Growing up in the south west town of Williams, but now living and working in Germany, Cam Jefferys under the pseudonym Royce Leville, has created what he plans to be a sequence of murder mystery novels centred around Peppermint Grove.
The first is called Botany.
It introduces the quasi-poet-detective Quintus Huntley who gets embroiled in a murder in Peppermint Grove and tries to prove his innocence by finding the killer. In doing so, he discovers that clues and motives can be extracted through poetry.
It’s a crime-comedy-caper set in Perth, and it delves into what the author says are some of the city’s unique sensibilities.
His plan is to write further books in the Quintus Huntley series.
But first things first. How on earth did you end up based in Germany?
“A combination of relationships and work. Initially, I wanted to visit friends in Berlin and Hamburg, and had no plans to stay,” Cam says.
“I flew from London to Munich, then hitchhiked to Berlin, which in 1999, was still putting the east and west pieces together and was pretty rough around the edges. In those first months, I found myself hitchhiking a lot, all over Germany. I met so many good people who would go out of their way to help.
“Then, getting settled in Hamburg, everything slotted into place, with friends, work and love. It felt like the universe was telling me to stay. I listened to that, and Germany has been very good to me over the years.”
Germany was a far cry from growing up in Williams, he says.
“I was really young and I don’t have many memories. We moved to the Perth hills when I was six. What I remember most about Williams was that I didn’t like going to school. From day one to year twelve graduation, which was in Mandurah, I never liked it.”
Becoming an author was also something that came later in life, with no ambition to be a writer as a child.
“I played a lot of sport and just tried to get through school without attracting unwanted attention. In that sense, my parents were helpful and supportive. Just finishing seemed like a massive achievement.
“I will quietly add that schooling at that time was very rigid and standardised. It stifled creativity and curiosity, and the school playground, with its bullies and groups and insults, was a microcosm of all the things I didn’t like. Interestingly, I always got very low marks in English.”
His first dive into writing came while at Murdoch studying history.
Royce had a professor say that he admired his essays and suggested a career in writing.
“Until then, I’d never thought about it. I owe Professor Robert Reece a lot of gratitude for that. From there, I started to experiment with travel stories, and had a few published in the university newspapers.
“I did one creative writing course at university, and just managed to get a passing mark. I didn’t enjoy that course because it put all these standards on writing, such as, this is how you write a story, and if you don’t use this method, you’re doing it wrong. It took me a long time to get that course out of my system and gain the confidence to find my own writing voice.
“After university, I tried to start a career as a journalist. I got a part-time job with a newspaper in Canada and also published some freelance articles. I worked on a few Rough Guides travel books.
“I thought I was on track, but this work faded from around 2004, as newspapers and magazines downsized and there were no budgets for freelance content. I moved into corporate writing, PR and advertising.
“Other writers I knew at the time said I was selling out, but I think this kind of work greatly helped my own writing. Many of the people I worked with over the years were former journalists, and it was so beneficial to work with them and learn from them. It’s the kind of work that makes you very open to feedback and criticism.
“In recent years, I’ve moved into film and TV. My first screenplay is currently in pre-production in Hamburg. I have two other film projects in development, plus a TV show idea.”
Royce Leville is a nom de plume used by Cam for this series of novels.
“Royce Leville was an attempt to write in different genres and explore topics I might otherwise stay away from. Royce is funny and light-hearted, while also pushing the envelope. So much fiction these days is grim and miserable, with whole casts of characters where everyone is awful. Royce tries to go against that trend,” he says.
Cam says he tries to get back to Perth just about every year and has been here to promote the book, give talks and workshops at libraries and writers’ centres.
“I’m also here to catch up with family and friends, play cricket for Swanbourne CC, enjoy the summer and escape the European winter.”
Cam is hearing impaired, a condition he has had since childhood.
“Clarity issues, mainly. It made school difficult. I’ve managed to compensate over the years through lip-reading and awareness, but it still impacts some interactions, especially when there’s a lot of background noise.
“One fascinating thing is how often people associate not being able to hear with not being able to think. That’s something that went into my screenplay, the prejudices around being hearing-impaired.”
Cam believes readers will be interested in a fun and different crime story set in Perth.
“Local literature is really lacking in this regard. What crime fiction there is usually follows the template of a lot of other crime fiction, meaning it could be set anywhere. Quintus Huntley embraces Perth as a unique location, and celebrates it. The city is very much a character in this book, and it will also evolve and change in subsequent books in the series.”
Quintus Huntley: Botany by Royce Leville is available in all good bookstores.
