Colin King likes to start with a mystery and work to solve it.
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The Wimmera-born author has released his third murder-mystery book - titled Deep Down - which sees his main protagonist Detective Sergeant Rory James investigate bones uncovered in a gemstone fossicking site in the Grampians.
King, who grew up in Horsham and moved to Bendigo as an adult, took up fiction writing after a career writing about government projects.
"I had a job in government looking after major capital works projects," he said.
"So when I retired, I was able to sort of continue the writing for pleasure - for good rather than evil, as I like to say."
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In his 10 years as a novelist, King has also written Wetland and A Vintage Death - both set in regional Victoria and both following Detective Sergeant Rory James.
For Deep Down, King created a strong female protagonist after being inspired during NAIDOC Week.
"Tahlia Lock is an Indigenous female archaeologist," he said. "That came from watching The Drum on ABC during NAIDOC week and seeing these young, successful females."
King said he liked to solve the mystery as he wrote.
"I like to have the murder there as unsolved as possible," he said. "I like to create that as well as solve it as I go - writing to solve the problem.
"Then as we go solving through the book, I have to come back to the earlier chapters and plant the clues."
Deep Down is available in bookstores now and online as a book or e-book.