Description

This book has been many years in the making. It started when I was a child in Australia growing up with Aboriginal legends of the Dreamtime and the Rainbow Serpent. Going from cubs through to venturers, my fascination with these beautiful reptiles grew.

When I was eleven, we went to Ireland for a holiday, while in Co Wexford we went to a beautiful wee grotto of Our Lady Mary that was in a lush green and ferny gully. I remember being mesmerised as a snake slithered out of the greenery and around her feet. Rather confused, I asked my mother about it, I remember her saying, “Don’t worry, it will guide you to your future”. I let it go, rather confused, only for the memory to come back while writing my last book.

We have in some way or form adapted our slippery friends into the mythos of our cultures, from our creators and benefactors as well as its villains. We have celebrated not just the snake but reptiles in general for their unique healing abilities such as shedding tails to escape their enemy and then regrowing them.