THIS is a story about stepping into the unknown.
Some stories don’t stay in one place – they move through towns, landscapes, and the quiet spaces in between.
Snakes Turn Left is one of these stories. From Beaudesert to Bowen, it follows a young man stepping into the unknown.
He has a simple idea for his journey – to become an author, and if he can’t succeed at that, he wants to live a story worth telling.
For Ipswich-born author, Allan Saunderson, that journey became the foundation for his debut book – a story that follows a young man named John as he sets off on a road trip without a clear plan or destination.
He doesn’t know exactly where he is going, or even why he feels the pull to leave, but he goes anyway, and that’s the point.
“It’s a journey a lot of men take, whether they realise it or not,” Saunderson said. “That shift from boyhood into something else – something less certain, but more real.”
Snakes Turn Left explores that in-between space – the part of life where direction isn’t obvious, where identity is still forming, and where the road ahead can feel both open and unsettling.
The book will be officially launched on Saturday, April 11, at 10am at The Book Boutique Brisbane Street (near the top of Nicholas Street precinct) where the author will be joined by Glen Smith.


