Having read practically all of Michael Connelly’s books and being very much inspired by his character, Detective Harry Bosch, when writing my novel No Man’s Land, it was great to return to my roots as a journalist, sit down with him at the Wharf during the 2015 Sydney Writers’ Festival and interview him.

There’s no doubt at all that the unusual elements of this thriller are what give it some of its strength. The nature of the order, and the belief system behind it, creates an interesting challenge between acceptance and fight-back. Mirrored somewhat in the surfer mindset as well. All of this makes Carter an unexpected hero type – flawed, questioning, brave with enough of the all action hero type to be believable he’s quite realistic, very believable.

For an action adventure thriller like No Man’s Land, the biggest challenge is to avoid creating cardboard cut out villains.

Or as James Bond succinctly put it in Dr No – ‘World domination. Same old dream. Our asylums are full of people who think they’re Naploeon. Or God.’

Finding the right opponent is at the heart of creating a good story. As well-known scriptwriting consultant John Truby says, if you get the opposition right, your story will almost certainly succeed. If you get the opposition wrong, your story will almost certainly fail.

Sporting achievement became my holy grail when I was eight years old. I was playing my first Rugby game for the Newport Seahorses against the Dee Why Lions.

Twenty minutes into the game, I dived on the ball over the try line and unwittingly scored a try. All my teammates rushed over to congratulate me.

I experienced my first sporting high and have been hooked on the feeling for life. I still tear up when I see young people play Rugby on Saturday or hear the national anthems before a Test match. For me, Rugby is a cross between a sweet science and brutal poetry.