Rosebud chiropractor finds his wings as an author

Adam Mackey’s Holy Parrot has been named the BREW Book Excellence Award 2024 Multicultural Book of the Year. The Rosebud chiropractor’s multi-award-winning novel weaves a captivating tale set against the backdrop of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Through the eyes of Australian protagonist Leonard Lumière, readers are taken on a journey into magical realism, exploring themes of culture, history, religion, science and nature.

“It is such an honour to receive the award,” Adam said. “The book’s awards and positive reviews are encouraging and valued. With all the world is going through, I truly believe there is a lesson for humanity in the pages of Holy Parrot. Encouraged by the overwhelming support for this story, I am developing the feature film.”

Adam writes under the pseudonym Angel A, a pen-name he took from a character in his first film, Le Saut De L’Ange. “The main character had an angel, referred to as Angel Alex. I wrote my first novel, Mary Poser, as a film script. When I decided to develop the story into a novel, I decided that the narrative needed to be told from Mary’s perspective. As Mary is a 23-year-old girl from Nashville, which I am not, I felt self-conscious about using my name as the author. So I kept the angel theme and created the pen-name ‘Angel A’ to give an ambiguity to the author’s identity.” Mary Poser is also available as an audiobook narrated by Heather Nichols; it was nominated for a SOVAS (Society of Voice Arts and Sciences) for best narration in fiction.

Adam said he resisted the title of ‘author’ or ‘writer’ for many years through “a mix of lack of self-confidence and a desire not to be locked into the title, as I enjoy directing as much as writing. I believe my interest is in storytelling more than writing as a craft. For me, it is a resource for when I have something to say”.

“As a chiropractor, I have been trained in a healthcare system often referred to as the salutagenic model of health care. It literally means ‘the origin of health’, and in practice it is seeking to assist healing by returning to a state of potential. In practice, chiropractic care is more about restoring health than it is about just symptom relief, which is the allopathic model popularised by modern medicine. The stories I write follow the salutagenic model where the main character is driven, or perhaps has little choice but to change their behaviour to discover their true potential.”