» Ten Terrifying Questions with the authors of Tracks of the Missing!The Booktopian (2025)

Carl Merrison is a Jaru and Kija man from Halls Creek. Carl works with young Indigenous boys through the Clontarf Academy focusing in improving engagement with education and providing a positive role model. Carl was nominated for Australian of the Year in 2016. Hakea Hustler is an experienced English teacher who has taught around Australia including in remote Aboriginal communities. Hakea is committed to Indigenous education with a particular focus on story as learning and empowerment. Together, Carl and Hakea’s debut novella Black Cockatoo was published by Magabala Books in 2018 and was shortlisted for the Readings Children’s Book of the Year, shortlisted in the CBCA Young Reader category, shortlisted for an ABIA award, selected as a feature text for the 2018 Summer Reading Challenge.

Today, to celebrate the recent release of their new YA thriller, Tracks of the Missing, Carl and Hakea are on the blog to take on our Ten Terrifying Questions! Read on …

1. To begin with, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

Carl: Born in Wyndham, raised in Halls Creek and outlying stations, schooled in Halls Creek – all in the Kimberley in remote northern Western Australia. The heart of the Kimberley is my home and my Country. It is in my blood and comes out in all my books.

Hakea: Born in Geelong, raised and schooled across a few different places in Geelong and Surf Coast Victoria, and Northern NSW. I didn’t experience the red centre of Australia until I was in university – a whole new world.

That is why we both write so well together. Carl has his unique spin on things and his lived experience stories to weave into our narratives but they do feel everyday and normal to him. I have an English teacher background and an understanding of what makes a good book and what young readers want to read, and can see the unique parts and interesting parts of what Carl thinks are ’normal’ life. We can bring out each other’s best parts.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

C: 12: football player, 18: mine worker or teacher assistant or youth worker, 30: Clontarf Worker, 35: football coach.

It is pretty common for young people to look up to sports figures as young fellas. We had a few role models who went to play WAFL in Perth when I was younger, so it was kind of a cool and interesting pathway. We grew up playing sport and kicking around on red dirt ovals. We are all passionate about footy. I broke both my legs in two separate incidences in my late childhood, spending lots of time in hospital and ruling out my footy chances.

At 18 in the Kimberley there were a few mines around and they are pretty easy to get work in and paid great, so I did that for a while. But then I got a job at the school and discovered a passion for youth and youth work. At 30 I was still working at the school as a Clontarf Foundation worker and was pretty content in my job. Then Hakea and I met and we started to dream different and big together. When we moved interstate for a while I had other football opportunities open up to me — I studied my Level 3 AFL coaching, took on coaching roles and worked in elite sport pathways. So I guess my ‘big dreams’ have changed a lot since I was little but they kind of stayed in football and helping youth. When writing, I bring both of them together – you’ll find lots of football in our books, which are aimed at improving reading outcomes for youth.

H: 12: psychologist or teacher or marine biologist, 18: teacher, 30: author.

I remember sitting at an old computer writing a chapter book at about 12 (no doubt terrible and saved on an old floppy disc somewhere) but I would never have dared dream of being an author. I wanted to be a marine biologist … but I get kind of travel sick. I remember sitting my sisters down from a really young age and doing ‘lessons’ with them. As an English teacher I was able to read lots of great books and dive deep into teaching them to students. I got to see what was a hit and what did not engage students, see what was missing in the curriculum. Working in the Kimberley, reading to our son and the birth of our daughter made the first story happen, even when we didn’t think we could ‘really be’ authors.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you don’t have now?

C: I’m not sure on this one! Probably a lot. Maybe that I could never do the type of public work that I do now. Probably a bit of self-doubt or not wanting to be a ‘tall poppy’ standing out. I love living and working in my town, but sometimes that can restrict your opportunities. I’ve studied different certificates and degrees, worked in youth mentoring, football, elite sport pathways, been an author — all things I guess I never thought a barefoot bush kid could ever achieve. I know that’s not the case now and tell all Aboriginal kids in the Kimberley that there are pathways for them and that they can have big dreams. But maybe 18 year old me didn’t really see, believe or understand that yet.

H: I guess I always thought I would stay in the one town. I never pictured myself moving around and working in so many different places. I guess I just thought that’s what everyone did, maybe? I think all writers should spend time living and working in other places — it helps you see your own hometown, own old life, own stories through a different lens.

4. What are three works of art – this could be a book, painting, piece of music, film, etc – that influenced your development as a writer?

C: Goosebumps inspired this story, but more broadly First Nations stories told by my old people, the art in the Kimberley by some of our amazing artists including relatives of mine — can’t name them all because too many and I’d miss someone out — and the music of the Kimberley like Shoveller Band, Fitzroy Express, The WalkAbout Boys, Dodgecity Boys, Hillside Boys and all the other deadly music from up our way. They all tell stories of our Country, culture, experiences. I wanted to do the same thing, just in a different way. I wanted to improve reading levels of the kids in the Kimberley through telling our stories our way.

H: Isobelle Carmody’s The Obernewtyn Chronicles was a series I went back to and back to and back to. My aunty took me to one of her book launches when I was a teenager and I was inspired by the way she engaged with readers and the many amazing books she wrote. The Gathering by Isobelle again also helped shape me. There is a scene with a dog that just had me in tears and taught me that books can move you and shape you. And finally, going to a Steiner school in my early primary years being immersed in music and art, exploring art and developing a passion for the arts.

5. Considering the many artistic forms out there, what appeals to you about writing a young adult novel?

We have played with writing children’s books, middle grade and now YA. We wanted to reach as many resistant, or disengaged readers in outback Australia as we can — and to do that, we needed to have books that engage them. We have a passion for improving literacy outcomes of First Nations readers in remote communities, and to do that they need to have books that show their faces, stories, landscapes and experiences. So writing YA made sense. We would read with our son, Deklan, every night until he was about ten. We read Goosebumps, Two Wolves, Animorphs and those types of books with him, and loved the experience. They sparked the idea — which couldn’t be contained to a middle grade reader — and the issues we explored needed to be in the YA genre. We can cover deeper issues in YA than we can in middle readers and children’s books. We love challenging topics. It’s kind of in those uncomfortable spaces and those tricky parts of our shared history where change happens.

6. Please tell us about your latest book!

Tracks of the Missing is a YA suspense thriller. We really wanted a book that would show what outback life is like for First Nations youth to wider Australia … and one that would hook them, remote First Nations youth, as readers. That is who Tracks of the Missing is for. A book about a murder, a missing busload of teens and someone supernatural on the loose. A book that shines a light on the issues that First Nations youth face and the strength and resilience they have.

We know YA readers will love it if they see it in their public library, school library or book shops. We also wanted it to be really accessible to teachers, librarians and P&C teams too, so we have a range of teaching resources available on our website to make it kind of ‘pick up and go’ to teach. It will be perfect for Grades 8 to 10+.

We also have a picture book called My Deadly Boots (Lothian 2022) out in September. And heaps more in the next few years that we are really excited about.

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

C: I want wider Australia to learn about life in the bush. I want First Nations readers to see hope and strength and pathways. I want them to see their stories and feel validated and strong.

H: A deeper understanding of other places, people and experiences in Australia. To better understand the diversity of our characters, but also real life people, groups of people and Australia as a diverse nation.

8. Who do you most admire in the writing world and why?

C: I’ve enjoyed having yarns with First Nations writers like Lucas Proudfoot and Dub Leffler. Kirli Saunders is pretty inspirational. It would be hard to pick one — or to not name so many — so they will have to do. They are all doing great work across a range of different genres. I think our young people have some pretty inspiring writers coming out and sharing our stories these days, which is great.

H: Isobelle Carmody has always been my favourite writer. She writes books you want to read more than once. She covers real issues in a fiction way that sparks thinking and debate. I could list so many other inspiring and talented Australian writers, and just as many high quality First Nations writers.

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

C: One of our books in every school in Australia.

H: I want to play in lots of different genres for the challenge and personal growth. So maybe a book published in multiple genres? At the moment we have children’s books, middle grade and YA. So maybe an adult fiction and non-fiction book next?

10. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

C: To any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander aspiring writers, you don’t have to be able to write to tell your story. You can use those text-to-speech apps, record an audio version, draw a comic like Brenton McKenna.

Magabala Books takes great stories in all forms and helps you shape them into the written word on the page – they just care about quality stories. So don’t let ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘but I can’t write’ hold you back from having your voice shared.

We have worked with really amazing illustrators too, so if you are still finding your feet as a writer and have a talent for art you can start finding your way into stories that way.

H: Link with other writers and those in the industry through online groups, writing festivals and writing groups. For me, self-doubt or not understanding the process and not thinking ideas are strong enough are the key barriers — all of which can be overcome by connecting with other writers and a broader publishing network.

Thank you for playing!

—Tracks of the Missing by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler (Magabala Books) is out now.