Ten things you didn’t know about Gus Gordon - feature for Off The Shelf magazine (2012)

1. I have a strange and particularly un-useful ability to hop at great speed.

2. I no longer own a spleen. When I was nine I climbed a windmill on our farm and was pushing the fan around when I lost my balance and fell off. When I came to I couldn’t remember a thing - I just felt weird. My brother who witnessed the whole event neglected (forgot) to tell our parents and I came within minutes of dying from internal bleeding. We just made it to a hospital on time where I had a splenectomy (that’s a fancy term for tossing out one’s spleen). My brother did helpfully push my bike home.

3. When I left school I worked as a stockman on cattle stations in the gulf of Queensland and the Northern Territory. I spent most of the daytime on horseback mustering ridiculously large mobs of cattle and the nights sleeping in a swag under the stars. It was a real adventure - lots of fun. It was also the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life. Somehow I still found time to draw.

4. My brother is severely handicapped. He is thirty six years old but mentally his age is about four. I am the oldest of four boys and he is the youngest. My parents had an enormously tough time raising him, especially in the early years. Thankfully he is such a happy boy and it was a good thing we were a large family that could share the load. I think he has helped us all keep everything in perspective.

5. We have a cat called Pippin named after a hobbit from Lord of The Rings.

6. My wife invented three board games for pre schoolers that sell around the world. What begun as a fun learning game at home for our young kids turned into the first board game, Bright Buttons. Then came Clever Creatures and finally Little Explorers. I had no idea she was so creative!

7. My favourite poem is ‘My Shoe’ by Michael Leunig.

 Since I hurt my pendulum, my life is all erratic.

 The parrot, who was cordial, is now transmitting static.

 The carpet died, a palm collapsed, the cat keeps doing poo.

 The only thing that keeps me sane is talking to my shoe. 

8. I have a penchant for sandwiches. Vegemite and cheese is a killer combo but ham, cheese and avocado is my favourite.

9. My books all have soundtracks. Music is a huge passion of mine. When I am working on a new book there are always songs, new and old, that creep into my subconscious, demanding to be played. These songs fit together with the narrative and even help the story telling process. They just seem to suit the story’s tone or soul. I played a lot of The Blue Nile with Herman and Rosie. Matt Pond PA and Pernice Brothers also got a lot of playing time. I can’t imagine how I could complete a book without music.

10. I feel more alive in New York than just about any place I have ever been.