Author, chef, music & pop culture journalist, traveller, vinyl collector, rock n’ roll obsessive – Shane Pinnegar has been many things in his fifty-something years.

From awkward teen and IT Help Desk guru (have you turned it off and on again?), Shane spent several years backpacking and working through Europe and North America enjoying misadventures at every turn; indulged his creativity and passion for food as a chef in five countries; ran his boutique catering and hot sauce company Voodoo Moon in Perth, Western Australia for sixteen or so years (about five too many, he says); became a father and, with the right person a little later, a husband; and sadly lost his daughter to Parental Alienation – a form of emotional and psychological child abuse – for four and a half years. Now thankfully reconciled with her, he remains a vocal advocate for criminalising Parental Alienation, and for reform to the broken, uncaring and corrupt Family Law system. He’s since resumed catering in Perth, Western Australia as Chef Shane.
Shane has interviewed and reviewed many of Australia and the world’s biggest, brightest and best musicians for his own 100% ROCK MAGAZINE, as well as X-Press Magazine, Around The Sound, The Music, Music Feeds, The Beat and The Brag magazines as a rock n’ roll (and movies, and books) journalist. All of Shane’s articles can be searched through his Authory account.
He loves cheesy ‘80s pop almost (but not quite) as much as gonzo, over the top ‘80s heavy metal, filthy street punk, voodoo blues, sleazy dirt rock and red wine.
He often muses on a life spent in hot & sweaty kitchens and smokey & sticky bars; travelling exotic destinations in planes, trains, automobiles, boats and more; climbing snowy mountains and drinking cheap wine and fancy cocktails on sunny beaches; and whether each day should be spent in the pursuit of purpose or pleasure. Given half a chance he’ll start talking about music, cooking or dogs, usually using an entertaining smattering of colourful language. Shane is currently seeking a formal diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD after a life spent not fitting in and being called ‘difficult’ by his family and others.

Shane spent 2020 to mid-2024 living in the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, before returning to his home town of Perth, where he lives with his wife Lady Boomboom, slightly anxious 9-year-old Staffy Ziggy, and 5-year-old Sharpei Maisie, both of whom boast selective hearing and an unhealthy penchant for civil disobendience almost as impressive as Shane’s own.

Shane self-published his first novel, Jada: Mountain Warrior, in July 2019. It’s an uplifting YA (Young Adult) fantasy pitching humans against monsters with a positive message about finding the courage within us all. Readers from 10 to 80 have enjoyed Jada’s story, and the follow-up short story, Jada & The Troll, published in 2020.

Shane published Imperfect Tales, his first anthology of (mostly) dark short stories through Bark Side Books in August 2022. Many of these stories are new, some were started as long as twenty years ago. They are mostly dark, Gothic, speculative fiction. Some are supernatural, some horror, some thrillers. A couple are true tales from Shane’s storied past.
He also writes the Mrs Goobastank series of VERY adults only, deliberately over-the-top and obnoxiously (and hilariously) crass short stories, under the pseudonym Pierrette le Flange, which is a nom de plume and a character he created whilst colouring his wife’s hair during 2020 COVID lockdowns. To be fair, he wasn’t getting out much at the time. One of these days he will publish a Mrs Goobastank novel, if only to offend almost everyone.
On January 7th, 2023, Shane published his late father’s memoirs ALL THAT WAS TAKEN FROM US – A CHILD MIGRANT’S STORY about being a Child Migrant aged thirteen, sent to Australia to care for his younger brothers in a strange and sometimes harsh land. It was an incredibly emotional project to work on, and he is understandably proud to have it finally available.
Shane has multiple, genre-straddling projects in development, including a science fiction private investigator adventure yarn with a scathing eco-political edge and a healthy pinch of Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Universe-styled comedy; an ultra-violent tale about supernatural sibling assassins; a novel about a band imploding amidst the madness of end-of-the-’80s chart-topping heavy metal; a story that might be about outback desert magic; and a sequel to his debut novel Jada: Mountain Warrior. He can’t wait to find out how they all end.
First though, he will be publishing a non-fiction book in early 2025 which you’ll have to wait a little while to hear more about.

“I like stories with a surprising twist, stories that surprise the reader a little bit,” he explains. “Most of all, I like stories and characters that are uplifting, and full of spirit – even if they’re dark, conflicted, troubled. Aren’t we all, a little bit?”
Shane’s books can be purchased online through Amazon for Kindle or Print On Demand, or directly from him – and he’ll even sign a copy for you if you like.
If you’ve read Shane’s work, please leave a review here on the website, or on Amazon, GoodReads or Smashwords. Every recommendation helps in a landscape where being discovered is almost impossible.
If you’d like to commission work from Shane, please don’t hesitate to ask for an obligation free quote.

Stay in touch with Shane by joining his Regularly Irregular Newsletter mailing list, or email him using shane [at] shanepinnegarwriter.com .
Above all, stay safe, and be excellent to each other.
August 2022