I have included this page not only as a tribute to Ben Harte, but also because it gives an idea of how an important aspect of the creation of the world of my books took place. I hope that it might be of particular interest to anyone out there who is involved in a comparable venture.

Though much of our correspondence was carried out by email, Ben and I had several meetings. These were mostly over lunch, either in a restaurant, though, sometimes, I cooked for him.

The first page shown here is an example of the kind of thing I might prepare for such a meeting. On the left is a list of my questions. On the right is one of the sketches that Ben made as he explained the geology to me. In this particular case it is actually a 3D diagram showing a section of the edge of the Guarded Land plateau showing a typical karst landscape with its errosional gulleys. I made the annotations once I got home to remind myself of what it was that Ben had meant.

The second page is a whole series of Ben's sketches showing uplift, faults and how my koppies might have evolved.

Ben was often amused by my questions as I tried to coax the landforms that I wanted from his geological brain. With patience and skill he applied himself to the unusual business of creating landscapes, rather than analyzing them. Without his contribution the Stone Dance would not be what it is.