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The Less Said On Ducks, the Better

This is the tale of the critters who reside behind the locked gates of a Botanical Gardens at night. It’s the first formal offering from author/illustrator War Of The Real.

The idea for characters like those in this book was hatched in a Cooktown (Far North Queensland, Australia) public restroom.

It all came together after the discovery of a permanent marker discarded on the bathroom floor, a fleeting inspiration and an unoccupied moment in an otherwise occupied cubicle.

From then on, wherever the road led, the artist is always armed with his trusty Sharpie on the trail of bug-eyed oddities, smiling down from where they’ve been scrawled.

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The Less Said On Ducks The Better is a tale of the critters who reside behind the locked gates of a Botanical Gardens at night, and was written by War Of The Real during the pregnancy of his good friends, Kimberly Ferguson and Christian Tryhorn of Mo’s Desert Clubhouse fame.

“The story… was just an idea based on a few poems I found funny, in the back of my head that I never really intended to see the light of day,” War Of The Real told Blank GC. “[When my friends] fell pregnant shortly after, I decided to finish it, mostly wanting to have something silly to read to their bub when it came along.”

The book is now dedicated to said bub, Atlas.

Tomi Gray is no stranger to the world of creativity. As a multi-instrumentalist he has written and recorded a shedload (literally — he lives in a shed full of musical equipment) of his own originals, and is also known as Dracula’s fangtastic drummer, Splinter. He adopted War Of The Real as a nom de plume in order to differentiate his writing from his other projects. He explains the genesis of the moniker.

“I’ve possibly spent a more than recomendable amount of time tumbling down YouTube psychology rabbit holes and the main take away I think most people find when they do that is ‘the more you know, the less you know’ — trying to find meaning in ‘reality’ can sometimes feel like your fighting for your life,” he says. “Another reason why ridiculousness, such as this book should be more of a priority. We can all use a break from the seriousness.”

The Less Said On Ducks The Better is a silly, psychedelic fun time that certainly doesn’t take itself seriously, and is sure to delight kids and parents both. It seems we’re not the only one who think so either, with the story already being picked up by a publisher [Interactive Publications, Brisbane].

“I think sometimes it’s nice to just have a vacation for your imagination, especially for little people who still think the hedge at the end of their street is the most amazing thing in the world,” explains Tomi.

You can catch the virtual launch of the book on Sunday 26 July at 1pm, right here. It will include some animation and an interview with War Of The Real.
— Natalie O’Driscoll, Blank Gold Coast

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