General News
2 April, 2026
First book for local
FROM love at first sight to brotherly betrayal, a murder and a wrongful prison sentence – Russell Clark’s very first novel has it all.
Local retiree Russell Clark has just published his very first book at 80 years old – proving it’s never too late to try new things.
The Locust Years follows a seemingly ordinary tale of two brothers who are “great mates”, but their relationship becomes complicated when one of them, Joe, falls in love with a girl.
Things quickly take a turn for the worse when a murder takes place and Joe gets wrongfully sentenced to prison.
“It’s based on two brothers who are supposed to be great mates, but one frames the other one for a murder,” Mr Clark explained.
“And so the guy goes to jail, and there’s a bit of sadness and anger. He’s very anti-everything – anti-religion, and a chaplain comes in but he tells him to ping off.
“So his mate gets a Bible and says to him, ‘You’re name’s in here’, and of course it’s the story about Joseph being betrayed by his brothers.
“So he’s in prison for a period of time, which is how he works through his anger, and he eventually comes to a point of reconciliation with himself.”
Previously a minister of 10 years at the United Church in Mareeba and a prison chaplain for 16 years, Mr Clark explained the title of the book was derived from a Bible verse, which reflects an epiphany Joe experiences in prison.
“He feels his years in prison are wasted, but he’s reminded that the years that have been wasted will be restored, and that’s the essence of the story.”
This refers to Joel 2:25 from the Bible, which reads “So I will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten…”
Mr Clark first took up writing as a hobby about four years ago, and over the course of the past three years, he wrote The Locust Years.
“I mucked around with it a lot and I never thought about publishing it, but then I thought I’d give it a go,” he said.
“I wasn’t brilliant at school, at English, and the funny thing is I’d never read a novel until I was about 21. I didn’t like stories that were made up.
I liked to read history, autobiographies, or nature – I was passionate about nature.
“Back then, novels were not real stories to me, but you do get caught up in the reality of them. They’re cameos of composites of people that you know, really.”
But he said he was “pleased as punch” to have finished the book and self published it.
“It’s exciting to write something, and the characters start to live in your head a bit.”
Prior to becoming a minister, Mr Clark also spent 11 years working as a maths and science teacher. He now enjoys his retirement with his wife, Elizabeth, in their home at Tinaroo. He has five daughters, thirteen grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
The Locust Years is available at Under Blue Skies Bookshop (Mareeba), Tableland Books (Atherton), online from Jabiru Publishing, or by phoning Mr Clark on 0499 854 610.
