Meet the Author

The Author, Rick, was born Richard Paul Canhan, 1959 in the Cotswold of Kent, South England, to parents Ann Francis and Anthony Christopher (Tony). Younger brother to Gary Anthony. Shortly after birth Richard and his brother, Gary, were sent to an orphanage at Gravesend due to their parents divorce. No-one will speak of this time. It is noted though, when retrieved their mother had remarried and they had a new sister who was already walking. Richard spent the next eight years in Camberley Surrey, west of London. He was a quiet and often solemn child.

After a somewhat hectic ten or so years Richard moved to Australia with his family. Settling into Campbelltown, NSW in 1970. It was a planned move by his step-father, Fred, and his brother Ray to gain free passage to Australia during the tradesman shortage of the late sixties and early seventies, and a great way to get out of England.

Richard was to remain in NSW for a number of years, well at least the next ten years or so. Life in the early seventies was relatively easy and although life was pretty good, there were a number of suspicious fire incidents that although not proven, had his name all over it and almost had him labeled as a fire bug. Richard had always been a deep thinker and very much a loner who preferred his own company; he was therefore often quiet, deep in thought. He’d hardly ever speak unless spoken to and sometimes not even then.

This very nature gave the appearance that he was a disrespectful youngster with an obvious and unhealthy respect for authoritative figures. Not that he was always in trouble with the law; he was never rude or violent in nature, just the opposite. He was just a typically rebellious teenager who had his demons, trusted very few and hid his shyness beneath a thick veil of quietness, which was often mistaken for being stubborn. He claims he wasn’t stubborn; he just wanted to do things his way.

He received his education in the public school system both in England and Australia. But with his misconceived and rebellious nature he didn’t really adapt well to schooling, although he did reasonably well in English Studies, which may well have been the seeding for his writing career. Despite his shyness he was a reasonably popular lad who was simply shy and reserved, although he would seldom let too many get really close to him. He can be seen in a primary school photo in 1970 standing apart from the others.

Initially as a teenager he kept his circle of friends small and although this circle grew ever larger over the years, he still maintains some form of contact with those original few to this very day. Like many kids in the 70's life was great, among other things he spent many a holiday on shooting expeditions hunting rabbits and foxes with his lifelong friend, Chris Dewar, up in the foothills of Peak Hill, NSW.

At the age of fourteen and nine months, after being told by his year nine English Teacher Miss Peck. that he would never amount to anything, he reported to his mother that he was through with school and wasn’t going back, to which she told him that he couldn’t just leave school unless he had a job. (A challenge?) A few days later he moved onto a dairy farm as a farm hand starting work at 2 am six days a week. He found that after board and lodging was taken out he received a cheque for $22.00 every Sunday at his place at the table. Life was good.

He has never been unemployed and although he was a hard worker Jobs came and went over the years, as he applied himself to whatever came along. Before he was even 18 he was the youngest person in NSW to single handily operate a tyre retreading facility at a local motor vehicle tyre outlet (No OH&S then). But Richard was a restless soul and wanted more out of life; some have asked “Will Richard ever be happy”.

In 1979 he accompanied his mother on a return trip to England and it was during that trip he decided he wanted to do more with his life, he wanted to travel. On return to Australia he made a sudden shock announcement that he was planning to leave Campbelltown and everyone in it, in search of his destiny.

Without telling anyone of his plan, (until he’d been accepted) for fear of being talked out of his decision. Despite everyone’s concern for him, early in 1980 and before he was even 20, Richard joined the Australian Regular Army. Now, knowing his quiet nature and his somewhat apparent contempt for authoritative figures, this decision shocked not only his family, but also his friends and many said he wouldn’t last through basic training. Richard knew it wouldn’t be easy, but his mind was set, he’d already crossed the line.

Richard knew he’d gone out on a limb, he’d taken himself so far out of his own comfort zone and thrown himself head first into an authoritative world that not only demanded, it expected, strict obedience. Considering also that he’d played very little team sports at school it also became a physically demanding challenge. It wasn't easy at first, it was dam hard work.
Soon he began to surprise even himself as he reveled in the training, he was always a bit of a cluster on the drill square and often went right when everyone else went left. Despite this he excelled at shooting and even won the trophy for 'Platoon Champion Shot' in basic training. In those days you could choose what corps you wanted to go into, transport, catering, medical, whatever, and if you were really lucky you often got it.
He chose to go onto harder training and join the infantry, his weapon handling and field-craft skills from his hunting days came forth and he went on to become an expert marksman in rifle shooting, qualifying for his crossed rifles in Pulada, Malaysia and then later re-qualified which earned him the right to wear the badge permanently. He was also a member of the battalion shooting team for a while.

Well, undoubtedly he not only proved himself to all those who held reservations as to his ability to last, but he also proved this ability to himself. Not only did he last, he served on for over 22 unblemished years. In 1999 his outstanding ability was recognised and he was awarded a 'Warrant' and was promoted to the rank of ‘Warrant Officer Class Two’ the second highest rank before becoming a commissioned officer.

He has very few regrets in life preferring to take life as it comes. He stated he joined the army to travel the world, although he didn’t see too much of the world, but by heck he did a lot of travelling. There comes a time in ones military career when you must decide enough is enough and you want and need to spend more time home with the family. He was discharged at his own request in July 2002.

Richard maintains he has held a passion for the written word for as long as he can remember and as a new and exciting writer he wanted to give his work the best possible chance of exposure. His belief is that to be successful in anything in life, including writing, you not only have to be determined to once again, take that chance, but have faith in your own ability and believe in yourself. He also stated his three children have been a great inspiration towards his writing, along with his life experiences both civil and military. His imagination alone has captured many tales and adventures that just begged to put into print.

Apart from this uncanny imagination, Richard has reported that his most treasured gifts in life are his family and his very good friends.

In January 2012 Richard became a 'Published Author' when he published his debut novel “Mayan Prophecies” he claims he has learnt much, although he maintains he has much more to learn.

A writer must develop a thick skin and not take things personally; he/she must also learn to accept criticism, evaluate it, learn from it and be better.