Tribal Scarring (Urban Hunters #2)

By Gary Taaffe

TRIBAL SCARRING (book 2)

The clan face a dilemma - Billy doesn’t want to go on his Walkabout yet and besides, he hasn’t even been initiated into a man. Can hardly blame him, they want to use the slice of a knife where no boy wants a knife to go. The spirit of his mother forces the issue with a violent attack by a giant Red kangaroo. She’s good like that - helpful. The old Magic Man wants to seal Billy’s horrific injuries under the coals of a fire, exactly as he would initiate an Aboriginal Warrior. He’s helpful too. Billy must decide whether to endure the pain of initiation or remain a boy.

“Though Tribal Scarring was more serious, it was really great. One of the best YA books I have read! Kudos! I recommend everyone to read it.” JB Cacdac

“Great coming of age story. Isn’t Pindaari a loveable character.” Anne, Australia

“I can’t wait to see what Billy’s next adventure is!” Jessica B, USA

URBAN HUNTERS is laugh–out–loud, gut–churning, heart–wrenching storytelling at its best. Unlike anything you’ve ever read, in typical Taaffe fashion. Hilarious as usual. Always surprising. Wonderful!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary Taaffe
• Release date: Sep 14, 2011
• ISBN: 9780987176011

Gary Taaffe

Gary Taaffe is the No.1 Bestselling Amazon Author of 9 fiction and 2 non-fiction books, including the Urban Hunters series for Young Adults and his Stampede series, a no-nonsense guide to book marketing for authors.New York Book Review, W.D La Rue said, “I would read ANYTHING this man wrote.”Gary lives in Forster-Tuncurry, Australia, where he’s surrounded by waterways for fishing and bushland for hunting. He writes fulltime with new books coming out in quick succession.If you want to be the first to hear of his latest release, sign up to his newsletter, and if you want to find Gary socially, click one of the links below:Subscribe to my Readers Group newsletter to be the first to hear of new releases in the Urban Hunters series: http://eepurl.com/_E311Subscribe to my Marketing Strategies that Work! newsletter: http://eepurl.com/baqxn5Instagram: Gary_Taaffe https://instagram.com/gary_taaffe/Pinterest: Gary Taaffe https://www.pinterest.com/garytaaffe/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gary-Taaffe/212091488802148Twitter: @Urban_Hunters: http://twitter.com/urban_huntersPUBLISHERGary is a perfectionist who creates stunning books, both inside and out.He always has formatting jobs on the go for fiction authors but his latest claim to fame are his step-by-step publishing guides that are paving the way for clubs and committees around the world to gather large groups of people together to publish their stories, photos and works of art into highly sought after full colour books.Check out his Services page for more information.

Book preview

Titles available in the

URBAN HUNTERS

series

1. Four Small Stones

2. Tribal Scarring

The clan face a dilemma — Billy doesn’t want to go on his Walkabout yet and besides, he hasn’t even been initiated into a man. Can hardly blame him, they want to use the slice of a knife where no boy wants a knife to go. The spirit of his mother forces the issue with a violent attack by a giant Red kangaroo. She’s good like that — helpful. The old Magic Man wants to seal Billy’s horrific injuries under the coals of a fire, exactly as he would initiate an Aboriginal Warrior. He’s helpful too. Billy must decide whether to endure the pain of initiation or remain a boy.

Though Tribal Scarring was more serious, it was really great. One of the best YA books I have read! Kudos! I recommend everyone to read it. JB Cacdac

Great coming of age story. Isn’t Pindaari a loveable character. Anne, Australia

I can’t wait to see what Billy’s next adventure is! Jessica B, USA

URBAN HUNTERS is laugh–out–loud, gut–churning, heart–wrenching storytelling at its best. Unlike anything you’ve ever read, in typical Taaffe fashion. Hilarious as usual. Always surprising. Wonderful!

3. Walkabout

4. Budgie Smugglers

5. Bullies

6. The Orphanage

7. Bowels of Hell

8. Final Straw

Urban Hunters Box Set (Books 1–8)

9. WANTED! New Dad

10, 11, 12. Coming soon!

For more information on these titles, click here to get started:

http://BunyaPublishing.com

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Book 2

TRIBAL SCARRING

Gary Taaffe

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COPYRIGHT

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher

Copyright © Gary Taaffe 2011

Published by Bunya Publishing

Cover artwork by Toby Quarmby Copyright © Gary Taaffe 2011

Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to customs and cultures, actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental

The moral right of the author has been asserted

ISBN: 978–0–9871760–1–1

Edition: v11.1.16smash

http://BunyaPublishing.com

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Cast of Characters

Whenever you come across a character for the first time in this book, they’ll be linked to the Cast of Characters at the end of this story. It's a great reminder of who’s who in the zoo. Plus, you’ll learn how to pronounce their name.

Table of Contents

Titles Available in the Urban Hunters series

Title Page

Copyright

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 — The Signal to Attack

Chapter 2 — The Red Roo Hullabaloo

Chapter 3 — The Message is Clear

Chapter 4 — The Stretch

Chapter 5 — Tribal Scarring

Chapter 6 — Skin and Bones

Cast of Characters

Thank You!

About the Author

Urban Hunters Books

Bonus Feature

End of Book

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— CHAPTER ONE —

The Signal to Attack

It was time to go, everyone was ready. Billy stepped out of the shade and joined his family meandering along their quiet ancestral trail through the bush. He was glad to be leaving the Corroboree site this year. He loved the ceremonies with all the singing and dancing and storytelling, but he’d had enough of his mum invading his dreams.

It would take most of the day to reach their destination — a small valley nestled between two outcrops in a sheer, two–hundred metre rock face. It was in the shade of the escarpment for most of the day so they often camped there in particularly hot summers. They never camped there in winter as it was horribly cold. They had other campsites dotted around the Wollemi where the sun was rich.

It was late afternoon by the time they rounded a bend in the trail where they were presented with the magnificence of their valley. Billy was in the lead when he noticed a small mob of kangaroos emerging from the shade of a Scribbly gum tree after a long day of sleep. Six men needed a lot of food and a roo or two would provide all they needed for the night, and hopefully enough for some breakfast. Billy immediately crouched down to hide so everyone else automatically followed suit and assessed the situation.

Billy pointed out a small family of White–winged choughs while he dug a handful of white clay from the riverbank and proceeded to streak it over his body. It would help hide his scent and camouflage him against the background. The choughs were settling down for the night in a tree near the best approach of dark green Lolly bush shrubs and black Grass trees. The hunters grunted their hatred of the pesky birds

Reviews for Tribal Scarring (Urban Hunters #2)

[tammydewhirst · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“Tribal Scarring” was quite a serious work. Billy is still guided by his mother to leave his people and perpetuate his clan. In order to prepare himself, Billy must exhibit bravery and the willingness to know that sometimes you have to do the difficult things to do in the name of duty. Taaffe weaves culture, history and tradition into the narrative so that children (and adults) come away having been entertained but with a new knowledge of an old culture.The title “Tribal Scarring” comes from when Billy is looking to provide for his family hunting kangaroos and one of them scratches him. The approach of Billy’s family to the wound is so separate from the modern reaction that is serves as a perfect example of something that takes a child out of their modern environment and to one that many North American children will never come close to experiencing. Taaffe’s series is a wonderful action series for boy and girls who don’t mind a little grit in their stories.