Goodreads asked David J. Forsyth:

What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

David J. Forsyth During decades of genealogical research, I discovered a London-born family member who, in 1834, was convicted of theft and transported to Australia for seven years. He was in the company of another teenager who was in possession of a handkerchief then valued at three shillings. While the defendant testified that he had 'found' the item laying on the pavement, the owner insisted the accused must have picked his pocket. We will never know what my ancestor actually experienced over the next seven years or so, but I am currently researching the transportation of British convicts and writing a short story based on this incident.

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