Christopher J. Holcroft

(UTC)

Christopher J. Holcroft RFD, (born June 15, 1953) is an Australian author. He is best known as the author of the Scott Morrow adventure trilogy, which consists of the books Only The Brave Dare,  Canyon,  and A Rite Of Passage.  Christopher has also written Finding Thomas, the first in his afterlife series.

Life and work

Christopher Holcroft was born in Cooma, New South Wales during Australia's largest ever building project, the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme. He was born to Allan and Shirley Holcroft along with his brothers Mark and Peter and his sisters Liane and Nerida.

Holcroft graduated from Peakhurst High School in Sydney's south in 1970 (now Georges River College). He started work two weeks later at Sydney's The Sun newspaper as a copyboy. Within a year he began his formal cadetship as a journalist and completed his training in 1974 when he became graded. Christopher worked for and contributed to a series of newspaper mastheads for more than 20 years including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, The Australian and a string of suburban papers, lastly, editing The District Reporter in Camden, New South Wales. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, majoring in journalism and communication technology at the University of Technology, Sydney, later completing his Masters degree in Communications (Organisational Communication) at Charles Sturt University. Holcroft followed his grandfather, New Zealand author M. H. Holcroft, into a career in journalism and writing.

In 1974 Holcroft joined the Australian Army as a part time soldier in the Army Reserve as an Infantryman rising to the rank of Temporary Sergeant. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1982 into the Australian Army's PR Corps, the Army Public Relations Corps, and rose through the ranks to become the Corps's first Reserve Lieutenant Colonel. He saw active service in East Timor in 2000 as part of the United Nations Transitional Authority East Timor (UNTAET) and was posted in Iraq in 2006 as part of the Australian Army's Operation Catalyst based in Baghdad. He was awarded the Australian Army Active Service Medal, The Iraq Campaign Medal, Reserve Forces Decoration (RFD) and the Australian Defence Medal.

From 1968 to 2012, Holcroft was a member of Scouts as a Senior Scout (now called Venturers), Assistant Venturer Leader and Venturer Leader in charge of youths aged 14 to 18. During his time as a Senior Scout and Venturer, he gained his Queens Scout Award and the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards. When he became a youth leader Christopher gained his Wood Badge and was awarded the Silver Wattle Award for meritorious service. He is also a Justice of the Peace.

In 2008 Australia celebrated its centenary of scouting and Holcroft wrote the first two novels in the Scott Morrow adventure trilogy, Only The Brave Dare and Canyon to mark the occasion. In 2010 Holcroft completed the trilogy with A Rite Of Passage All three books followed the adventures of a group of venturers and a teenager who never wanted to be a hero but whom his country needed.

In 2011 Christopher published the first book in his Afterlife series, Finding Thomas. He explores what happens after someone dies in novel form by using a new teenage central character called Kit Green in a focus on near death experiences. Infinity Publishing (USA) has published Only The Brave Dare, A Rite Of Passage and Finding Thomas while Poseidon Books Australia has published Canyon. The books are sold in the USA, UK, India, New Zealand and Australia.

Influences

Holcroft's inspirations for his novel writing were drawn from real life experiences as a newspaper reporter, a soldier and a venturer leader. He found a lack of imaginative and challenging books available for teenage boys to read so he has written his novels to encourage boys to read more and enjoy the great outdoors. Christopher found in his youth work a distinct lack of knowledge about God or a superior being and what happens when people die, so he started his afterlife series.

Personal life

Holcroft lives in Banksia, New South Wales, where he wrote his first four books. Holcroft is married with three sons.

Bibliography

The Scott Morrow Trilogy

• Only The Brave Dare (2008)
• Canyon (2008)
• A Rite Of Passage (2010)

The Afterlife Series

• Finding Thomas (2011)

External links

• Only The Brave Dare. Pat Pledger, ReadPlus book review: Accessed 2012-09-05

Christopher 17:53, 14 January 2013 (UTC)