on by Hawkeye Publishing. The small traditional Brisbane publisher was particularly attracted to the surfing themes in the novel and the intriguing plot. After more fine-tuning and editing, the novel was at last sent to print and advance copies were released last September. The official launch, covid-permitting, will take place in Coffs Harbour on 19 November.

Sporting pursuits, music and travelling, when allowed, fill Michel’s days. His specialist skills as an SES flood rescue technician took him to Lismore in 2017, hours after the river broke its banks and flooded the town. The experience is feeding into his next novel, which he tells us also features surfing in exotic locations and a dark secret.