Ex-State cricketer and now romance author Ian ‘Sticks’ Brayshaw on the story behind his debut fiction novel

Former State cricketer and now author Ian “Sticks” Brayshaw has had one of his dreams turned into a reality — quite literally. The Albany writer will tonight launch his debut novel Terms Of Repayment, a new venture for the former journalist who has already co-written more than 30 books, including The Miracle Match, and Lillee & Thommo. Speaking to the Advertiser from his home in Goode Beach, the 79-year-old said the idea for the novel came to him in the form of a dream 12 years ago. “It’s a love story. It had its genesis in 2009 when I was in France and I had a vivid dream which outlined the plot of the story,” Brayshaw said. “I came home, wrote it down got some advice on it, sat on it, rewrote it ... finally COVID-19 came along and I felt the need to finish the project.” Terms of Repayment is set on the border of France and Italy, and is quite a step away from anything sports-related. “A situation develops between the main female character, who is Italian, and the main male character, who is an English businessman who renovates a beautiful holiday home,” he said. After breaking into the holiday home on the Riviera and stealing some of his artwork, Gina is caught red-handed by Michael. Shying away from involving the police and his insurance company, Michael offers Gina an alternative solution. Under her terms of repayment, Gina must seduce him five times. The reader is left to wonder: is this the settlement of debt or the beginning of something totally different? After unsuccessful attempts to get a publishing house on board, Brayshaw took on the challenge of self-publishing, which he described as “quite an exercise”. “I thought I’d try my hand at fiction — it’s a dream come true in a sense,” he said. “I’ve got the printed copy in my hand and the journey is nearly finished.” A journalist for many years in WA, Brayshaw switched to writing about cricket in the mid-1970s. “It was an extension of my journalist skills, and you follow a well-chosen path in writing a sporting book, but with fiction it’s a totally different feeling — every word counts, you’re more inclined to go back and rewrite and reassert your thoughts on a subject,” he said. “It’s a totally different feel. I don’t know why, but that’s how I felt, very draining ... you have really got to be on the ball and keep the story flowing.” A talented sportsman in his prime, Brayshaw played Australian Rules football at a high level, winning a premiership with Claremont in the WAFL. But he is best known for his cricket career, which spanned 100 first-class games for WA and included several as captain. Famously, he snared all 10 wickets in an innings in a Sheffield Shield clash against Victoria in 1967. Brayshaw will launch his new novel at the Albany Golf Club tonight from 6pm. He encouraged the public to join him for a Q&A about his life’s journey, with signed copies of the novel available to buy. “We built down here in Albany in 2002. It’s a great place to live and great place to write, and it’s a fabulous place to launch a book,” he said. His writing career blossomed after co-authoring a book in 1974 with Australian cricket great Dennis Lillee. “(Lillee) was out of cricket with a back injury and we looked at each other and said ‘why don’t we write a book?’, and we did,” he said. Their book Back to the Mark was born and, as Brayshaw put it, that was the beginning of it. “I then started writing stuff of my own, and that was better because you don’t rely on other people’s memory, you rely on your own memory or creative nature,” he said. “To actually hold the book in your hand, to say, ‘I’ve done it, I’ve achieved it’ — that’s the joy of it all.”