HolyGreenCow writing

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Writing where suburban Australia tips into the uncanny and the domestic becomes mythological. Novel in progress, short fiction, and lyrics from the band years.

Novel in Progress
Out of the Green and Into the Black: A HolyGreenCow Chronicle
~90,000 words · Drafting · First in series
"The bar reeked of stale beer, not freshly spilt beer, but beer that had permeated every surface it had touched over the countless years... This was the place where alcohol came to die. The end of the world it seemed."
From the prologue, 'Sup?

When Buddha and Jesus abandon humanity in an outback pub, the Land pulls a replacement witness through the cosmic gap. HolyGreenCow—a confused, green-tinged being—arrives in Birdsville with no memory of where he's from, only a compulsion he can't shake: stay, watch, don't interfere.

But the town is sitting on a buried history that refuses to stay underground. As the annual races begin, the careful lies maintained for generations start to fracture. Green rain falls, the water rises, and the silence breaks.

A teenage documentarian, a haunted artist, and a dying elder find themselves entangled with this cosmic witness as the Outback demands a reckoning. It is a story about what happens when the saviors quit, and we are left to face the heat, the history, and each other alone.

The Vibe: Blends Nick Cave's darkness with TISM's satirical wit for readers of Tim Winton, Alexis Wright, and anyone who suspects tacky religious iconography might be cosmic truth.

Short Fiction
Original sketch - Buddha and Jesus at the bar
'Sup?
Short Fiction · 2016
Quick green biro sketch, a wine or two for inspiration. Buddha and Jesus at the bar talking about quitting. Nine lines that became a novel. Click to see the original.
MURDER - RAVE Magazine 1996
MURDER
RAVE Magazine · March 1996
First published story. A meditation on hate, forgiveness, and the weight of living. Featured after winning RAVE's short fiction competition. Click to read.
Ian C Pool, HolyGreenCow
The Writer
Present Day
From sketch to lyrics to published fiction to novel. The mythology continues, one word at a time. Wine still helps.
Lyrics · 1996–2002

Before the novel, there were lyrics. Part confessional, part satire, part whispered joke between the writer and the world. These songs from the band years laid the foundation for everything that followed.

The Ballad of Buddha, Jesus and Me
1996
"Leave me alone, all by myself / When choosing my religion, I don't want nobody else / My greatest fear is Insanity / No room inside my head for Buddha, Jesus and Me"

Where it all started. Two saviours, one confused narrator, and the question of who gets to save your soul.

Nicotine
1995
"I've heard the tales about a faith that never lies / And I've seen the face of Death staring me right between my eyes / Take another look in the mirror and watch yourself die"

Addiction, faith, and mortality. The same themes that run through all the work—just louder.

Hate Man
1995
"Hateman, I do all that I wanna do / Hateman, I got nought but contempt for you / Hateman, everything that I say I do / Hateman, what I want I just take from you"

The villain as narrator. Dark humour meets darker intent—a character study in pure antagonism.

The Life and Death of Billy Munter
2001
"Billy Munter came into life / Kicked his way out of his Daddy's wife / But he caused the pain, he bore the blame / His mother's killer, it made his life a shame"

A tragic character study. The template for narrative work—ordinary lives turned mythological through tragedy.

Lyric excerpts from the band years coming soon.