“Where high‑stakes adventure and psychological depth meet the raw, enduring warmth of humanity.”
"If you'd prefer to keep Callum's looks (as well as Ally and Simmo's) in your own mind, then look away now.
(Let's face it, if you've conjured up anything better for Ally than I have, you should keep that image!!)"
About Callum
I include my vision of Callum here because I have had several readers suggest they can't separate me from my creation. As you can see, I am definitely NOT Callum!!!
Callum was the middle child, and only son, born to Scottish immigrants, Malcolm and Suzanne Thomas, who emigrated from Scotland to Australia in the late 1970's. His sister, Gemma, is four years older and his little sister, Lauren is three years his junior.
Callum grew up on the family's cattle station in Charlton, Central Western Victoria, and did his schooling in Charlton. He was a good student, without being exceptional. He excelled at sports.
Callum's best friends growing up were Robbo, Jonesy, Carrot and Steamy (his little sister couldn't pronounce "Stevie", so she called him Steamy, and the name stuck!) Callum was a bit shy around the girls and only really experienced love once he met Katie in his mid-teens.
Katie's stepfather, Ron, was a bully, and was violent towards Katie and her mother. Ron was ultimately the reason Callum joined the local fight school, where he learned to box, along with some contemporary karate. His untold dream was to become a black left and finally stand up to Ron. This path led him to several successful state and national fight championships but, unfortunately, Ron died in a vehicle accident before he could stand up to him.
Ally's mesmerising green eyes were one of the things that attracted Callum to her in the first place
About Ally
Ally is Callum's estranged wife. They met at a party in 2010. Here are Callum's own words ...
"I had been invited to a party at a friend’s house. The place was full of pretentious dickheads, so it wasn’t long before I was ready to take off. On the way to the kitchen to dump my glass, my attention was drawn to a tall, lean woman with long, dark-brown, wavy hair that fell around her neck and shoulders. She was standing in a doorway, holding a glass of champagne, looking peaceful with her own company. She had amazing cheekbones and dimples, but it was her beautiful eyes that struck me; pale green. Mesmerizing. I was about to continue my trek to the kitchen when she asked me if I knew as few people at the party as she did. I bet her five dollars that I would know fewer and we walked around counting acquaintances. I won the bet and we talked and laughed for the rest of the party. That night Ally came home with me and slept in my bed. I discovered what it was like to respect a woman enough to not make advances on the first night. Instead we talked and kissed and talked some more until the night had gone. By morning I was hooked. I didn’t want to be without her for one more day."
Ally is a HR Manager with an international software company, where she is a dedicated, hard-working leader.
About Simmo
Detective Sergeant Greg "Simmo" Simkovic is something of a Homicide Squad legend. A detective of over twenty years, Simmo has just about seen it all and solved most of it. He joined Victoria Police in the early nineties and spent several years racking up an impressive number of arrests, working out of some of the busiest police stations in the city. After nine years in uniform, Simmo was accepted into Detective Training School (DTS) and graduated near the top of the class.
Simmo's first posting as a "D" was at Springvale, in the city's south-east, before he accepted a role at Organised Crime (OCS). Sensing the writing on the wall for the now defunct OCS, Simmo applied for the Homicide Squad in 2003 and was successful. Then, after four more years and countless briefs, Simmo applied for the newly vacant role of Detective Sergeant at the squad and was the successful applicant.
At that time, a young detective, by the name of Callum Thomas, was earning a steady reputation as a detective working out of Footscray. He applied for a vacancy at the Homicide Squad, was accepted, and the friendship between them formed not long after.
Although known for his hard-nosed approach to policing and investigating, Simmo has been a very caring a supportive friend to Callum, and is one of only a small handful of people that know about the Gift.
Simmo's gravelly voice suggests an uncompromising person, but deep down, Simmo is a caring friend. He treats his troops well and is surprisingly kind to those he arrests.