A few years ago, my son Tom met Catherine Hamlin, a most remarkable Australian doctor working in Addis Ababa. He gave me a copy of her biography Hospital by the River, and I was deeply moved both by her work and the terrible suffering of the women she served.

I’d been writing Quid and Harmony for some time, and decided to complete the novel and dedicate all the proceeds to furthering her work. To date (October 2009) some AUD25000 has been raised, which is a good start...

My Plan is to print 4000 copies and sell them for a good profit.

If each book returns $15, not only have people contributed to a great cause, they've enjoyed a good read as well. Multiply this by 4000 books, and we have a grand total of $60000.

Money goes a long way in Africa. $60000 would be enough to cure 150 women of their obstetric fistula. Which would be pretty good, I reckon.