A CERTAIN BOOK

LINK TO NEW BLOG (Been there since May 2011)

2012-02-03T15:59:00.000+13:00

Some of my followers still have this Blogspot blog listed in their blogroll. You must all think I've fallen off the wagon, or run away with my tail between my legs, and joined the other blog deserters! But I'm still here, blogging madder than ever, even though I keep saying I'm going to take a break because I've got a novel to write! You know, the usual story we post, but always positive, of course. The directions are slightly vague in the previous entry so my apologies about that. I've been blogging over at Wordpress since May 2011. Also called A CERTAIN BOOK . Please pop over and see what I've been posting. Thanks for tuning in. Hope to see you there.

SCARLET by Leigh Marsden - My interview with Leigh.

2011-07-05T09:05:00.005+12:00

If you haven't linked to my new blog, please visit here. See my latest post - my first interview with bestselling NZ author Leigh Marsden here.

I'm having a baby!

2011-06-25T15:50:00.001+12:00

No, I'm not having a baby. Sorry. But I got your attention, didn't I? Maybe. Anyway, I'd love it if you linked to my new blog HERE so you can keep an eye on me. I've taken up with wordpress, but I've kept the same name - it just requires a little tweak on your blog. Thank you. :-)

MUSIC AND iMAC

2011-06-02T10:55:00.004+12:00

I see the NZ Book Award finalists are up on websites and blogs. They look like great choices. (You can link here for the list). The one that stood out for me in the non-fiction category was Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music 1918-1964 by Chris Bourke. My uncle gets a mention or two in the book, which I didn’t know about until I opened it to check. He used to play the double bass, and a fine player he was too. It’s the first comprehensive illustrated history of New Zealand popular music in the days before rock’n’roll. A time when couples jived, and fox-trotters took offence and cabarets banned their presence. The book examines the rise of jazz, swing, country, the Hawaiian sound, rock’n’roll, the recording industry, touring and more. There are rare photographs, interviews and transcripts to enjoy. (The image doesn't show the quality of the book here.) If you’re musically inclined or researching, this should jostle for space at the top of your bookshelf.

I bought an iMac two days ago. Hubby gets the MacBook. He's been developing the cyber-itch lately, so it seemed like a good idea before we start warring over who’s hogging it the most. The iMac is easy in terms of ergonomics, and the wireless keyboard and mouse are a plus. The screen is almost three times the screen size of the laptop! Which means I’m not allowed to complain about vision; I still have to wear spectacles, though. At the moment I’m transporting what I need from the Macbook to here, not an easy task, although it’s supposed to be. Lots to explore in this new contraption.

Note: Sorry I haven't got around to comment on some blogs. Will catch up soon.

WHAT I'M READING NOW - Goon/Byte/Moment

2011-05-29T09:54:00.008+12:00

Nothing from my 2011 Reading Challenges. (Remind me not to get so ambitious at the end of this year, will you, please?) But something else that always pops out at me from blog posts or recommendations, the NZ Listener, and gosh-darn-it, Twitter! Sometimes I wish I had an extra lobe in my brain specifically for ‘regulating reading capacity’; neurotransmitters like, er, readamine? (pronounced read-a-mean) that feed receptor cells with small, even doses and produce the right effect. At the risk of stretching this wish too far best to move on; here's what I’ve been lying in bed with:

A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD by Jennifer Egan

A superb read. I like the conception of this book. Each chapter seems like a new story but they’re all interconnected in some way. The themes are contemporary and Egan takes the mundane, the unpleasant and makes them monumental, and executes it so well that no one, surely, could do it better. I’m up to chapter nine and each one had me hooked word, line and paragraph. For me, it sits right up there with my top read of all time, Johnathan Franzen’s Freedom. It is equally as poignant, and brilliant and more; the only difference being that AVFTGS is ‘grippingly funny’.

The story is about an 80s punk band called the Flaming Dildos and how each member and those who touched their lives (oh heck, no pun/s intended) have fared over the years. There is no chronological order to the stories but you make the connections as you keep reading. Most of the scenes in the chapters are set in New York and then suddenly you're transported to another continent, on safari for example, and introduced to a few new characters whom you can’t seem but to like or dislike, even love; or driven by convoy through rough terrain to a secret location in Columbia with gun-toting soldiers riding, well, gun-shot. All of the stories are dark and edgy, and would’ve been too heavy a read if not for the peppering of humour. There’s much more to talk about in this book, but my post will look too long for readers to stick to. AVFTGS makes for stimulating conversation.

TERRORBYTE by Cat Connor

Ellie Conway, an FBI agent, and her team must find the killer in their midst who is preying on the mentally ill. At every murder scene there’s a pattern, including words scrawled across cabinets or walls. Words, they discover, taken from a book of poetry written and recently launched by none other than Ellie and her soulmate/partner, Mac, (also an agent). All profits from sales of the book are poured into their foundation that helps children of parents who suffer from bipolar disorder. As Ellie and her team struggle to capture the elusive killer, she must cope with the effects of a head injury sustained in a past encounter and stoically hides from her colleagues, including Mac. Is it more than a head injury though? Could it be something genetic? Written in the first person, it’s difficult to know if Ellie is losing her mind or not because she has this wry sense of humour. It’s an interesting premise and there’s more to take your attention elsewhere, which ups the ante and keeps you flicking back the pages. Cat Connor writes really well and there are some lovely passages I drooled over. There’s a series by the way: Killerbyte, Terrorbyte and Exacerbyte. You can check out her blog for more detail about this story here.

THE MOMENT by Douglas Kennedy

The first book I ever read of Kennedy’s was The Pursuit of Happiness. It was written from a woman’s perspective and Kennedy got into her head so deeply, I wondered if he used a pen name and was a woman in real life. But no, DK really is a male. He has a talent for writing compelling love stories and providing rich insight into our recent past. The positive reception this book's garnered lately should quench the desire of his avid fans. I haven’t dipped into The Moment long enough to review and give it justice. Here’s a short blurb to whet the appetite though: As Thomas Nesbitt tries to reconcile himself to the end of a long marriage that he knew was flawed from the outset, his self-exile is interrupted by the arrival of a box in the post. The return address belongs to the woman he had an intense love affair with twenty-five years ago in Berlin, at a time when the city was cleaved in two, and personal and political allegiances were frequently haunted by the deep shadows of the Cold War. Thomas is forced to confront what he'd kept at bay for so long, the extraordinary force of real love and the woman to whom he'd lost his heart. Morally complex, tragic and deeply reflective ... "

Another great cover design. Click on the image for more.

Tales For Canterbury (includes Neil Gaiman)

2011-05-25T08:25:00.004+12:00

Tales For Canterbury is a charity anthology to raise funds for the NZ Red Cross Earthquake Appeal. It features tales by New Zealand and international writers. This from Random Static’s website:

‘Tales For Canterbury brings you a variety of stories set in past, present and future times, worlds touched by disaster, magic and the other worldly; where everyday truths are explored, and you never know what shape the future might hold; explores the depths of what it means to be human, escape the real world, and find hope in these pages.”

I bought my copy yesterday and managed to squeeze in a couple of stories last night.

I hadn’t heard of speculative fiction before until I caught onto a few local blogs last year, including Debbie Cowens’ blog. Her story The Delightful Maiden features in the book and really drew me in from start to finish with her writing ability, and the compelling nature of the story. I was so disappointed at the end though, because it left me hanging, and I wanted to read more. I wonder if it was an extract to an upcoming novel … Or, I just simply missed something - I’ll have to go back and read it again. Cowens is someone to watch out for, anyway. Also, an incentive to read speculative fiction.

There are more fantastic contributors to this book including Helen Lowe, Tina Makareti, Tim Jones, Matt Cowens, Cat Connor; not to mention the inimitable and prolific blogger Neil Gaiman … I'm dying to get stuck back in, and I urge you to buy one for a very good cause. Copies can be purchased at Random Static HERE. It’s available as an ebook, too ($12).

(ps Has anyone noticed that they can't 'sign out' of blogger? Weird.)

My First Rejection

2011-05-23T08:20:00.002+12:00

Hello folks. Yep. I am now officially a member of The Rejection Club. I have earned my first rejection badge. There are more badges (submissions), but hopefully I don’t get to wear ALL of them. Seriously though, you can guarantee that my world caved in as soon as I read this:

“It’s [the novel] fresh and different ... but we do not believe it is one that we would publish”.

Fortunately, the rumbling sound around my head lasted a few short but terrible minutes (not seconds).

There. Got that out. Now what? Keep my fingers crossed. Go on a holiday. Clean out the house. Dig up the garden. Buy a cattery. A new computer. Some makeup. Clothes … Maybe I should just stick to the Club’s motto. I am after all a new member.

MOTTO: Keep occupied. Keep Writing (the next novel). Persevere. Be patient. Have faith.

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge)

2011-05-19T19:45:00.006+12:00

Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand’s Golden Age Queen of Crime, brings to life Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn in her first mystery novel A Man Lay Dead (1934). Seven guests are invited to a weekend house party at Sir Hubert Hendesley’s home in Frantock. There’s a sense of jolly anticipation leading up to Hubert’s famously known party game called the Murder game. Like any game there are set rules. It’s the job of the butler to choose from the group of seven, someone to play the murderer who in turn must choose his or her victim. No one else is privy to this information. After discovery of the body, a whodunit trial follows. When the game begins, lights are flicked on and the room is a stage set for murder. The actor is found slumped over the table with a dagger in his back. As the group gathers around the victim they play along - giggling, exclaiming, pushing and shoving, slightly horrified. But a closer inspection reveals another story. The bantering is suddenly replaced by squeams and expressions of horror. Charles is not pretending to be dead. He is dead. Enter Detective Chief Inspector Alleyn.

Alleyn appears to be unorthodox in his approach to solving a homicide; employing the person he suspects least, to help him. Later, he gathers all his suspects in the one room, placing police officers at possible escape routes, and relays to everyone his theory and the evidence, hoping to flush out the murderer. This includes re-enacting the murder by choosing someone to play the part or parts. The irony is clever, and the theatrics entertaining.

This story was light and fun (or cosy), the first Ngaio Marsh novel I’ve read, and vastly different from my usual dose of crime reading. The Russian element was interesting, reflecting political intrigue at the time. Written in the 1930s, I found myself smiling at the small things such as the language of the time. I particularly enjoyed these two - ‘great hopping fleas!’ and ‘put ‘em up, my poppets’. And how about this for a chapter title: Alleyn Does His Stuff.

This is the first entry in the Vintage Mystery reading challenge 2011. Finally.

An enjoyable day at the Readers & Writers Festival

2011-05-15T10:56:00.006+12:00

Saturday turned out to be a sunny day, not a day to be wasted indoors but enjoyed outdoors, before winter (lurking around the corner) fogs up the windows. I was at the Readers and Writers Festival in Auckland, which was of course indoors, but I think it would have succeeded just as well outdoors, if they had had the appropriate facilities. One new addition or feature I noticed, however, was the outdoor cafeteria keeping with the character of the building (lots of glass) and overlooking Aotea Square. The blend of café smells wafted across the throng and back through the building, causing a protest of rumbles from my tummy, and drawing in a sea of customers. After my event there were no seats available and a queue so long I felt myself scowling. I think most of the patrons were ARWF attendees.

I didn’t get to many events, unfortunately. Time was a factor. But I did get to one event with local authors Carl Nixon and Sarah Quigley (two for one), and the inimitable Book Blogger, Graham Beattie, as chair. You can read a review of Carl Nixon’s latest novel Settlers’ Creek HERE. It was interesting to hear why he wrote it and whether he’d received any flak or negative reviews regarding the subject matter of cultural conflict and racism. I’ve not read any of Sarah’s novels except for her book on writing titled Write, which is, by the way, a fantastic reference book for writers. Her novel The Conductor released just last week, sounds intriguing. It’s set in Leningrad (St Petersburg) during the German blockade in the Second World war, and is essentially about two characters, one a conductor whose potential blossoms in a time of great upheaval and devastation. The story is drawn on both fact and fiction. I’d love to read it. Paula Morris was on my list of ‘must see’, but when I purchased my tickets at the door they mentioned her session was up at the university, a ten minute hike away. Sadly, it began at the time Nixon and Quigley’s session was over.

I sat in the Square afterwards, eating sushi, watching the surrounding activity. People were enjoying lunch, reading or writing, lapping up the sun. I don't venture into the city often so I tend to appreciate the small things - the presence of seagulls and pigeons dotting the area for example. They would take bobbing runs and flutter up into the air like a white blanket, only to circle back and land at your feet a couple of seconds later, expecting a crumb or two as if that little bit of entertainment was deserving. Most folk know better than to feed them though, unless you’re willing to risk the ‘daggers’. In the distance, up close to the road, a protest was in full motion. Syrian flags waved gently back and forth in a small assembly of dark-clad men, women and children. It was a peaceful rally from where I was sitting. They were chanting. I wish I knew what they'd been saying.

And, oh yes. I did spend some money. I was restrained though, which makes a change after previous years’ events I’ve attended.

The book in the middle is called The Long and Short Of It. You'll find the winners of the Unity Books short story competition between the covers. How apt is that title? The Long, refers to the winner of 'the best story over 10,000 words' and Short, to 'the best story under 1,000 words'. The book also includes four 'highly commended' winners. Judges were Emily Perkins, Elizabeth Knox and Bill Manhire. I'm reading The Road To Tokomairiro (the Long winner). So far, a Cobb & Co coach driver has an accident, killing one of his passengers. It's a lovely read and quite riveting. Described as 'lighter than its subject matter' and 'beautifully and sympathetically written'.I loved the movie about French singer Edith Piaf. Author Carolyn Burke was also here in 2007 promoting her last biography about the first woman war photographer, Lee Miller. It's been sitting in my TBR pile since and I feel quite ashamed.There were so many books tempting me, and those NZ cover designs were something to drool over. I lingered around the poetry section too, and read one of Jenny Bornholdt's poems. I stared at the cover and it seemed to say, "Buy Now."

So I came away content with my lot for the day from the Readers and Writers Festival in Auckland 2011.

Bookman Beattie and the Christchurch Library are busily posting events on their blogs as they unfold this weekend. Very engaging posts and audio clips so pop over when you can.

Writers and their typewriters

2011-05-14T08:30:00.004+12:00

During the Blog Out yesterday I popped over to Twitter and linked to Blogger’s timeline. It was rolling over so fast I couldn't keep up, but what I managed to catch was like watching road-rage. In a techno world we’ve lost the meaning of the word 'patience'. We expect everything now. Instant. No traffic jams, no hold-ups. And no mistakes allowed.

Anyway. I was trawling around the Internet suppressing my own frustrations and found this delightful album of iconic images to feast on: writers and their typewriters. Includes McCullers, Carter, Hemingway, Faulkner, Amis … Just click on the image and it’ll take you there.

Auckland Readers & Writers Festival

2011-05-13T06:59:00.000+12:00

I’m in the big smoke tomorrow. The Auckland Readers and Writers Festival began yesterday and should be in full swing by Saturday. There’s a good line up of local writers – Sarah Kate-Lynch, Carl Nixon, Sarah Quigley, Paula Morris and more. I’ll be taking mental notes, drawing inspiration and enjoying the company of like-minded people. Click here for MORE.

My Covering Letter

2011-05-10T08:22:00.004+12:00

I wrote a covering letter for submission the other week. This sample letter was very helpful. ;)

Dear [Agent/Editor]

Prepare to be blown away. In your hands you hold the first four pages of my debut epic, VIOLENT THUNDER. You have the truly unique opportunity to be one of the first to read a work that will undoubtedly revolutionise the publishing world. Borrowing tropes from the epic fantasy, supernatural detective, and harlequin romance genres, I have crafted the first wholly original masterpiece in probably at least a century … MORE

This comes from one of ten popular articles on the Web at the moment; compiled by the Writers Knowledge Base (WKB). Just click on the logo below and you’ll link to a wealth of writing information and inspiration, and on occasion, someone's clever post to engender a fit of the giggles.

All Tensed Up, and D.D. Warren

2011-05-09T07:55:00.002+12:00

One of my biggest bugbears (well highlighted during my writing course) is TENSE. I prefer to call it a real – pardon the expression/cliche – ‘pain in the ass’. At the same time it's a painfully good lesson. This problem of tense may seem trivial to most, but it’s a common trap to others.

I mention this because I’m going over a chapter in my novel like a crime-scene technician searching for anything suspicious that will throw up the hard evidence. I found two offenders on the one page!

Deviating slightly, I love this no-nonsense quote:'Compose first, worry later' by NED ROREM (composer/author)

Reading and reviewing: There has been no time to write up reviews of the books I’ve been reading lately or posts I had planned. At present I’m enjoying crime author Lisa Gardner’s 2011 novel Love You More. It’s another police procedural with D.D. Warren and her Boston homicide team. God, she's good at writing those! Always a pleasure to see a woman running the show and overcoming the obstacles.

Extra: If you Tweet and know about #fridayshorts, well, this time, I got an honorary mention for my entry. I couldn't keep it to myself any longer. :) Hinemoa Baker took first prize!

Writing Wisdom

2011-05-04T20:28:00.004+12:00

Love these pearls of 'writing' wisdom from RJ Ellory:

"Books are like wine: if it tastes good, then it is good wine, no matter the year or the vineyard."

"I try not to concern myself with how much better my fellow writers might be doing, for – as Krishnamarti said – ‘a life of comparison is a life of misery’."

"Life is not a rehearsal, it’s the main performance."

More pearls can be found at this in-depth interview with Ellory on writers, writing, music and movies HERE.

Miss you ...

2011-05-04T20:20:00.001+12:00

I’ve been wandering around aimlessly these past few days. Sometimes I open the front door and nothing happens. When I peer out the window he’s not there. I wash his bowl and shake his biscuit container. This morning I expected him to leap onto my writing desk and nudge me for space, or stare at the computer screen and paw at the mouse.

We buried my 16-year-old literary companion the other day. It was a sad affair. Hubby, a stoic, fell to pieces. I was Soakie too, and now I’m an empty vessel. It’s too early to consider another cat.

Book reviews for newbie writers

2011-05-02T22:40:00.007+12:00

Radio New Zealand is a candy store of book reviews. They include recent debut novels here and overseas. It’s a resource I’d highly recommend for aspiring writers. The majority of these books are reviewed by established authors who not only discuss plot and character within a 3-5+minute time frame but how well-written (or not) the book is. Weaknesses (not always) and strengths are highlighted, and this is full of insightful information that newbie writers should bookmark in their How To Write file notes. If you don’t have much time to spare, these are not long reviews, and a book is reviewed daily. If you should miss out on one, there’s an archive going back to 2008. Not everyone will agree with some of the reviews if they've read the book already, but in general terms, it does provide insight that a newbie writer can mine for their own writing practice or aspirations.

Five things I learned today or was reinforced:

Watch out for vanity publishers, although I believe that this is changing as with everything else in publishing.
A well-edited book is sooooo vital if you’re self-publishing.
Are you writing memoir or fiction? You need to differentiate.
Does your child protagonist speak like a child or an adult?
Evocative writing gives a strong sense of place.

If you're interested here's the link to RadioNZ, and if you can't find the book review archives, try here.

Feijoa and Lime Muffins

2011-05-01T14:59:00.004+12:00

Yep. I’m obsessed with feijoas. I stumbled across a few feijoa recipes in last week’s NZ Listener. I found another in today’s Sunday Times newspaper. Must be feijoa 'week', not ‘day’.

I thought I’d try the Feijoa and Lime muffins from the Listener. They turned out moist and delicious. I did, however, mix in too much lime zest, which left an unpleasant aftertaste. Wrote note next to recipe: easy on zest.

By the way, I didn’t know this, but sometimes feijoas are called ‘lawmower fruit’ because the smaller feijoas tend to be abandoned and gobbled up by the mower. Apparently they leave a nice fragrance. Must try that one day.

Here’s the recipe for anyone who lands here:

3 juicy limes
60g B, melted
2 large eggs
200g plain F
2 ½ tsp BP
100g S
1 C peeled and diced feijoas (about 6-8)

Oven 180C - grate zest from limes - combine with eggs and B, whisk till fluffy - fold in combined F & BP gently with S - fold in feijoas

Fill muffin cups - sprinkle with zest (not too much) - bake 20-25 mins

Makes 12. Lovely with coffee. Simple and quick.

What I'm reading right now: Cry of the Go-Away Bird by Andrea Eames. Gorgeous writing. Interesting story.

Feijoa Day

2011-04-30T11:49:00.005+12:00

When we moved to this rural town about three years ago, the land behind us was scrubland but within months, a land developer came along and cleared the lot, paving the way for a new subdivision. It’s a small division with an arterial road running down the centre and small lanes forking off it. To date, one house was built earlier this year and another, a couple of months ago. The latter half finished and abandoned. A definite sign of the times. But for us, we continue to enjoy the freedom of a neighbour-less backyard – the north end of our property – where the sun shines and clamours for space in the kitchen, dining and lounge, and the view to the reserve and estuary is unobstructed. It is very peaceful here, idyllic for a writer. In the summer the birdsong is magical, the gardens lush, and before we are cloaked in winter, the feijoa trees hugging the north end of our home are once again heaving with fruit. Branches overhang the fence, tempting for potential neighbours to grope at, little children to indulge, flat earth society people to hack at. Feijoas lay scattered around the garden floor waiting to be gathered up, sliced in half and greedily scooped of its flesh, either consumed fresh on the spot or diced and mixed into a delectable recipe. So that’s where this was leading me – to my favourite feijoa recipe. Some people screw their noses at feijoas and some can’t get enough, and most people outside of New Zealand have no idea what they are or look like. The average length of a feijoa (from our tree) is around 2 inches or 70cm. If you want to know more look HERE.

As a child I had no control over how many I stuffed into my little stomach, unless my mother was nearby limiting my intake. She’d make me sit in a chair and eat each one slowly, not like some half-starved child I impressed on her. Mostly, it was about the awful tummy twinges I would have to endure afterwards. Things haven’t changed much (I might’ve mentioned this in another post). You can find my favourite feijoa recipe HERE, although raw is best.

On the writing front, I haven’t exactly been productive with the new novel. There’s a lot of reading I’d rather be doing right now. More on that later. Enjoy your weekend.

Michael Robotham Week

2011-04-28T16:24:00.014+12:00

Stats from my blog are informative and interesting. It gives me a good idea how much traffic is swinging my way, either passing through or stopping to browse. I’m not sure if Blogger’s stats provider includes everything. Compared to my other stats counter, it’s not picking up some countries, including the US. What was most intriguing, however, was the traffic jam I encountered yesterday. There was a large meet at one of my posts: 86 hits, that is! And NO comments! I’ve never had as many visits in one, perhaps three weeks. Cynical-brain-cell got in a right tangle over it and thought a conspiracy of sorts was going down on her blog. You know, like a creative writing course pointing out the terrible lack of editing or some such horror on said blog. If not that, someone desperately trying to figure out why, what, how and when by hammering ENTER 86 times! :)

After further research through stats, I discovered that most of those hits came from Twitter. Now I get it. Someone has picked up one of my posts on the writing process and linked it through Twitter. Gosh, the power of Twitter. And so many writers out there. Here’s the link to Michael Robotham’s writing advice.

Speaking of Robotham, his latest newsletter is available re his new releaseThe Wreckage, and other stuff: HERE. He’s really sweet and has a sense of fun. I searched for his books on KOBO and there’s an unbelievable price, possibly ridiculous, for his 2010 novel Bleed For Me which in my opinion, is a fantastic crime fiction read. $2.89 NZD. That's cheap for the reader, but what about the author? I suppose if you do the complicated (or simple?) math, there must be something positive in it.

The Cry of the Go-Away Bird by Andrea Eames

2011-04-28T12:25:00.005+12:00

Andrea Eames’s novel The Cry of the Go-Away Bird is now available for purchase at KOBO. I bought mine. Only $7.99 NZD. Her blog is HERE which I’ve been following for almost three years. She’s a wonderful writer and an inspiration. You'll find a list of reviews/interviews by bloggers and various papers/magazines around the world including The Guardian and The Independent.

There’s a great article in the NZ Listener, too. You can link HERE as it’s not yet available online. By the way, the NZ Listener has a website now, and Guy Somerset blogs about things bookish – what else! Clickety-click HERE.

Striking a guilty chord.

2011-04-27T14:20:00.002+12:00

I haven’t kept up with commenting on other blogs. Funny how it strikes a guilty chord. Better it strikes that chord than my 'writing' chord. Can’t have it go twang and snap! I hope to catch up with you all again soon, though.

This past Easter weekend, much of it taken up with family matters and not all celebratory either, I’ve been combing parts of the novel for gaps and flaws, and preparing for submission. Sometimes I wonder whether I should just stop, re-working or overdoing it can have the opposite effect. I’ve seen a sentence go from imperfect to almost perfect, but I’ve also seen a sentence go from almost perfect back to imperfect. There’s always this need for perfection and being a slow writer, it seems as if the whole ‘writing a novel’ business is becoming a lifelong journey. Something you can’t rest from or really be satisfied with. But can only do your best. I always wonder if I should’ve taken up poetry or short stories first. That’s not to say, I don’t enjoy writing a novel. It’s also not to say, that short story writing or poetry is easier, just perhaps, 'quicker' at coming up with the finished product.

Anyway, I thought it best I make a small dent on my blog this week, so it doesn’t look as if I’ve scarpered off somewhere, never to be heard from again.

Writers and houses and literary companions.

2011-04-19T20:20:00.004+12:00

These two sites are fun to browse through.

Discover a haven of writers' homes HERE.

Pics of your favourite writer and companion HERE.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

2011-04-18T14:30:00.006+12:00

Needless to say, there are many engaging author/aspiring writer blogs in the blogosphere. I often feel like (sorry about the cliché) the kid in a candy store, drooling, eyes big as gobstoppers (remember those?).

Blogs that post about their works-in-progress are little treasure houses of inspiration. For example, they might post about a special discovery they’ve made in their research or an awe-inspiring visit to observe or follow an expert in action, or a unique place they’ve visited where their story or project is taking place. As far as I’m aware, this is usually discussed in interviews or book launches, tours and festivals, after the work is published. But now I’m reading about it in blogs before (and after) publication.

I thought about discussing my own WIP in this manner, but was quickly reminded of the dos and don’ts of blogging that newbie writers should be aware of. For example, don’t write about your WIP (eh?) or post an extract of your work. Some reasons for this: a blog is like a journal – you’re basically publishing it, or it’s a ruse to attract followers and feedback, or you could embarrass yourself: I don’t think I need to spell out how (see HERE for more). Personally, I think bloggers can do whatever they like. Of course a blogger who’s a newbie writer must be aware of some pitfalls and to respect a few unspoken rules. Anyway, I thought I might devote a couple of my future post's to the setting of my novel, if time allows. In the meantime I took this rare phenomenon (double rainbow) a few weeks ago from our back doorstep. I should put it in my novel. The song, that is: Somewhere Over The Rainbow-s?

Writing/Reading/The Troubled Man by H. Mankell

2011-04-15T09:40:00.005+12:00

I'm on the final lap of my novel, close to the finish line. Almost there. I’m looking forward to taking a long breath afterwards though and concentrating on my reading challenges I had signed up for (on the right) at the end of 2010.

Lately, I’ve been caught up in an epidemic sweeping the globe called BUY NOWITUS, its most common symptom being uncontrollable finger-twitching. I’m referring to my Kobo ereader of course, and purchasing ebooks from the Kobo website and other tempting places. As a result, I now have kilobytes of TBR titles to choose from. I hope to review some of them along with my selection for the reading challenges.

Writing endeavour: I entered an extract (chapter) from my novel in a writing competition the other day. I don’t expect to win, let alone get on the long list. It’s open to both established authors and aspiring writers, which makes for some tough competition. I think just entering and putting my work out there is a winning streak all of its own. (-:

I was going to review Henning Mankell’s The Troubled Man. Due to endless distractions, it’s turned into a slow burn, but here’s a short, excellent review over at Bookman Beattie’s BLOG, a prolific blogger about everything literary and hot off the press in NZ and overseas, plus, he’s a crime fiction buff.

My Wedding and other Secrets

2011-04-11T13:15:00.007+12:00

May I recommend this cute little Kiwi movie, a romantic comedy My Wedding and other Secrets. Set in Auckland (NZ) and places I recognise such as Albert Park and the university which is always a bonus. Two geeky university students fall in love, but there’s one problem. Emily is Chinese and James is non-Chinese. This is a very big deal to Emily because not long ago her sister was courting a non-Chinese boy to her traditional parents strong disapproval and was given an ultimatum. The relationship ended. Her other sister, however, is getting married to a Chinese boy, to her parents ecstatic approval and complete relief. Deeply and irrevocably in love, Emily and James, nevertheless, continue with their relationship and get married. It’s all a big secret though, until … .

The acting is delightful, the characters endearing; there are poignant scenes and lots of laughs, which makes the topic of cross-cultural relationships and racism, not trivial, but less heavy than one might imagine in a different genre or script. This is a warm, feel-good movie, not to be missed.

You can click HERE for more.

Twitter, and The Troubled Man: POV?

2011-04-09T11:32:00.010+12:00

It gets pretty sad when your blog is sitting at the bottom of your own blog roll like a dead-end. I know it’s only been a week. It feels longer when your focus has been sucked up elsewhere, and I’m not talking about the novel, I’m talking Twitter. In that case, I thought I should start with a brief post about Tweeting today. It’s where I’ve been spending most of my 'writing' time lately, not that I’ve been networking heavily or crazily like there’s no tomorrow. I've been watching, absorbing and finding my bearing's instead.

Talk about information overload! Tweeters in the literary/art world are very generous, providing links to relevant blog posts, You Tube clips, websites, photos, upcoming literary events, competitions, giveaway book prizes, and the list goes on. Remember, Twitter is instant, real time information. It comes at you like machine-gun fire, an overwhelming hands flailing in the air, eyes crossing over experience. But after the floundering, one finds a balance, a settling in and then you’re home and away.

Edited: To accommodate the comments below and after much digging, I found the link to How Can Authors Reach (Non-Writer) Readers Online (see link below). According to the author/blogger as far as promoting and marketing your published work goes, your buyers are more than likely to be found through Twitter and Facebook. Blogging has its merits too, but readers of your blog tend to be followed by author/writers, rather than readers (who are not writers or bloggers) and your biggest target market. This depends, I suppose, on your own experience and other factors.

If you’re a newbie writer or love learning about the writing craft there’s a monthly newsletter you can sign up to HERE, which provides you with the most up-to-date popular posts about everything writerly, twittery, bloggish and so on-ish. I know it’s more time, more reading, but I think this one’s worth subscribing to. Thank you Elizabeth Craig who is a founder of the Writers Knowledge Base (see icon on right).

At present, I’m thumbing through Swedish author Henning Mankell’s latest crime novel The Troubled Man, and so far so good. One reviewer HERE recommends it as future text for mystery writing classes, which must be flattering to the author and a great honour. Interestingly, I came across some odd POV changes early in the novel, but as the novel progressed it seemed to be something consistent and perhaps deliberate; not a translation glitch I at first thought. I should point out as well, that it wasn't disruptive to the flow of the story. An aspiring writer’s antenna is sensitive to the writing process and will pick out an anomaly (that's if it is) in someone else's work in an instant. A reader, however, who’s not a writer (most of our readers out there) wouldn’t even notice, let alone know what POV is! I put this to the test recently by re-reading the first few chapters of a novel that I loved and had read some years back pre writing school days. And OMGoodness, the POV (plus other writing taboos) was pretty glaring. I didn't know any different back then. My innocent reading day's are well and truly over! Creative writing classes, tutors, editors, publishers all tell us about the importance of POV. But if a non-writer who is blissfully unaware about the writing craft and enjoyed the story, understood it, knew who was saying what, why the fuss? I’m sure there’s a simple explanation, a variety of answers, which I think I should best leave for the experts.

Writing/Reading - a particular lemon cake

2011-03-31T08:50:00.006+13:00

It’s been a busy week trimming my novel back by 20,000 words. That’s a staggering amount of words to remove. It often feels like pulling teeth. But. It must be done and I’m almost there!

I mentioned below I was reading Up From The Blue by Susan Henderson and despite its subject matter was an enjoyable and poignant read. The major theme in this story is ‘mental illness’ and how back in the 1960-70s families kept their skeletons locked in a cupboard. In this case, the cellar. Literally, that is. A mother is incapable of caring for her two young children and being the wife of an up-and-coming weapon’s expert at the Pentagon. Before they move to an exclusive neighbourhood in Washington, she disappears. A year later, the daughter who is psychologically damaged by her mother's absence, accidentally finds her living in their cellar.

At first the father comes across as a mean, insensitive man. I wanted to pummel him, hurl an expensive vase at his head, call the police! Then I remembered, the reader is being told the story from the viewpoint of a nine-year-old. As the story unfolded my urge to get violent quickly dissolved.

I was a little disappointed with the ending, though. We know what happens to the mother at the beginning of the story, but it just doesn’t segue with the ending or take us back to the present day and resolve the tension between father and daughter. Or did the author want us to make up our own minds about their relationship. Perhaps. In the end I cared for all of the characters.

I’m now thumbing through The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, from my ereader. It’s also narrated by a nine-year-old girl or begins from that age, and the writing style is similar. It’s a quirky story and moving. On Rose’s ninth birthday, her mother bakes her a lemon-chocolate cake. When she bites into a slice, it doesn’t taste lemony or sweet. It tastes of feelings and emotions that belong to her apparently, 'cheerful' mother. But what she tastes is despair and desperation.

This is not a one-off. It’s a life-long gift. For every meal Rose consumes, secrets in her family are revealed. Her mother is having an affair, her father is strangely detached, her brother a genius but not coping.

What I love about this, is how close and affectionate they are towards each other, in spite of their inner turmoil. I was expecting the usual breakdown reactions of family–arguing, door slamming and foul language. Bender’s story, however, leads us down a gentle path and despite the strangeness of it all, it’s a gorgeously refreshing take on family relationships and life. Described as ‘profound, funny wise and heartbreaking’.

The author has a quirky website HERE.

READ IN: Christchurch earthquake fundraiser

2011-03-26T10:00:00.008+13:00

Author James George initiated a Writers and Readers event to occur on the 25 March at all 55 libraries across Auckland. This was to raise funds for the people of the Christchurch Earthquake which had rocked the Canterbury region in New Zealand on the 22 February. The event became a joint effort between the libraries and the New Zealand Society of Authors.

In my home town on the southern periphery of Auckland Supercity, our library event kicked off at 1pm. Those who came to support the event were provided with tea and coffee. We were then seated, and a brief introduction to local authors was given. Before they took to the floor, however, we held a one-minute silence in memory of those 181 people who died in the earthquake’s destructive wake.

There was quite a small turnout for the 1pm session, which was disappointing, but then we’re a small population here and the poor weather might’ve had a bearing. At 6pm the event was repeated. I hope a few more supporters managed to skip along.

For the six libraries in our neck of the woods, 27 local authors participated, which is a wonderful attendance. At my library there were some endearing poems and short stories read out, much of it unpublished and the first time their work had been read in public. There was a thriller writer in the mix, too! Colin Peel. He’s been in the writing business for forty years! Interesting fellow. He read out a prologue from one of his thrillers, which he says his UK and USA publishers nowadays, call teasers or hooks. His story was intriguing—a political thriller set in Iraq and from a woman’s POV! More intriguing was how—and many authors have had a similar experience—‘life imitates art’. Pretty scary in more ways than one.

So the afternoon Read In went very well, was entertaining and delightful, and an event for a very good cause.

Kia Kaha

(Donations were made at these events. If you were unable to attend or wish to help in any way please visit the New Zealand Red Cross website.)

The Cypress House by Michael Koryta (2011)

2011-03-22T08:10:00.007+13:00

Michael Koryta is known for his crime writing, but here he adds something a little spooky or Stephen King-ish, and I mean ‘little’ as in subtle. Which is better than ‘full on’ if you’re a Koryta fan or non-fan of the supernatural.

The story is set in Florida during the 1930s and the great depression, a time of unemployment and struggle, and uh oh, an impending hurricane! Fortunately, Koryta doesn’t dwell on the hurricane and its brutal destruction (which did happen at the time, killing many), rather, he gives us a sense of place and atmosphere, and does that with some palpable and beautiful observations.

Arlen, an ex-soldier, is on a train bound towards the Keys where promises of work await him and his fellow passengers, also veterans, except Paul. He’s sitting beside him, a young, rather naïve lad, but a good and skilful working companion. When Arlen falls asleep and jolts awake he sees a hand of bone holding a pack of cards. It belongs to the passenger sitting in front of him. And when he peers down the aisle, the rest of the passengers have turned into skeletons, their flesh removed, some with flesh remaining and eyes swirling with smoke. Arlen freaks out and can’t breathe. He doesn’t need this or want it, but knows it’s a sign that everyone on board is hurtling towards death. He’d seen the same kind of death warning in the trenches, skeletons walking and crouching around him everywhere, smoke halos framing their heads. At the next train stop, Arlen tries to convince his fellow passengers they can’t re-board that train, but no one heeds his warning's, just as he’d expected. Except Paul.

While the train rattles off into a brewing hurricane, Arlen and Paul hitch a ride into the nearest town. They’re driven to accommodation at a place called The Cypress House in an isolated coastal region. It's run by a beautiful woman, and this is where the story really begins. Corrupt lawmen, smugglers, traitors, blackmail, extortion, murder, the whole shebang happens here. And Arlen and Paul are inescapably caught up in its deadly game. Never fear you ladies, there’s a love story here too, softening the harshness that prevails. No gory or graphic bits to contend with either, oh, except for a pair of hands and a body washed ashore. Nothing compared to what I’ve been reading lately.

When Arlen, Paul and Rebecca realise how trapped they’ve become and in terrible danger, Arlen’s gift and its potential, which he can’t shake or deny, is his only weapon to their survival. This little injection of the supernatural with thriller elements blends in very well; it's difficult to imagine the story without it. This is not a novel about criminal behaviour or even difficult times during the depression, or having a special talent. It’s essentially about Arlen and his redemption.

Koryta delivers an engrossing and ‘deliciously creepy’ read. Highly recommended.

I read this on Kobo. You can read the first chapter at Amazon HERE.

I won a 'short' writing competition - check it out!

2011-03-18T19:13:00.005+13:00

Can’t believe it! I’m chuffed! I won a Twitter writing competition called fridayshorts organised by the NZ Book Council. Stumbled across it when the submission rules came up on the Tweet feed (real-time list of Tweets) this morning and thought, hmm, I wouldn’t mind giving that a go. Lots of fun. I think they run it every week. These were the rules:

Tweet a witty, elegant or silly story using these six words to win fridayshorts glory: Scholar, Spangle, Jacket, Crane, Gallivanting and Quill. Entries to be in by 5pm.

Those who Twitter will see the challenge in this because Tweeting is limited to 140 characters (not words).

I didn't think I'd win in light of the competition. You can check out my ‘very winning and murderous fridayshorts entry’ (I tweet as JoannePG) at the NZ Book Council website HERE.

Great start to my weekend!

On Taking Baths

2011-03-16T17:45:00.006+13:00

Yo! I’m back already! Had to post this – “I don’t trust a well-adjusted, happy, confident writer. I mean, what the hell is that?” Dani Shapiro

Shapiro’s blog is a treasure of writerly wisdom and this one most of us know, but sometimes a reminder keeps us on track. The best part is 'to remember this isn't a race we're running' or 'writing more quickly' as if people's attention span won't last by the time our story is ready for them. Really like that. You can make full sense of this post HERE.

Red Cross/Writing/Review/Twitter

2011-03-15T17:30:00.007+13:00

In the past month I’ve never cried so much and felt helpless as many of us have. It’s hard to put into words what to say, how to say it and when to say it. We have extended family living in Christchurch, and they’re safe and okay. We have friends in Japan, and those we’ve made contact with are also safe and okay. I don’t want to say any more than that except a donation to help our fellow men in crisis can be made to the following: Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, New Zealand Red Cross (Japan) and Do The Write Thing.

I’ve been off the radar here in bloggy world and will be for some time as I retreat into deep novel-mode and apply those close-to-the-end touches. My two readers (was three) have supplied me with a wadge of notes, ideas and instructions, some winging their way here as I write. It’s encouraging and I can’t express enough how invaluable another writer’s feedback is. This is my first novel, so I’m indebted to my mentor from 2009, who had kindly accepted my request to read further drafts and provide feedback through 2010/11. Also, to my manuscript assessor, who has said some wonderful things about my writing and the power of my story. I’ve written them out on pink post-it notes and stuck a few around my laptop beside the others.

On a final note, I’ve had my head buried in the novel Up From The Blue by Susan Henderson.

It’s elegantly written and a tender, moving story set in the 1970s, and told from the POV of an eight-year-old girl. At first I thought it would be too heartbreaking and it is in a way, but I think the POV and the writing style somehow works its magic and makes it an enjoyable read. Nicky Pellegrino wrote a great review HERE.

And one other thing, I’m on TWITTER. I have been for some time, just not very active. TWEET me if you can – see my button on right. I like the immediacy and the brevity of tweeting, and finding out what my Followers are up to at this very moment. Yes, it’s bloody addictive, but once you’ve had a play and the novelty has worn off, everything falls into place.

Keep writing! :-)

The Suspect by Michael Robotham

2011-03-12T10:30:00.004+13:00

The Suspect (2004) is Michael Robotham’s debut novel, a psychological thriller featuring series protagonist, Joseph O'Loughlin. If you’ve read Shatter (2007) and Bleed For Me (2009) this is as good if not better. Joseph is an engaging, refreshing character who lives a happy life with his loving wife and child, and holds down a successful career as a clinical psychologist. But Joseph has just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and after wallowing in the perfect life he believes he will lose, he hits the booze and stupidly spends the night with a different woman. That same night another woman has been murdered; someone Joseph later discovers was a former colleague. When a patient of his begins reacting and behaving in the oddest manner, he suspects there’s a connection between the patient and his murdered colleague. Thereafter things begin to swirl out of control, and Joseph is soon the number one suspect in a murder investigation. But Joseph has an alibi. Unfortunately, he refuses to reveal who it is for obvious reasons. Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz, a surprisingly likable character is the perfectly drawn, tough cop who never lets up and hounds Joseph to the last page. On the run from the police, Joseph does his own investigating and lifts the lid on a series of related murders, putting himself and his precious family in imminent danger. Heart-stopping read, a page-turner; yes, it has all the fabulous ingredients of a psychological thriller. The amazing thing about Robotham’s story is that there are no guns involved.

Settlers' Creek by Carl Nixon

2011-03-01T15:45:00.018+13:00

‘There were books scattered all over the room. They jostled against each other in the shelves where they were placed both horizontally and perpendicularly. There were books congregating in uneven piles along the skirting, on the wide windowsills and on the mantelpiece over the fireplace. Books nestled into the cushions on the couch like jagged cats’.

There are many more descriptions better than the one I’ve quoted, but this was just too irresistible to pass. My toes curl whenever I come across a description of someone’s home library, real or not.

Can I slip in another?

‘It was a cold evening and the hovering city smog gave the air a chemical smell and a taste that a born and bred local could roll around in his mouth and comment on like a wine lover talking about a bad merlot’.

Where have I been? Why haven’t I read this Kiwi author until now? Carl Nixon is one of our young talents – a short-story writer, novelist and playwright! He’s been on the NZ bestselling fiction list and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize Best First Book and long-listed for the Dublin IMPAC Awards in 2009.

For the past year I’ve enjoyed reading novels, crime fiction mainly, in which we’re fed a good dose of fast action and dialogue; those largely compelling, thrilling reads either plot-driven and/or character-driven. Occasionally I’ll hit a novel that turns out to be a slow burn, interruptive and sometimes irritating. Though Nixon’s plot takes time to unfold (especially in the first half), his writing style and character-driven story kept me entertained.

A teenage half-caste Maori boy (indigenous people of NZ) hangs himself on a hill from a pine tree. His stepfather, Box Saxton, had raised and loved him with his biological mother since he was a little boy. This is Box’s story who struggles to come to terms with Mark’s death but also with the Maori family who, according to Maori custom, return to claim Mark's body for burial in his ancestral homeland. When events begin to unravel out of control, Box is forced to search his own family roots – the loss of his brother when they were both teens, the sketchy details of his mother’s death, the alienation of his father, and life growing up on the family farm with his grandparents. Halfway through the story when Mark is taken from the funeral parlour and back to his homeland, Box sets out to steal him right back. The novel’s pace picks up from there and suddenly it's a page-turner! Whew. This is delicate, touchy material (my kind of novel) because of the cultural divide and the lack of understanding from both Maori and non-Maori. I think Nixon handles this really well without it being a racist attack on Maori customs or ways despite opening our eyes to a non-Maori point of view – Box’s personal quest to bring his son back home where he believes he rightfully belongs. Nixon engages readers' sympathy as Box deals with his own family tragedies and losses; how this has a huge bearing on his reasoning, suffering and determination to keep his boy as close to his heart as possible.

This is quite a powerful story and wonderfully written! Highly recommended.

A VINTAGE BOOK published by Random House New Zealand, 2010. More HERE.

DO THE WRITE THING - Earthquake in Christchurch

2011-02-26T14:25:00.007+13:00

Our country New Zealand is trying to keep positive after the devastating earthquake in one of our prettiest cities – Christchurch.

Both television and radio stations are saturated with news on the current situation. People have died. To date 145 are confirmed dead. 200 people are still missing. Many remain buried beneath the rubble, unsafe to rescue or recover because of the ongoing aftershocks. Children and parents have lost their loved one's. Historic homes have crumbled to the ground. Private homes have cracked apart or are completely destroyed. The roads are splintered and liquefaction is everywhere. Survivors, and rescuers too, are experiencing a range of emotions. People are fleeing their beautiful city. Looters are taking the opportunity. Police, the army, and Search and Rescue have come from afar – UK, USA, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan ...

Thank you to those bloggers and tweeters for acknowledging and helping the people of Christchurch. For those searching for links to donate there’s a list at Andrea Eames's blog HERE and furthermore, Margot Kinberg from the US has organised a charity raffle DO THE WRITE THING on her blog HERE.

The Great Gatsby - A remake!

2011-02-23T09:12:00.004+13:00

Australian director Baz Luhrmann (Romeo & Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Australia) is re-uniting with actor Leonardo Di Caprio to film The Great Gatsby in 3D! I loved that book! I think they’ve snapped up the perfect cast too: DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy whose talent shone in her debut An Education, and Tobey McGuire (Spider Man) would make an excellent Nick Carraway.

If you’ve seen Luhrmann’s previous films, you’ll know already his theatrical style and what a brilliant film artist he is. Gatsby’s book is an American classic and renowned for its beautiful descriptions and lush prose; only someone like Luhrmann can pull it off … I enjoyed the 1974, Francis Ford Coppola-version with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. I imagine the remake will be as great, if not better. Apparently The Great Gatsby has been filmed six times! There's a timeline for the remake HERE.

Interviewing the experts: detective, psychologist, historian ....

2011-02-22T07:50:00.002+13:00

Drawing on my own experience, I thought I'd write up a basic guideline for interviewing the experts.

Some believe you need to be published before you can speak to an expert. This is nonsense. Any person or writer can approach an expert as long as they’re serious about their work and professional in their approach.

We all do research for our stories and there are plenty of places to mine:

Non-fiction texts, novels, the Internet, television documentaries and programmes, people.
Interviewing the experts: psychologist, lawyer, doctor, policeman, soldier, pilot, historian …
Immersing yourself in the real thing/ hands-on experience such as volunteer work or taking up a class in archery, the ukulele, skydiving, anything.

When you’re writing about what you know there is less need to dig for those precious nuggets of information, but if you’re writing about a subject you know little about then it’s time to seek out the experts. If you’re writing about a policeman, you’ll need to know something about procedure, jargon, character and so on. Your story needs to be authentic, no guess work or assumptions allowed. Some, if not all readers, will spot those flaws and may react by hurling your book out the window like a bread crust for the birds. Above all, do not make the mistake of getting bogged down in too much detail, or write your story in such a way you could probably qualify for the job and write a manual, or worse, show what a very clever person you are! Remember, your primary goal is to write fiction and entertain.

How do you approach an expert for an interview? If you already have a background in the subject matter or you know someone in the chosen field, this certainly helps or makes it easier.

The following is a basic guideline:

Find out who that expert will be: For my own story I came across a book by a clinical psychologist that was perfect. The author is renowned for her field of work.
Make contact - this isn’t as easy as picking up the phone and making an appointment with the doctor. Specialists or professionals are busy people therefore always bear in mind that ‘writers’ are not going to be a priority.
How best to make contact - you can use the cold call approach by ringing direct, but I prefer contact through email or some other written means first. I found contact numbers and email and website addresses at the back of the author’s books. Always helpful those resource and appendix pages.
What to say - via email, I first introduced myself and explained what I was doing. (I offered to send a synopsis of my story in a follow-up email.) In addition, I acknowledged how busy she was and asked politely if she could squeeze me in for an interview at her convenience. Something along those lines. Always be courteous and professional. I heard from her a couple of days’ later.
Time - I asked for an hour of her time, which worked out to be perfect. Since it’s their free time we’re asking them to give up, an hour seems reasonable. You can always ask or work towards further interviews or follow-up questions.

What to take to the interview:

A good recording device. Make sure you position it correctly to accommodate all voices (that was my first mistake).
Include a pen and notebook as more questions will bubble up during the interview as well as other notes of importance. Also useful if your recording device decides to upstage you or some such inconvenience.
A sheet of your questions you’d prepared leading up to the interview day. Make sure you don’t have trouble deciphering them and wasting time, and looking like a dunce. I typed mine up and had quite a list to get through but we managed within the allotted time.
Last but not least - take a gift. Be grateful for your expert’s time and knowledge. This is after all free. I bought my expert a novel. What else?
What to expect - experts are more than willing to assist you. They love to talk about their jobs if you’re interested and professional. And they’re really nice people.

OCCUPATION: A Writer?

2011-02-21T09:00:00.004+13:00

We received our New Zealand census forms yesterday. Since I won't have earned any income in the specified time length, I don't have to worry about filling in the job or occupation section. Whenever I come to that occupation question, however, it stumps me. Any forms or questionnaires that ask my occupation is like braking your vehicle with a screech and fishtailing. I just get a tad apprehensive about how to answer or fill that particular question in. It’s simple, though: Writer. But what I mean is, do I call myself a writer, am I really a writer or 'real' writer?

When I sat my writing course in 2009 my tutor said, “a writer is someone who writes nearly every day”. That sealed it for me. I could call myself a writer. But that was then. Today, I’m constantly coming across posts or articles who have a different meaning or definition of a writer. For example, a writer is one who writes daily ... and has written and published one or more pieces of work and won an award and teaches the craft and so on. The person is definitely a writer which is marvellous. But what does that make those who haven’t reached that distance or whatever their goal is, despite their own persistence and faith and hard work? Does it boil down to your personal definition of what a writer is?

I googled to see what other bloggers have to say about this topic. They say a lot and it's been an ongoing dilemma for some time:

I keep my mouth shut. I don’t broadcast it. I don’t put it on my Facebook page. I don’t blog about it. I just do the work. And when I get a check then I can say I’m a real writer. When my book comes out, then I’ll be a real author... More HERE.

It’s those pesky labels again, isn’t it? … we should self-define rather than let others decide where to file us.
Writer – a person who marks a surface by means of a pen, pencil, computer etc, with symbols, letters or words. Yep, that’ll do.
Apparently, according to US law, if you have received a minimum of 3 rejections, you are allowed to call yourself a writer, and use related expenses on your tax return. Whoever said there’s no such thing as a positive rejection ... More HERE.

I'm a writer because that's what I do almost every day. When or if my novel is published, I'll call myself a writer and an author.

Coastal Yarns by Neil Coleman

2011-02-19T12:50:00.005+13:00

I discovered this little nugget from the January edition of Chapbooks, a newsletter that comes out monthly from the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA). This edition features mostly self-published titles. In light of the bad rap that self-publishing receives, it's great to see the support for those who are determined to get their stories out there.

Coastal Yarns is Neil Coleman’s first book of short stories. I believe he has a novel coming out some time later this year (also self-published). Coleman's book is set in his homeland, New Zealand, and illustrates the love of his country, its people, flora and fauna. What I like about CY is its simplicity, the small things in life - a man and his dog, a stroll on the beach, a family holiday at the bach and more. What I like most, is that I identify with some of the places he describes so wonderfully, such as the Coromandel Coast where I used to live - the ubiquitous pohutakawa, the flash flooding, sea and sand, swimming and sailing ... Thus far, I’m enjoying the humour as well as that sense of melancholy, which Coleman infuses through his stories so subtly (It Wasn't Me comes to mind) and is quite refreshing.

You can find more about Neil Coleman and Coastal Yarns in Issue 1 HERE.

Perfectly Criminal 2 - Whydunit? And another Swedish crime novel ...

2011-02-17T18:05:00.004+13:00

As I head into the crime fiction genre of reading, the books-for-sale trolley parked outside the local library occasionally throws up a few gems at me. I don’t know how good they are, but this looked like one I shouldn’t pass up. At $1.00 (hardback) I shouldn’t even consider passing it up. Perfectly Criminal 2 now sits on TBR pile that I no longer describe as towering, toppling or mountainous. Collapsed? More here.

A friend gave me this to read the other day. It’s set in Stockholm, Sweden. Here’s the back blurb for Between Summer’s Longing and Winter’s End by Leif G.W. Persson:

Incident: A young man dies falling from a tall building

Place: Stockholm

Date: 22 November

Time: Between 19.56 and 20.01

Temperature: Below zero

Verdict: Suicide

Or is it?

The death of an unknown American, though tragic, should be an open-and-shut case. But when Superintendent Lars Johansson begins to delve beneath the layers of corruption, incompetence and violence that threaten to strangle the Stockholm police department, he uncovers a complex web of treachery, politics and espionage.

Johansson quickly realizes that there is nothing routine about this suicide as it transports him from domestic drama to the rotten heart of Sweden’s government. More here.

True Grit

2011-02-15T18:26:00.011+13:00

It won a Bafta on Sunday for Best Cinematography which isn't surprising. It's also up for 10 Oscars in less than two weeks' time, but The King's Speech will probably bowl them if the Bafta Awards is anything to go by. This coming-of-age story, however, comes highly recommended.

Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with "true grit," Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested. See more HERE.

CANDIED CRIME by Dorte Jakobsen

2011-02-14T16:05:00.010+13:00

I bought these lovely little laugh-out-loud crime stories (10,200 words approx.) from SMASHWORDS (self-published ebook) for just $1.34 (NZD). Of course, I’m talking about blogger/writer/reviewer, Dorte H. Jakobsen, who runs her fun and informative crime blog HERE. Being relatively new to following Dorte, I missed out on those first cosy, humorous stories, some of which she’d originally posted on her blog. But now I have them here in digital form – 13 flash fiction stories altogether. A good fix or sweetener like a delicious plate of tiramisu with extra cognac or brandy! Now, if I had to choose which was my favourite, that would be hard to do, but with a gun to my head, I’d probably go for A Nightly Burglar. It’s one of the shortest stories and garnered the most belly laughs from me. Some of the names in the stories are a scream: Kickinbottom, Dr So Wat, Barbara Cartwheel, DCI Derek Gruesome, Jack the Hipper … I'm new to this kind of fun story-telling and totally enthralled. Candied Crime - DJ's Daim Stories vol. 1 has a nice dollop of wit, charm and humour. Thanks for the ride Dorte. I look forward to Volume 2.

There’s an interview with Dorte over at Mason Canyon's blog HERE which includes her positive experience self-publishing an ebook with Smashwords.

Bound/City of Lies/Ghostheart/Candlemoth

2011-02-11T08:58:00.007+13:00

A jump off the blog radar is often a good thing. Now that depends how you interpret ‘jump’ of course. I’m back so that’s a good indication. Back blipping away again. I know it’s only been a week and a day. Big deal. Some people blog once or twice a month. Their poems, short stories or novels must be stunners! Maybe they Twitter and Facebook more than they blog. Well, it depends on the individual. It always comes down to that.

I haven’t achieved much in the writing department lately. I’ve got a stack of new reading to dive into and that’s not counting the mountainous swell called TBR pile. Yesterday I was on the hunt for Bound by Vanda Symon. The Warehouse didn’t have it, neither did Take Note or Chapters (an Independent bookshop). I gave up and started feeling cynical about distributors and small places. But I’d forgotten about Paper Plus so I shot down to the other end of town where I found several copies. I swept one up rather greedily. Back at Take Note I bought Ghostheart, City of Lies and Candlemoth by crime writer RJ Ellory for $18. It pays to check out those paperback specials. The price works out to be cheaper than eBooks if you do the math. The extra perk is that you get the luxury of something tangible - that fresh papery aroma, thumbing the pages, dog-earing, slopping coffee without having a brain stoppage etc, etc. Someone said the other day ‘real books are like oxygen’. How true.

Sunflowers and a sunny review for Vanda Symon's 'Bound'.

2011-02-04T13:15:00.004+13:00

Felt a bit snap happy earlier this morning.

Something happened to the sunflowers in our garden.

These two remain standing. Tall, proud and jolly.

They always make me smile.

I caught today’s book review on National Radio (NZ). It was Vanda Symon’s newly launched book Bound, the fourth in her Sam Shephard crime series, and a positive review it was. Go HERE to listen. I’ll be on the hunt for it this weekend.

Buried In Snow

2011-02-03T17:59:00.008+13:00

A huge winter storm has pummelled the United States … more HERE. I watched the 5.30pm news and saw people skiing down their main street, and the fire brigade on snow mobiles rescuing those caught in its drift. It looks so surreal. Here in NZ, we're melting in the humidity.

'I'm more likely to feel lonely, out-of-whack, when I'm not writing ... '

2011-02-02T17:05:00.003+13:00

I’ve been surfing and reading new blogs throughout most of today. Sometimes it becomes addictive, an all day binge, especially when they resonate with your own writing and reading endeavours. Only later, do the negative effects take place, the biggest being guilt. Those writing a novel or first novel will appreciate this the most. ‘I should be writing, honing my skills, maybe even paying an overdue bill, spending more time with the kids or spouse’ come to mind, the words waving like placards, protesting in the forefront of your writer’s brain. First, I try not to take it too seriously. It’s not as if it’s a regular or daily occurrence and if it was, then maybe a temporary disconnection from the rest of the world is called for. Johnathan Franzen, apparently, disconnects everything when he’s deep inside his writing – not a plug within reach or sight. I read new blogs almost daily, but spend no more than half an hour in their company, if that. An entire day on the other hand can lead you to here, posting about it and telling yourself, a one-off splurge is really, okay.

Other blogs lead you to more blogs and I wonder how many bookmarks Safari can handle. Will I ever have time to trawl and link back to those earlier blogs I bookmarked. Some I don’t even recall, as there are so many. I might have to do some serious sorting and sifting.

Today, I linked to author, Dani Shapiro’s blog from Andrea Eames's blog A Cat of Impossible Colour. Writers and aspiring writers will find Dani's posts on writing, nutritious for the soul. This one I can relate to well:

‘I’ve often heard it said that writers are born with one less layer of skin than most. I don’t think this is strictly, or even metaphorically, true – but I do think our daily lives, spent in solitude, mired in a kind of permanent outsider status, confers upon us a kind of hyper-sensitivity. I’m reminded of this when I talk to someone who has a regular job, or a “job-job” as I, and my writer friends, refer to it … When I’m writing, I never feel lonely. In fact, I’m more likely to feel lonely, out-of-whack, when I’m not writing … ' To read the full post click HERE.

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

2011-02-02T07:05:00.003+13:00

Sorry. Not a review but a reminder about my challenges for 2011. The Ngaio Marsh Reading Challenge is not official, but anyone is welcome to join. I noted one other was interested. (On the left there, you’ll see my three official challenges.) For the Ngaio Marsh Reading Challenge, I had planned to read at least one of her thirty-two (?) Inspector Alleyn novels' a month, beginning with the first and working my way through the series,. The first month has already been and gone. Did you see it? Appears that Plan A is taking an early dive. Goodness knows what Plan B is. It's early days, anyway. A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh is sitting on my desk beckoning to be read. It does overlap my official challenge - the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge. No loss there, then. You can find out more about our Golden Age Queen of Crime, Ngaio Marsh, right HERE.

The King's Speech

2011-01-31T20:23:00.005+13:00

This is worth a watch. Colin Firth, of course, is brilliant as Bertie (Queen Elizabeth's father) and deserves all the awards he's raking in at present. Surprisingly, some of the scenes pricked a few tears and stifled sobs from the audience, including ourselves.

My one gripe was the quality of the movie - too dark and dreary, definitely not the clarity seen as advertised on television. But once you're absorbed in the movie you forget about trivial matters.

Bertie has a speech impediment and finds an unorthodox speech therapist from the Antipodes to help him. Wonderful story. Great cast. Excellent acting from Helena Bonham-Carter (for a small role) and Jeffery Rush. Go see it.

THE BOMBER by Liza Marklund - a sort of dialogue.

2011-01-27T14:55:00.008+13:00

I’ve written heaps today. I’ve got some time. Hubby’s lying outside in the hammock under the sprawling tree, sun dappling the grass below, cicadas raucous as hell. Funny. I didn’t hear them earlier. I note he’s reading Jo Nesbo’s The Snowman. Scary.

“What’s that book like?” I say, hovering above him.

No answer.

“Ahoy there. What’s that book like?”

“Shh!”

Sigh. I jump in the hammock and it swings high, the branch holding one end up, whining. Leaves and dust and insects come twirling down like dirty rain. Hubby nearly falls out and I giggle.

“Hey!” he shouts, nudging me.

“So what’s that book like?”

“You wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“But I’ve read The Leopard.”

“You couldn’t handle it, though. Too gory, you said. Brutal! You prefer cosies.”

“I didn’t say that at all!”

He picks up his book and carries on reading.

Maybe I did.

The branch is protesting louder even though the hammock’s come to a standstill. The ground beneath is hard, dry summer-hard. I don't move anyway; remain squished up next to him and say nothing. One minute passes. It must be a bloody good book. Well, of course it is. It’s Jo Nesbo. Another minute passes. I seem to be making a lot of sighing noises.

“Whaddaya want?” he says at last, flipping a page over.

“Not much.”

He lets out a laugh and continues reading.

“Got any recommendations besides that?”

“Nope.”

“Come on. You read three books last week.”

“The Bomber.”

“Oh yeah. I saw that. What’s it like?”

“Excellent.”

He flips another page. Silence. I give him the elbow.

He sighs and drops The Snowman on his chest. “It’s written by a Swedish woman, someone Marklund. It’s in the spare room somewhere, under all that mess. A bomb went off in the Olympic stadium and someone important is blown to smithereens – nothing too graphic for you. The police are not saying much. The main character is a woman journalist and covers the story. She knows more than the police." He hesitates, then, " She has a husband and two kids. Her job keeps her very busy and she feels guilty and for those reasons alone, I think you’ll like the book.”

I turn to stare at him. He picks his book up and is once again absorbed in its grip. But not without a reassuring tap on my arm first. Which makes me smile.

I’m half way through the The Bomber now. I really DO like it. The story is set in Stockholm and written in 2000 but reads as if it’s today. It's a compelling story, but what stands out, is how women who work in high profile positions or demanding, challenging jobs away from home have difficulty juggling their professions with their home-life. It’s a strong theme and comes through the actions and behaviours and thoughts of the characters without exaggeration. I have to know who blew up the woman and a man though, and why? I already have a sneaky suspicion why? Most are led to believe it was a terrorist attack … definitely not a cosy but still within my grasp ...

Synopsis time.

2011-01-23T08:47:00.007+13:00

So I’m back to writing a synopsis. The Internet is flooded with blogs or posts (or recommended books) on how to write a synopsis? Which do you choose? They’re all very helpful, but it’s easy to spend hours trawling through each one to find what you need or glean something extra. I’m not sure what that is exactly. Anyway, I discovered Anne Mini’s blog a couple of years' ago, a genius in my opinion, who offers an encyclopaedia of writing advice and information. It’s quite dense but if you go down the right-hand column she’s categorised everything neatly and orderly with topics galore for your convenience.

Anne offers advice for the story written with three narrative voices. Me. What a godsend. You can check out her blog for the basics. What is a synopsis? How to write a synopsis? How to ‘anything’ in the realm of writing.

In the case of three narrative voices, compressing a novel into a one-page synopsis is something of a feat. The first bit of advice is to tell the story of the book, not the individual protagonists, or:

introduce the major characters and premise (s)
demonstrate the primary conflict (s)
show what’s at stake for the protagonist (s)
ideally, give some indication of the tone and voice of the book.

That’s what I’m working with at present. I spent yesterday tapping one out and let it rest overnight, then pulled it out this morning. ‘Delete’ button is as good as ‘Buy Now’ button. So back to square one. Practise makes perfect, right?

You can find Anne’s blog HERE.

Just Kids by Patti Smith

2011-01-22T07:15:00.002+13:00

The 1960s, a time of cultural and political upheaval, remains a fascinating period in history, particularly in the US. I’m always drawn to the smaller detail, the iconic, things representative of those revolutionary times: love beads, tie-dye, psychedelia, flower power, flares and tassels, Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Jackie Kennedy etc etera. Just Kids is rewarding in that sense. But Just Kids by musician Patti Smith is a lot more. It's a coming-of-age-story, a beautifully told memoir about the author growing up in NYC with her soul mate, controversial photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe. The book won the National Book Award for non-fiction in September 2010. You can find a delightful review HERE by Maggie Rainey-Smith.

I bought the e-version of Just Kids and wonder if it’s a mistake to read autobiographies from a gadget rather than the printed form.

The e-version has its advantages such as price - this was $10 with a discount coupon instead of $25+ for the paperback or $50 for the hardback. (If you've got a Kobo, the 20% discount ends tomorrow!) But the printed book as we know is a more tangible or even palpable experience (depending on your viewpoint) when it comes to reading biographies that usually include images. I always enjoy flicking through to the photo section so I can fit the words or a description, a scene evoked, to a face, object or place. The e-version doesn’t provide images, although the device is capable of doing so, and if it did, I fear the quality and experience would be diminished or lost. Next time I'll do a bit of juggling before purchasing, always difficult when you can so easily push a button and voila!

Welcome Swallow?

2011-01-21T06:55:00.003+13:00

Shopping in town last weekend, we stumbled across a pile of bird poop outside a Harvey Norman store. We followed the white trail skywards and there under the eaves was a birds’ nest. It was high enough but vulnerable and precarious-looking. The brood of four didn’t twitter or blink or fluff a feather. They were just perched there staring out. If it wasn’t for the telltale bird poop, you’d think it was an ornament or something handmade, stuck there like a Christmas deco someone had forgotten to get down and put away in a box for next year. I think they’re swallows. They seemed content and cosy, though. A crowd had gathered and the noise escalated - my camera flashed, cell-phones came out - clickety-click, kids and parents oohed and aahed. They still hadn't budged or fluttered. Not a twitch. They looked petrified, probably pretending they were stuffed birds or a toy. So cute.

10 Commandments for the Happy Writer

2011-01-20T09:30:00.003+13:00

Ha ha! I just roared when I read the last commandment of the Ten Commandments for the Happy Writer.

COMMANDMENT TEN Keep Writing - Didn't find an agent? Keep writing. Book didn't sell? Keep writing. Book sold? Keep writing. OMG an asteroid is going to crash into Earth and enshroud the planet in ten feet of ash? Keep writing. People will need something to read in the resulting permanent winter.

Read the other nine HERE. Priceless!

On top of the Cop Shop from the Sky Tower.

2011-01-19T11:59:00.004+13:00

A couple of weeks ago Hubby and I went out for dinner. It’s a rare thing. Hubby is not ‘out for dinner’ man, he prefers ‘my lovely home-cooking’. What-ever. :D

Somehow I persuaded him to take me to the revolving restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower. Since it’s a rare thing, may as well go out with ‘purses blazing’.

We caught the outside elevator up, and I along with another couple kept our gaze at the scratches on the wall facing inwards. Hubby stood up against the glass section looking outwards, at the beautiful view. Overly excited I suppose, I’d forgotten the restaurant was 328 metres off the ground.

From the lookout we took photos of Auckland city, a magnificent 360 degree view. We even caught a 'jumper' falling past the lookout window, which was frightening, and had viewers gasping or stifling a scream. It was a kid. Dangling.

After that bit of excitement we caught the lift another floor or two up and stepped into the revolving restaurant. We were shown to our table and once seated, we and everyone else moved in a clockwise rotation. It takes an hour to complete a circle. Cameras were whirring and shooting. At first I felt nauseous, but then I got used to it. A wine or six helps. The view is truly amazing; if there had been a radiant blue sky it would’ve been postcard perfect or a bedazzling landscape painting.

On the city centre side, the harbour was bustling with yachts and ferries gliding to and fro, and the buildings resembled lego blocks. I often felt compelled to reach down and shuffle them around, pick up pieces and examine them closely. (I've used zoom in these photos, so they don't exactly show the scale of difference.)

We ordered our food and ate it. Quietly. To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend the food to anyone. My ‘lovely home-cooking’ beats it hands down including my manners! But I would definitely recommend the view!

This is Albert Park at Auckland University.

It conjures up my own days there – sprawled on the grass under the gnarled oak trees eating lunch, discussing a psychology lecture with fellow students. I didn’t finish my degree there, I had to home-school my ten-year-old, and picked up my studies again by correspondence through Massey University.

A bit late to be showing now, but at the time who could resist taking this photo.

He used to sit on top of the Farmers building which I think they’ve demolished and replaced with something more modern – steel and glass, perhaps.

Had to get a ground shot on the way home and was great to see Santa in the middle of Queen Street, on top of the bookstore, Whitcoulls.

Had to shoot this.

The central cop shop has had a paint job and appears to blend in with the neighbours, but those little square windows suggest something different – uniformity, mystery, privacy, control …

The top floor is the police bar. I’ve been in there. I used to work on the seventh floor in Records and later, on the very bottom floor in the Watch House where the front-liners bring in the baddies for processing. It was a time when machismo and the drinking culture was rife and worse, undercover cops were turning into drug addicts or suffering from PTSD and no one knew and later when they did, no one wanted to know. The Red squad (elite police group, now defunct) was born around then and the Bastion Point protests (Maori land grievance) had been and gone, but the Springbook tour and protests (march against Apartheid/rugby conflict) was in its prime. This is all yonks ago and my age is showing. And times have changed. In retrospect, it was the most interesting and rewarding job I'd ever had, even though I was quite young and saw a lot, and had access (under-age) to the police bar. Having said that I was well protected by the section of police I worked with.

My story is set in modern day Auckland and it’s no wonder, I wrote a few scenes from inside that building.

The Genius in All of Us.

2011-01-13T13:40:00.004+13:00

If you're an aspiring writer (like me) and at times feel inadequate as a writer, particularly if you compare yourself to the 'genius' one, the 'gifted', the 'born-writer' and so forth, read The Genius in All of Us. The gist of it goes thusly: 'practise makes perfect - write every day'.

You can find more from THESTORYBRIDGE blog.

Round-up for 2010.

2011-01-08T15:50:00.013+13:00

This might seem a bit late but hey, you know the drill - the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Year, the ongoing food, drink, family and visitors aplenty.

Fellow bloggers have posted round-ups, resolutions, challenges etc etera for 2011. I’m going to throw in one of my own, so here’s my ‘round-up’ of the year's main events for 2010, in no particular order:

Confession time: I started a blog back in mid 2008 called Aspiring Writer and decided to take a break. I missed it and came up with A Certain Book in February and like it much better.
Blogged 222 times.
Completed the Diploma in Proofreading in December.
Read thirty books in a year; a record for me.
Went to Fiji for the first time to attend a wedding. Highlight – stood on a slimy toad (accidentally).
Finished a good 3^rd draft of my novel.
Having a NZ author read my novel-in-progress and provide feedback (twice). I am very grateful for the invaluable input.
Got in the top 10 of 20 aspiring writers long-listed out of more than 80 submissions in a writing competition organised by Huia publishers – the main prize (went to six winners): a mentor, financial support and possible publication.
Attended my first writing workshop facilitated by NZ novelist and creative writing teacher James George.
Best loved book of the year: Freedom by Johnathan Franzen
My mum visited for a week! We're like sisters and did sisterly stuff together. Fun, fun, fun.

A big thank you and much appreciation from those few who take the time to pop in and read my blog and comment.

READING CHALLENGE: Missing Julia by Catherine Dunne

2011-01-07T22:08:00.007+13:00

READING CHALLENGE: Irish Challenge and Off The Shelf Challenge 2011
TITLE: Missing Julia by Catherine Dunne
SETTING: Ireland
PUBLISHER: MacMillan 2010

PURCHASE: Amazon
WEBSITE: here

I'll have to skirt around the important issue at the heart of this novel, otherwise I might end up giving the entire show away.

Julia, sixty-years-old and a retired doctor, disappears. Not abducted or kidnapped, nor raped and murdered, which is a huge relief after the spate of crime reading I’ve been punching out lately. Time to take stock and pepper my crime spree with cosy reading and versatility. I digress already.

Julia disappears of her own will and leaves behind an idyllic life in Dublin: A beautiful home; William, the man she loves; Melissa, her needy daughter; and trusted friends from medical school day's. The big question is why. The reader is not relieved of this until two-thirds through the story. Some readers will find this plot device irritating, but for me it works fine because of the characterisation and good writing.

There are two parallel narratives running here: Julia’s and William’s. As the story meanders along we learn that Julia has a past, a secret that has finally caught up with her, one that could land her in prison. And William, desperate to find her, discovers through piecemeal clues who the woman he loves, really is.

Dunne creates an intriguing and wonderfully written page-turner, and explores a topical issue, without being forceful or didactic, to enlighten us. Set in Dublin, London and India (the taxi scene in India is hilarious, reminding me of my own experience in China).

A couple of passages shone that I relished and there are plenty more, but I could just plagiarise the whole book on my blog in that case.

The character William is a successful crime writer. I chuckled and thought the following passage was apt considering William’s predicament in the story. And in the real real world, would resonate for some, if not all fiction writers, I suspect:

“He’s always been perceptive, always had a good eye for detail – or so his readers seem to think. Except in real life, he thinks wryly. In real life, the plot seems to run away from him, cantering off into an unknown future while he just stands there: unable to do more than lock the stable door. At least with his thriller characters, he could wrestle them to the ground, get them into an arm-lock when they threatened to get out of control. They knew he could terminate them with the lethal weapon of a full stop. Or a ‘delete’ key. They usually obliged, allowing themselves to be beaten into submission.”

Melissa, not a likable character and thankfully plays a minor role, is angry at her mother for abandoning them, leaving without a word. Shocked at the realisation, the word ‘disappear' is hard to voice:

“Melissa has taken hold of the word at its four corners, shaken it out like a tablecloth. It falls into the sudden silence, white and whispery.”

William, a very likable fellow, baffled but not miffed, attempts to make sense of Julia's disappearance, questioning himself - was it something he had said or done that made her disappear :

“Sitting there, he allows himself to remember her on the first evening they’d met. It’s the memory that has been hurting at him all day, insisting that he unfold it, open out its pleats, regard all the glittering contents spread before him.”

There's a love story woven into the delicate fabric of this novel like a gold thread and a glimmer of hope as the end draws near. This was a thoroughly enjoyable and cosy read.

Another reading challenge.

2011-01-02T15:40:00.004+13:00

Since we're planning a trip to Ireland (among other places) in the future - my Hubby's family hail from there (Carrick-on-Shannon), the Irish reading challenge has been tempting. So here I am. Signed up and all.

There are three levels -

Shamrock level: 2 books

Luck o' the Irish level: 4 books

Kiss The Blarney Stone level: 6 books

I was going to play it safe and stick with two books, but I tend to dive in the deep end when new challenges are put before me. With the festive part of Christmas and New Year's over however, my head is feeling rational, sensible, tightly screwed in. So. I think I'll go for the middle, the Luck o' the Irish level! Two books I've chosen thus far:

1. The Burning by Jane Casey

2. Missing Julia by Catherine Dunne

For more information clickety-click HERE.

ABOUT MY W.I.P

2011-01-01T09:09:00.002+13:00

I will be busily editing and proofreading, polishing my novel to a gem over these coming months. I'll also be focussing on other writing pursuits and probably won't appear on my blog as often as I would like. I hope to blog at least once or twice a week and will definitely visit my favourite blogs and comment, as well as draw inspiration from all you wonderful readers and writers. :)

Holiday fun and a scene from my novel.

2010-12-29T09:15:00.005+13:00

Slanting rain pebbles the window and patters the roof. I love rain but didn’t expect gloomy, threatening clouds over the Christmas and pre-New Year period.

Here’s what Hubby got me for Christmas:

I’ve heard much about this biography and can’t wait to dive in.

We spent some time at Matakana, a touristy place north of Auckland. I was surprised to see more Kiwis than overseas tourists dining out and milling about town. It’s a classy place for us, but my extra present had to come from here:

The Village Bookshop is a boutique store and there are some pretentious, glamorous, tempting books to seduce customers like me. I could think of a few, no, a dozen to take back home and indulge in. Fortunately, common sense prevailed. Hope you don’t mind the vehicles parked inside the shop. J

A few doors along, I stumbled into this little surprise - Red Letter Day:

A store that sells specialty stationery: a selection of seals, moleskine journals, everything pen and paper, including fountain pens. I bought a Lamy for a hefty sum and will ever only utter the price with my hands cupped over my mouth. I do love the way the ink flows easily from the nib as it glides across the page. Reminds me of my youth: those curly flicks and links at the end of a consonant, blotting paper bleeding blue, and inky, poisoned finger tips.

Cute bicycles like this are like magnets to me. They always say, ‘Come ride me, now!’.

We had brunch at the Matakana Market Kitchen:

This had an inviting atmosphere - a stream and garden to ponder at. Ducks floating in the stream kept looking over expectantly - a flying crust from a kindly patron? Seagulls and sparrows would come swooping in, but the resident Mr Slinky would leap off a table and scramble onto the walkway, frightening the intruders away. Best bird-poop deterrent ever. Mr Slinky was very friendly otherwise and swaggered about as if he owned the place. I was surprised he had free rein to slouch in the middle of a table full of patrons. Like I would've, they doted over him. Mr Slinky had mastered the fine 'purr and nudge' of attracting attention.

Sorry. This image is a bit in your face. I snapped it in a hurry:

It was my vegetarian breakfast platter; not photographing it would’ve been an insult. It was delicious and then some. See those crumbed things? When it arrived on the table, I thought they were chicken nuggets! Fish nibbles deep-fried in beer batter! They were neither. When I sliced into one, a bright yellow liquid trickled out. Eggs! Fascinating. I can’t remember what they called them – deep-fried or crumbed eggs?

After eating and drinking too much, a visit to the most frequented place on earth was inevitable. I tend to hold on till I get home, but who could resist this! Hubby couldn’t:

Men on the left, women to the right. Have you seen those new hand-drying gadgets? You slide both hands down a slot and bring them back out slowly. 10 seconds. Dry. Magic.

On the way home we stopped off at Devonport on the North Shore (Auckland) where a couple of scenes in my story take place. I needed to get a feel for the lay of the land – the promenade, the pohutakawa trees, galleries and second-hand book shops, weekend markets, a saturation of cafes and restaurants tumbling out of old buildings onto the street, the mingling smell of exotic foods wafting up and down the streets, into shops and vehicles. The harbour view and the city looming opposite. I could just as easily have googled, but I am one who needs the visceral experience. Gorgeous place. Similar to Ponsonby, the most cultured suburb in Auckland (also where story is set).

Before hitting the harbour bridge, Hubby braked outside Frank Sargeson’s writing residence in Takapuna. It seemed rude to drive past without stopping. In all the year’s I had lived on the Shore, I had no idea about this place. It was closed, but I managed to click a couple of photos from the car:

As we drove off, past the driveway we could see down the flank of the old fibrolite walls. I was surprised to see the lawns a foot tall, straggly, its uncared for appearance. The place looks as if it’s going to collapse, disappear underground, oppressed by more than tall grass but encroaching, modern housing.

I wanted a panoramic image of Auckland city. The best site to do this is from the North Shore side, before entry onto the harbour bridge. But the sky was bristling grey (I've enhanced it here) and the tide was right out. It's also illegal to stop at the site only dare-devils would take a chance at. So chicken here, took frustrating random shots crossing the bridge at 80-100 kmph! Most of them turned out blurry or crooked or boring. This was my one lucky shot:

My story is set in various places around Auckland including central city - cosmopolitan, city of sails, population - four million. An image of Auckland glittering in the night would be ideal - always beautiful on the harbour. Here is a scene from my work-in-progress:

'Kaye lives one street along where Vivienne's supposed to meet her. It's her rental property they've moved into, a fine bungalow in need of a few repairs, charming nevertheless. Their previous residence had been on Takapuna beach, a modern construction boasting palms and natives that sloped down the front section to meet silky, white sand and sparkling waters. Their new abode still maintains a view of the sea, even though it faces the city and not the uninterrupted span of sky that meets the horizon they had been accustomed to. At night, from their kitchen window Auckland city glows, surprisingly beautifully, with the sky tower shooting upwards like a giant syringe swathed in rainbow colour. In the harbour there's always the odd cruise ship or passenger ferry strung with colourful lights floating by, silent as mist ... '

Books, Challenges, DVDs, Blogs, WIP, Kobo, Xmas, Best Reads 2010.

2010-12-20T07:50:00.006+13:00

I finished The Missing by Jane Casey yesterday, a pacey thriller with an admirable female protagonist. Character and plot are well balanced, and there are plenty of red herrings, twists and turns to entertain and challenge. My one drawback in crime fiction is constantly coming across stories in which children are the victims of violent crime, which seems to be a stand-out subject matter, crime writers are interested in. At least, those I'm picking up. Blacklands by Linda Bauer is another, which I'm reading now and so far, so good. If it's handled well without the gratuitous or gory and graphic bits to wade through, and the ending brings insight, justice and a sense of relief, I can't complain. I should mention The Missing comes out tops and in the last post forgot to add it was short-listed for the Irish Crime awards. The Burning, Casey's second novel, is out now and also available in ebook form.

Feeling under the weather earlier in the week, I lay in bed and zeroed in on a couple of DVDs. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas which had me glued to the screen from start to end, and also had me brimming with tears in those last scenes (Hubby included and he's a stoic). An eight-year-old German boy befriends a Jewish boy in a concentration camp, a barbed-wire fence separating them. Innocence is the predominant theme in this war piece. Very impressive acting by Asa Butterfield who plays Bruno, the German boy. A remarkable story and well, a real tear-jerker. In Crazy Heart Jeff Bridges plays a washed up country singer, his career in tatters. Life on the road for years' has taken its toll - broken marriages, absent father figure, drugs and alcohol, the usual demons. His rocky road to redemption hangs on the love of a young, solo mother and journalist. Bridges deserved the 2010 Oscar for Best Actor in this film.

In the right-hand column you’ll note I’m participating in two reading challenges next year. I’ve been thinking of adding a few more such as the Irish challenge, the Aussie challenge and the Global challenge. I should also think about drawing the line somewhere - now there's a challenge. You see, I'm also on the prowl for a Ngaio Marsh challenge that would overlap with the Vintage Mysteries challenge, but there isn’t one out there as far as I’m aware. So, I’m going to start an unofficial challenge if you like and attempt one Ngaio Marsh book a month. In 2009 Harper (an imprint of HarperCollins UK) reprinted Ngaio Marsh’s complete works (a run of 32) in omnibus editions. I’m beginning with book 1 and plan to work my way through to the last. Fun! Anyone care to join?

Have you come across Andrea Eames blog at A Cat of Impossible Colour yet? I’ve been following Andrea for almost two years now and every day eagerly await her next posting. She writes engagingly and has journaled the trials and tribulations of writing a first novel, from its rough draft stages through rejection after rejection letter to its final, shiny, golden publication. What an amazing young woman she is and an inspiration! Check out her just arrived in the post The Cry of the Go Away Bird HERE. I can't wait to read it.

My own WIP is plodding along and will wing its way back down south around mid-January for an overview and feedback. How I appreciate this author’s input. I also have another reader in Stockholm - a daughter with a good eye and worthy feedback. Thanks love.

We’re off to Matakana (North of Auckland city) for the Xmas period. Extravagant for us but we’re feeling indulgent this year. There are craft and food markets and vineyards to visit. There’s the classy Village Bookshop for me but only touching, oohing and aahing allowed which is code for ‘GET NOW!’ It’s also code for ‘visit bookshop when other half is ferreting about in man shop’. :-)

For my Xmas present, dear Hubby is going to slather a new coat of paint in my writing den over the holidays and new curtains are going up. Green is my favourite colour. I'll be on the hunt for green curtaining with contrasting colours – gold and pink? Striking. When it's complete, I'll post up a few boastful pics. Could be a while, though.

Some very good news: my KOBO eReader is back in action which makes me a happy camper.

And to top off the year, here are my three favourite reads for 2010:

Cut & Run by Alex Bosco who won the Ngaio Marsh Award this year.
A Quiet Belief In Angels by RJ Ellory
Freedom by Johnathan Franzen

Finally. I’m away until January so to my small following: Have yourself a jolly Christmas and New Year! :D

Kobo eReader & What I am Reading.

2010-12-16T16:40:00.010+13:00

I purchased my first ebook with my Kobo reader last weekend. It was fabulous. I could lie down any ole how and read without the size and weight of a physical book to contend with. I could hold and operate it in the palm of one hand without any pages flicking back or forth if I needed to scratch my nose, or a tome of a book collapsing on my face if I slipped into dreamland.

Yesterday I purchased another book, just like that (how easy), but wouldn’t download onto my Kobo reader except my Mac. After hours of reading through Kobo know-how literature, I discovered my old firmware (I bought this in June!) wasn’t compatible with purchases from the Kobo website (There was nothing to tell me this in the first place). To rectify the small problem I had to download the more updated version of firmware onto my Kobo reader. So that’s what I did. Followed the instructions to the letter. Easy-peasy.

But disaster hit.

The download was taking too long, which immediately told me something was up.

Then it stopped processing.

So did everything else on the Kobo.

It won’t start.

It won’t do a thing.

It is now completely inoperable!

So I spent this morning fretting and cursing while searching for assistance. Fortunately an 0800 number was available. After explaining my plight with a nice young Canadian lady who put up with my slightly curt voice, all they could offer was to send my problem to the next level (2) which would be dealt with accordingly over the next couple of days. So I am patiently waiting for the verdict.

I am reading two books at present, one on my Kobo website library (the one I couldn't dowload onto my eReader):

And the other from my local library downtown:

I am also reading both books at the same time, which isn’t a good idea when both stories revolve around the loss of a missing child and the destruction it has wrought upon their family. I haven’t confused the two thus far. In The Missing by Jane Casey a sibling goes missing, and in the ensuing years the parents have divorced, the mother is an alcoholic and the remaining child (now an adult) is left to pick up the pieces. In Blacklands by Belinda Bauer a twelve-year-old boy is compelled to search for his missing Uncle who disappeared in the 1970s so he can help his mother and grandmother overcome their grief and suffering. In crime fiction the subject matter can be cliché I suppose, but the way the story is spun is often unique and riveting enough to hold the reader's attention, particularly Bauer’s book. She writes from the little boy’s voice, which I’ve come across once before in crime fiction, but not as a main protagonist. These are both debut novels (Bauer won this year's dagger award) and crime fiction authors to watch for (click on the highlights for more).

Almost Christmas

2010-12-11T13:15:00.002+13:00

Whoa! Only two weeks left! And almost time to put the Chrissy Tree up. Since it's empty nest here, we're going simple - a few candles, and flowers from the garden to decorate the table. A photo or two on the blog.

Pohutakawa tree (a native of New Zealand), not quite in full bloom, and the only tree in the Reserve here boasting festive colour.

Stunning close-up. I was trying to capture the bee crawling through the nettles.

Had to throw this in - an early Christmas gift from my Mum. Called a 'Hot Cherry' Zantedeschia (Calla Lily); adds a touch of class to any planting scheme.

Saw this figure morphing out of cloud a minute ago. Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't paint the sky as vivid and striking as iPhoto.

Hope you are having a restful or productive weekend.

Finished!

2010-12-08T10:30:00.005+13:00

I've been enjoying and reviewing too many books lately. Sometimes I need a hard nudge to remind me about the novel-in-progress. This morning I finished my fourteenth assignment for the Proofreading course I've been chipping away at for, oh, about a year and a half. It's my last assignment, and I've just been for a stroll down the road to post it. What a relief!

(For those interested in the course see NZIBS - they run a heap of other writing courses, and there's a new one out next year called How To Write Crime, Mystery & Murder Thrillers.)

I thought at the rate I was going, I'd never finish with the deadline (after an extension was granted) looming closer and closer - the end of this month. Now don't expect my blog to look perfectly edited. Certainly, I'm better at proofreading my work, but it doesn't make me a fully-fledged editor. I'm still learning, and I've already forgotten half the proofreading marks. I think I'm better at editing or proofreading someone else's work than my own. Anyway, with the course out of the way, I'm free to spend more time polishing the novel. Now where did I put it.

Following The Detectives: Real Locations In Crime Fiction (A review)

2010-12-07T21:30:00.005+13:00

In contrast to the non-fiction crime book of murder-related facts and detail, Following The Detectives: Real Locations in Crime Fiction (2010) is a surprisingly engaging read, bursting with entertainment and insight. Eleven crime-fiction experts including Declan Burke and Peter Rozovsky offer up their knowledge regarding a favourite or renowned crime writer from their homeland or a particular part of the globe. Aside from a short essay about the author and their sleuth, and the city he/she sets their story in, the pages are pleasantly colourful with images of real-life cafes and streets frequented by their characters. In addition, each contribution provides a double-page spread of a map pinpointing such places, including other favourite haunts and locations where an event or crime scene is played out in the author’s novel. There is also a website and film/TV/theatre box with useful information, and a bit of trivia or short bio of the fictional sleuth such as their preferred weapon or favourite cafe. Settings range from New Orleans and Los Angeles to Iceland and Sweden.

I was pleased to note that I had read at least one novel by four of the authors chosen, and though I haven’t read any of Henning Mankell’s novels (Sweden) but seen the English television adaptation, I included it in my initial interest. Capturing the soul and spirit of a place is equally as important as plot and character in a novel. In fact, place, could be considered a character itself.

Paretsky’s mean streets of Chicago – ‘… City of gangster Al Capone … the Prohibition years, crooked politics and the development of jazz a saving grace. What crime writer could ask for a better stage?’ Not a place I would jump on a plane in a hurry to visit. On the other hand, James Lee Burke’s evocative New Orleans might suit – all those seductive descriptions of the landscape and visceral, ‘… and you could smell coffee and fresh-baked bread in the small grocery stores and the dank, cool, odour of wild spearmint and old brick in the passageways. Every scrolled-iron balcony along the street seemed overgrown with a tangle of potted roses, bougainvillea, azaleas, and flaming hibiscus … ' (Dixie City Jam, 1994)

Compared to Chicago’s hell, Iceland is heaven. Arnaldur Indridason might have set his stories in a small place with little real crime, but Iceland is a physically vulnerable place. Sleuth Erlundur investigates Missing Persons, people who might have disappeared in a frightening blizzard, or risen to the surface after a lake drains or the ice melts.

There is much more in this book than I am condensing here - a collector's item, a gem for the avid crime reader. Editor, Maxim Jakubowski, in his introduction says Following The Detectives is not a travel book but could serve useful as a ‘handy companion on your journeys’. Neither is it a reference book for ‘seeking deep insights into classic crime books and the authors who wrote them. Rather, it’s something of both.’ The book encourages those who might have overlooked an excellent mystery writer or provokes them into exploring the ‘real world behind the stories’. It’s a lovely book to own. I think it’s the first of its kind (correct me if it isn't), and a cool Christmas gift.

Two Reading Challenges for 2011

2010-12-06T12:10:00.005+13:00

I thought I may as well make a decision now. I am going to participate in the 'Golden Age Girls' level (5-7 books) for The Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge 2011 I posted about yesterday (below). I'm also going to take the plunge and participate in the Off The Shelf Reading Challenge 2011. This challenge should help straighten, but not necessarily shorten, my cascading TBR pile. Maybe a teen-weeny bit. I've chosen the easy level 'Tempted' (5 books).

There are certain guidelines to follow, for example, the Off The Shelf Challenge must include books from your TBR pile or list only. New books are excluded. The aim of the challenge is to reduce your present (from Jan 1) Mt TBR. You can overlap other challenges if you wish, but I'm going to stick with reading between 10 and 12 books. Challenges for 2011 begin Jan 1 - Dec 31.

Here is my selection for the Off The Shelf challenge:

The Corrections by Johnathan Franzen
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Lee Harper
Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson
NZ Detectives by John Lockyer
Missing Julia by Catherine Dunn

From the previous two book fairs in our local community, I found a half dozen Ngaio Marsh and a few Agatha Christie novels. They are waiting to be plucked out of the dusty pile and given deserved attention. But for the Vintage Mysteries, I'm going to borrow from the library and begin with their first publication and work my way from there. I only need 5-7 books for this challenge.

For more information, you can link to Bev for the Vintage Mystery Challenge 2011 and Bookish Ardour for the Off The Shelf Challenge 2011 HERE and HERE.

Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge 2011

2010-12-05T10:50:00.003+13:00

I’ve been trawling blogs to find out what Reading challenges there are for 2011. Quite a few I see, but I’m not definite on which one to participate in. I am, however, thinking of the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge 2011. Though I prefer contemporary mysteries and thrillers, I think I’m ready to embark further afield in the crime genre. There are six levels in this challenge. You choose one level (or more) and read the number of books allocated.

In A Murderous Mood: 4-6 books

Get A Clue: 7-9 books

Hot On The Trail: 10-12 books

Capture The Criminal: 13-15 books

Take ‘Em To Trial: 16+ books

The Golden Age Girls: Read 5-7 books from female authors from the vintage years.

Cherchez Le Homme: Read 5-7 books from male authors from the vintage years.

Decisions! Decisions! This is my first reading challenge. At first I wondered if I would find the time, but considering 2010 has been bustling with activity and I’ve managed to speckle the year reading up to thirty books, I don’t think I’ll have much trouble completing the challenge. Fun!

I’ll update you when I’ve made up my mind. If you’re interested check out this BLOG which lists up to EIGHT reading challenges for 2011. Some of the participants are taking on more than one!

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

2010-12-02T00:58:00.021+13:00

'Defies categorisation ... contains startling moments of truth, and its insights into human nature are simply superb.' Sunday Times

1975

When police rookies Barry and Tracy find a child at home locked inside with his mother (who has been deceased for three weeks), they call in the detectives. But what takes them so long to get there? The child is whisked away and sent to an orphanage but where? Tracy could’ve loved that poor child. Nobody will tell her anything. Not the social worker, the doctor, not Barry, or her superiors. The more curious she gets the more she’s told to keep her nose out. Case open and shut.

2010

Tracy is retired from the Leeds police force and works in security. She often thinks about that case, the little boy, the secrecy. Still single and lonely, she's feeling maternal, so maternal that one day in a moment of madness, she watches a little girl being maltreated by a prostitute she knows, and offers to buy the child off her for a large sum. Feeling like a kidnapper she finds herself on the run, but from who, she’s not quite sure.

Tilly is an aging actress who is slowly losing her grip. In one of her bad spells, she recalls as a young woman losing something else - her baby, a black baby to a black man, taken at birth. During a lucid period she witnesses Tracy swapping money for the child. She’d like that child for herself.

Enter Private Investigator Brodie Jackson. He’s searching for the biological parents of an adopted woman who lives in New Zealand. On a break and in a park, he witnesses the terrible abuse of a dog by a nasty man and rescues it. Melancholy and lonely, Jackson keeps it for company, even shares a hotel bed with it.

When Jackson hunts down Barry, now a Superintendent in the police force, Barry is desperate to contact Tracy. Barry knows about an incident in 1975. He had no choice. All for one, one for all. Over the years it’s affected his sad marriage, ruined his kid, his life. The past is eating him up and the day of reckoning is drawing nearer.

Throw in another PI by the name of, Jackson? Brian Jackson that is. His male client is searching for his parents he was taken from as a child some thirty years' ago. Brian is looking for Tracy just like Barry and Jackson Brodie and a few retired police and a couple of thugs.

These bizzare events and entertaining characters clash and collide as plot and sub-plot unravel into a terrific story.

I chipped away at this a few weeks’ back, then tossed it aside. Atkinson is a brilliant writer and I'm a huge fan, so I picked it up again and persevered. This is not your conventional crime story which the author is known for. She writes exuberantly, regularly taking you off course and treating you to detail and description and character which is delightful instead of distracting. Her characters dance and leap off the pages, it's impossible not to notice. There's a sadness in her stories too, but is effortlessly counterbalanced by much wit and humour, another Atkinson trait and also a delightful treat. I found myself chuckling and laughing out loud every few pages despite earlier misgivings.

There were some interesting main themes that stood out: police corruption, mothers and childless women, neglected or dispossesed children. This is largely about the 'responsibility to protect' whether it be your mates in trouble, your wife and family, a mistreated child, even a dog! I do recommend you read Started Early, Took My Dog in one sitting as there is plenty happening and much to absorb. More on Atkinson HERE.

Invisible Evidence

2010-11-22T13:30:00.001+13:00

This little gem was waiting to be picked up at the library this morning. I can't wait to open the pages and consume the latest forensic techniques for crime-solving; perfect fodder for the budding crime writer! (Thanks Debbie)

Also, I'll be back next week with a review or two. My mum was supposed to come and stay a few weeks ago but couldn't make it. She rang this morning and said she was arriving this afternoon! Yikes. I couldn't believe how much housework I got done in a couple of minutes. It's in this kind of context, I seem to figure out what 'housework' actually means. Anyhoo, we don't get to see each other as much as we'd like, so it'll be a busy and fun time together. Have a great week!

Body Work by Sara Paretsky (Review)

2010-11-20T13:00:00.011+13:00

V.I. Warshawski and friends attend a show called The Body Artist at a nightclub, a show that turns out to be a naked woman sitting on stage causing a ripple of amazement among the audience. But her body is covered in paint or painted with images of artistic expression like a canvas. Strange music is played in the background and the images from her body are projected onto big screens and also filmed. The artist encourages and invites members of the audience to participate by adding their own images of expression to her body.

When Petra, Warshawki’s impetuous niece, takes up a waiting job at the club, she feels obligated to protect her in a place that seems slightly dodgy. But when management finds out Warshawski is a private investigator, her presence in the club is no longer welcome, which only makes Warshawski suspicious and more present than ever. She becomes aware of two regular patrons to the show, who both consistently take their turn at painting their images on the Body Artist - a man with a paunch and a shady disposition who draws numbers like codes on her buttocks; and on her back, a young woman draws a logo representing a body armour company. The latter always seems to stir up the table of veteran soldiers at the front of the stage, one soldier in particular.

Then on a cold Chicago winter's night, outside the club, the young woman is shot dead. The soldier at the table singled out as the more violent of the group and believed to be suffering PTSD is arrested for her murder. A simple case for the police, but when the soldier’s distraught father hires Warshawski to investigate his son’s arrest and near death, she digs up information that stretches all the way across to war-torn Baghdad where the murdered woman’s sister worked for a private company – a body armour supply division. What follows is an explosion of cover-ups, blackmail, money laundering, murder and attempted murder, greed and corruption.

This story hits on those multi-billion dollar corporations contracted by the American Department of Defense. It opens your eyes up to some ugly truths (even when you want to keep them squeezed shut) about the way the US manages their wars, and the permanent damage it does to those soldiers and families caught up in its intricate web (a theme I encountered in Johnathan Franzen’s novel Freedom).

Paretsky is an accomplished and polished writer, and widely knowledgeable about the social and political issues facing her country; major themes woven throughout her Warshawski series. Although the subject matter is heavy and often distressing, she balances it nicely with her regular cast of characters: her neighbour, old Mr Contreras, is fatherly and protective and sweet; her musician boyfriend, Jake, who's squeamish when he sees blood and never complains about her dangerous job; Petra, her impulsive cousin, a pain in the arse but a lovable pain; friends who will always back her up even if they get grouchy with her for risking her life; and not to forget her two faithful dogs. Warshawski is so well developed she maintains her reputation as ‘sexy, smart, tough, uncompromising, self-critical, all round wonderful heroine who cannot walk away from injustice’. A lot like the author, I suspect.

Even though it starts off slow (for me, anyway) it picks up about half-way through. There’s a great showdown at the end despite it feeling a little on the implausible side, but artistic license usually takes care of that. Definitely recommend Body Work by Sara Paretsky. See more HERE.

Sizzling!

2010-11-17T11:09:00.007+13:00

Summer is officially three weeks’ away according to the weather man but today is positively sizzling! I leaped barefoot down the path to the letterbox and all the way back. Could’ve fried my bacon and eggs down it.

After a few adjustments on my novel early this morning, I packed it away in a drawer to simmer for a while, and plan to attack my toppling pile of mystery, suspense, literary and non-fiction books. I can’t wait to dive in and report back. I also can’t wait to watch my TBR pile reduce a couple of inches each day. Ha! I am delusional! I keep adding another one or two or three on top, as you do.

I know it’s early days but have you done your Christmas shopping yet? I sent off my daughter’s present this morning. She lives in Stockholm with her boyfriend. I bought her a jar of marmite, a pot of Manuka honey, a stuffed Kiwi toy wearing a Santa hat and a DVD called Boy. They are all reminders of home, and a hint.

For the rest of today, I’m going to spread out on the lawn with the daisies and soak up some sun, and attempt to finish Paretsky’s book Body Work which I’ve since found out is due back tomorrow, not today. Yay! More on Paretsky later.

Watch that last paragraph.

2010-11-16T14:45:00.002+13:00

Over the past few weeks I’ve been busy as a bee combing over the last five or six chapters of my novel. I’m surprised at how much jigging I’ve done, nothing too major, just little pieces moved from one place to another or removed completely. These are first draft pages or new chapters so I’m not surprised. The process was a smooth ride instead of that bumpy ride in the dark, reminding me of what comes with this territory. I’m pretty stoked with the outcome today, but I’m not one hundred percent happy with it yet. I’ll give it another going over tomorrow and comb out a few more knots and trim those loose ends I missed.

Come to think of it, there was one major flaw I discovered that might be worth mentioning. It was the last paragraph of my story. The last out of a 100,000+ word novel. At the workshop I attended recently, our facilitator James George, said, (I'm paraphrasing here) 'never ever end your novel with a paragraph that summarises the entire story!' Apparently, it’s a common occurrence. So when I came across that six-line-paragraph at the end of my novel, I yelped first, then quickly punched DELETE!!

The Last Station

2010-11-15T19:20:00.009+13:00

For almost two weeks now, I’ve been trying to break through Paretsky’s novel Body Work but can’t seem to do it. I’m a quarter of the way through and the book is due back at the library this Wednesday. It’s a slow burn for me. Slow on my part when I go meandering off on other pleasures, such as watching DVDs, that I never really have the time for. Anyhow.

I’m not a Tolstoy fan, but once-upon-a-time I attempted War and Peace and failed to finish – it is an exhaustingly and extremely long novel. It is also a masterpiece. I had however, read Anna Karenina, a romantic novel, and another masterpiece. I loved it. It is also less than half the length of War and Peace, or thereabouts.

The Last Station is based on the 1990 novel of the same name, which is part fact and part fiction, or true fiction. The movie is a love story or a meditation on love.

It is the last days of Count Tolstoy’s life and the explosive ending of his forty-eight year marriage to Countess Sofya. Sofya battles her husband and daughter (they had 13 children) and his devoted disciple Chertkov for copyright to Tolstoy’s writings. But Chertkov, an obsessed Tolstoyan, urges the Count to sign a new will leaving the rights to the people of Russia. When young Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) is appointed as the new secretary to Tolstoy, he witnesses and records the tempestuous and passionate relationship between the Count and Countess during their last days. As their long marriage begins to crumble they fall out of love (Tolstoy mainly), while Bulgakov falls in love with a Tolstoyan woman.

I think the counter-love story and the sprinkling of humour in this movie makes it a success. I’d recommend The Last Station if you enjoy a love story set in 1910(when Tolstoy died) or if you're interested in capturing a chapter or the last chapter in the life of a genius, a larger-than-life figure. Helen Mirren plays Sofya, a stubborn strong-willed woman and is, as always, just fabulous. I do prefer her as the detective inspector in the television series Prime Suspect however, and I loved her in Calendar Girls.

My mate Kobo.

2010-11-13T16:35:00.001+13:00

I haven't mentioned my e-reader since I bought it well over a few months ago. The simple reason being, I haven't used it. I know. What is wrong with me? It's been sitting on my bookshelf with the old guys and gals. I even forgot where. In my writing den, an entire wall is devoted to books galore and half-hearted attempts at sorting them out like a library - neat and tidy. But I'm messy at heart, so my bookshelf is restless and quirky, a hodgepodge of lovely chaos. I did eventually find my e-reader, squeezed between those predecessors. I had a hard time pulling it out by the way, which conjured up funny images of old guys and gals smothering new-kid-on-the-block to death. New kid is slim and light and simple to operate in a clever way. It fits snugly in owner's handbag or pocket and gets to travel to faraway places. I deeply sympathise with old folks' jealousy.

Anyhow, I've been reading posts about bloggers and their e-readers and the praise they've been lavishing upon them. Not so long ago e-readers were treated badly - sticks and stones hurled at them from all directions. Now it seems they are making peace with the world or vice-versa. I should mention it's not the reason why I've ignored my e-reader. At least I don't think it is. I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. It could, however, have something to do with old habits. I might've just gone and contradicted myself there but then I often do. Contradict myself.

I own a Kobo but can't help wonder if I should've waited and bought a Kindle. Everyone seems to own a Kindle. Never mind, this will suffice. I can upgrade at a later date. I must depart now and work out how to buy an e-book. In the back of my mind something tells me buying e-books overseas with a Kobo might have some limitations, even with a Kindle. Sigh.

Crime Writing and Research

2010-11-10T14:30:00.005+13:00

First, I should point out I’m not an expert on research or crime writing in New Zealand, but I thought I might pop up a post about what I’ve learned and discovered so far.

Writing crime fiction or your first crime story helps if you’re a policeman, a lawyer, a journalist, a doctor (pathologist, forensics etc), or anyone involved in policing and the law. They’re specialists, trained in the specific, and know their job inside out. The layperson or crime writer, on the other hand, has to do his/her own specialising in the name of research. If you know anyone in the profession – a friend, a friend of a friend, family member or a neighbour, through work, count yourself lucky. For most of us, this isn’t so and puts us at a disadvantage for those insider tidbits you might not find elsewhere. Never despair. There are other means and ways. You can always approach someone in the profession and arrange an interview but bear in mind, they’re a busy bunch, so you won’t always get the desired result. Last year I set up an interview with a specialist who works alongside the police and she was run off her feet, but was kind enough to give me an hour of her time. (This ‘interview approach’ actually, deserves a separate post, so maybe I’ll expand on that further, at a later date.)

One of our biggest resources, need I say it, is the Internet. These days, however, we’re bombarded with so much information it’s hard to know where to begin. But somehow we manage to trawl through the treasure and the trash and come up with a few sparkly gems. Because NZ is such a small place, it's not too difficult to dig them out. There are some good websites such as TEN-ONE , and believe it or not, our police are social networking on Facebook and most recently, Twitter! These are rich with timely police jargon and insight. If you’re a Tweeter try NZPDelta (the dog squad) or NZPCommunity. Here are some tweets from the past month:

Walking the beat with colleagues along the waterfront and lapping up the beautiful bright sun. Great day for a walk and meet the locals.
Dog just found robbery offender hiding in bathroom. you could say we flushed him out. haha.
Sgt just nabbed 3 offenders stalking rest home residents. they tried to forge signature in shop after stealing money cards. they're crying.
Just got back from doing traffic duties at a fatal accident. Young male victim. Pretty hard ringing and telling his family.

Also, this year, we’ve been hammered with NZ Police reality shows and documentaries:

Ten One 7
Border Patrol
Motorway Patrol
Road Cops
Dog Squad
In The Line Of Fire
The Investigator
NZ Detectives

There are more but I can’t think of them off hand. Very useful I must say. It’s a lot of reality to watch (I don’t watch all of them!) but really, it’s great for mining, and imagining, plucking out something useful or helpful for your compelling, authentic story. On the other hand, you may not need reality television to help you along. Reading crime fiction (and non-fiction) is probably our biggest resource and enough on its own. I guess it varies according to you and your story. You could always avoid the specialties and write a domestic crime story like Linwood Barclay, and still come up with something just as compelling. Have fun.

p.s. Hmm. Silly Internet Provider is playing up so if you sent a comment, it might have gone astray. Sorry about that.

Did You Know You Can Save Your Blog?

2010-11-09T07:35:00.001+13:00

Clarissa Draper on her blog Listen To The Voices posted about saving your blog. Bloggers have been known to lose their blogs which is frightening to hear. It's a simple process:

open your dashboard
click settings, basic and export blog (don't worry, your blog will still remain on Blogger)
click download blog
click save file and OK
once saved, find the file and email it to yourself

Easy-peasy. Do it now!

Don't Miss This - FUN!

2010-11-06T10:39:00.003+13:00

Oh, this is fun! Take a 46 second break and laugh. Give your fingers a break (excuse the pun) from tapping out that novel or poem and watch this. Enjoy.

Writing From The Inside Out by Dennis Palumbo

2010-11-05T20:14:00.008+13:00

Dennis Palumbo is a psychotherapist and a crime fiction writer. He’s written a book of crime stories and this year he released his first novel - a psychological thriller called Mirror Image. (It’s in my toppling tbr pile.) He also wrote the book on the right there – Writing From The Inside Out which I’ve been dabbling in and enjoying as I plough through everything else around me.

In this empathetic and insightful book, Palumbo points out that reading about writing has two advantages – to hone the craft and ‘primarily because it helps to alleviate the sense of isolation that can accompany writing’. He devotes a chapter called A Writer’s Library to books he utilises in his own writing and recommends. Some he says are well known such as:

Writing Down The Bones and Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg (must get)
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (my favourite)
The Artist’s Way by Julie Cameron (those morning pages blow out the cobwebs)
Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (has mythological underpinnings)

Palumbo also suggests books that ‘speak more powerfully and tellingly to the inner life of the writer’ which fills the soul and ‘addresses the core of the creative experience’. I won’t list all of them but here are three:

The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Life Work by Donald Hall
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – ‘Sixty thousand perfect words. A masterpiece of lucidity, banked emotional fire, sustained tone, depth, and heart’ (the only novel he sites).

He mentions other worthy books on writing such as those by Ray Bradbury and Stephen King.

Mr Palumbo's book is a great companion, one I'd recommend for your own library. He also blogs right HERE.

Body Work by Sarah Paretsky

2010-11-04T14:05:00.004+13:00

Earlier, I went for a stroll downtown and marvelled at the Sushi shop I’d forgotten was here. I had a nice lunch. Further down the road, I bought some reading glasses from the $2.00 shop. They cost $2.50! My last pair got crunched underfoot and the spare pair went walkabout. On the way home, I nipped in to the library and tried to keep my eyes glued to the floor, away from the HOT PICK stand. But failed miserably. No Kiwi crime novels to be seen there, but plenty of international crime fiction hogging all the space! It didn’t stop me from diving for this book:

I haven’t seen it rolling around any blogs lately. It looks like a brilliant read. Interestingly, I couldn't find the Hodder & Stoughton publication - which I have here in my hand - anywhere on the Internet! It has a much more appealing cover design - edgier, shadier and portentous. From the front cover: A sexy, smart, tough, uncompromising, self-critical, all round wonderful heroine who cannot walk away from injustice. I loved Sarah Paretsky’s last novel Hardball. Body Work is her fifteenth Warshawski to date! Glad to see a female writer up there with the males - see Robinson and Billingham below. More from Paretsky HERE. (Will try for a review by the end of next week.)

New Story

2010-11-03T08:00:00.001+13:00

I must stress how polishing the diamond in its later development demands less stamina, less anxiety and less time. For me, it is so. I am breathing better and sleeping better as a result. I’m also exercising more (nothing to applaud over, however) and conscious of what I’m eating (less chocolate). I’m reading my local paper again instead of novels and blogs or websites every day. I haven’t a clue what’s been happening in my community - everyone could’ve deserted the place and I wouldn’t have noticed. When I’m out strolling, my head isn’t bustling or bursting with character and plot as much. It feels lighter and clearer and spacious. I notice more than a blur of houses and gardens in the street, or the sound of a bird tweeting, a vehicle spluttering up the road, or a plane scoring overhead. I notice the veins of a leaf puffing up in the wind; or a breeze, cool on my skin; and the taste of salt from the river where the mangroves are rife. I hear the Glenbrook train rattling uphill and blowing its quaint steam-whistle across the countryside, with images of nineteenth century folk waving their hats out the window, smiling. No. I hardly noticed any of this until recently. And I'm hankering for company, feeling sociable again. The question to myself is: Why can’t I do all this while I’m tapping out the novel! Lots of reasons of course, but I’m not going to get into that here. I wouldn’t know where to begin. My analytical brain will only short-circuit and singe off a few more neurons. Best to leave that to the experts.

In retrospect, I haven’t finished my novel but it’s quickly heading that way (again). I’m already cooking up a new story in my head (time to clutter the brain again), however many false starts I’ve had. I looked back at some grand ideas I began a couple of month’s ago. They, sadly, have been given the finger-in-the-mouth treatment and deleted off the planet! Yes. I have a new and great idea, and I’ve got my shoes back on, itching to leap ahead. Wish me luck. Sometimes I put my shoes on without any socks.

Bad Boy by Peter Robinson

2010-11-02T12:17:00.019+13:00

I seem to grab the most compelling reads when it comes to crime fiction. Most of my selection and thanks go to fellow bloggers’ reviews and recommendations. Bloggy world is so rich and full of treasure, just a finger-tip's touch away, I can't imagine being without.

In Peter Robinson’s Bad Boy, DCI Alan Banks is on a well-deserved holiday away from his job and licking his wounds after breaking up with his girlfriend. While enjoying the sights and sounds of San Francisco, events back home at headquarters (Yorkshire) begin to take a turn. An incident involving a firearm and the Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs) is linked to Banks’s personal friends and his daughter, Tracy.

Tracy has fallen out with her father, and in a rebellious streak hooks up with her best friend’s recently dumped boyfriend, Jaff, a handsome, charming fellow and attractive to most women. He’s also a little edgy, and somewhat dodgy - a bad boy, which Tracy likes. And all too soon, she's on the run with him, from what though, she doesn’t know exactly. What starts out as exciting and daring, a little bit of fun, becomes something else altogether and very dangerous. Tracy witnesses her father’s ex girlfriend and police colleague, Annie, being gunned down. Dazed and afraid, she realises she’s on the run from the police in the company of a killer and not as a girlfriend anymore but a hostage. After a lovely, relaxed holiday away, Banks returns home and …

Banks is also a series detective like Thorne (see previous post). There are eighteen previous novels about detective Banks. Eighteen! Talk about prolific!

In this novel, Peter Robinson peppers his story with some great descriptions of setting without overdoing it, which I really enjoyed. A sense of place and mood conveys a lot about character and plot. 'Bright tractors ploughed in the stubble and turned the earth a dark fecund brown. Smells of the recent harvest and of the coming autumn chill mingled in the mild air. On the moors, the purple heather was in bloom. By the roadside, swallows gathered on the telephone wires preparing for their long flight to South Africa. Annie Cabbott wished she could go with them as she drove the last few miles to work that Monday morning.'

Click the above highlight for more on Robinson.

From The Dead by Mark Billingham

2010-10-31T11:12:00.009+13:00

While everyone is out and about this morning, I thought I’d sneak this in. I finished this unputdownable book late last night.

Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is contacted by Anna, a young, keen as mustard but green as grass Private Investigator. Anna's client is searching for her missing daughter who she believes has been kidnapped by her ex-husband, the ex-husband who has miraculously risen from the dead. Thorne and his team had been the investigators into his death ten years prior, but now it seems they’d bungled something up. A search for the daughter and her father is set in motion including the real identity of the body they’d found, burned to a crisp, all those years ago.

Meanwhile, Thorne is dealing with another case - another missing daughter, and the man who might be responsible for her disappearance, acquitted after a very publicised trial. The suspect uses the media to gain public sympathy and an outlet for bagging the police and their shoddy investigation.

On top of his stressful job and closer to home, Thorne and his girlfriend, Louise, are coping with personal trauma, too fresh and sensitive to resolve or speak of. For Thorne, however, Anna’s youth and naivety provides a welcome distraction. She’s easy to talk to without being sarcastic or intent on winding him up like his colleagues do. She’s exuberant and talks openly about the rift between her and her mother, talks too much in fact and tells silly jokes which he finds endearing. It’s not romance here though, it’s what’s happening to Thorne inside – this friendship, the missing girls, the women involved are mirror reflections of the loss and death he himself is suffering. When the investigation gathers momentum and the danger escalates, Thorne attempts to terminate Anna’s involvement, but this is her client, her case too, and she’s not going anywhere without him.

From The Dead drew me in from the start and kept me enthralled to the end. Thorne is a plausible and well-developed character. There's a really nice balance played out between his job as a policeman and his personal life. He’s one of those characters who gets under your skin in a visceral way, it’s impossible not to care or empathise.

This is the first Mark Billingham book I’ve read and DI Thorne is a series detective, his ninth appearance in a novel. You can also read this as a stand-alone by the way. I’m tempted to read the previous eight books, but there’s never enough time when you’re trying to write your own novel.

DONG!

2010-10-30T13:56:00.006+13:00

Somebody dong me on the head, please. Ouch! I said dong, not WHACK! Yes. There’s a difference. Whack knocks you out but dong, well, dong imparts an echo, repetition or reminder in the memory section of the brain i.e. ‘Bout time you posted, ‘bout time you posted, ‘bout time you posted …

Despite the whack, here I am. With not much to post. With little time.

My Hubby took me for my first motorbike ride today. The last time I sat on the back of a motorbike was more than two decades ago. I don’t remember much about it because I was stoned, so was my driver, who was also a policeman. Long story. I can’t believe I just revealed that. Anyway, I was nervous about jumping on the back of my Hubby's bike because really, I’m afraid of the things, they’re noisy and vulnerable and dangerous. No. I didn’t find an old roach in my trinket box of memories, though that would’ve put an interesting twist on things. So after an encouraging talk from Hubby, including a great big lecture about what I should and shouldn’t do as a passenger, I started freaking - visions of mangled steel, a wheel rolling down a hill in to a fence; helmets found in a paddock, a dead cow or two …

After my slight meltdown, I managed to compose myself before Hubby wrote me off. Next, I squeezed into black leathers and a black helmet and felt like a fly in a space suit. A fly in a soothing-pink suit would’ve helped. It was heavy and claustrophobic but insulating and protective too, which I realised was the whole point of dressing up like spaceman. Eventually, we drove off; in to the sunset I’d like to say. We hit the wind instead, a strong westerly blowing us about like tumbleweed, but I exaggerate. Hubby’s a very good motorcyclist. What I enjoyed most was the speed, everything whipping by in ribbons of colour, and the wind sneaking under my helmet, those country smells. Even if you’re more exposed, it’s the thrill of being closer somehow, closer to nature, earth-bound, grounded, something … I’m not exactly sure, yet. We’re planning a Christmas trip up North and I’ll be able to report back on my experiences, if I survive the practise runs around town and country between now and then, first.

Writing Workshop

2010-10-25T18:37:00.002+13:00

I had a wonderful time at the writers’ workshop I attended this weekend. Author James George was our facilitator, and Huia publishers and affiliated groups paid for our accommodation and meals. We were all very grateful for this.

The workshop explored various aspects of the novel:

· Show, don’t tell

· Character

· Dialogue

· POV

· Structure

It was helpful to get back in to the nuts and bolts of writing through a workshop method, to have everything reinforced and provide further insight for fine-tuning the novel.

Our guest speaker was Albert Wendt, an endearing, jolly man, and a great storyteller. I haven’t read any of his novels or poetry and wish that I had. You can tap HERE to find out more about this prize-winning author.

The workshop package also included a complimentary copy of Tina Makereti’s book of short stories Once Upon A Time In Aotearoa published by Huia, which I had written up in my notebook of must-get-asap a month ago. How lucky am I? I’ve slipped it in somewhere near the top of my precarious-looking TBR pile. The image below doesn't give it justice here but the cover design (back and front) is beautiful. More about Tina HERE.

Away for two weeks.

2010-10-19T12:59:00.005+13:00

One cannot sit inside writing all day deprived of a fresh blue sky and the sun dappling down reaching into winter corners, without lapping it up and lying in a hammock next to my nice garden. I am dreaming! I have a wad of paper in front of me with red strikes on every page and transferring those marks to Word is turning out to be a very long and tedious chore indeed. Some would suggest I proofread and edit straight from Word (even use track-changes), but that technique doesn’t work well for me. I need to have something tangible to hold on to, run my fingers across the words and down the pages, scrawl notes in columns with my lovely red pen, cross out and insert. Like many, I have a better grasp or perspective on my story that way.

I’m away for the next two weeks. My Mum’s coming to stay for one of them, and this labour weekend my writing workshop begins on Friday and ends Sunday. Apparently it will be creatively exhausting, as if I don’t feel that already, but I’m looking forward to what I might learn and meeting the other twelve long-listed winners from the Huia Publishers writing competition I entered my novel in a few months back.

For the upcoming workshop we had to send in a one-page excerpt of our work-in-progress for the facilitator to peruse. It’s always hard to find just one page that shows up your writing talent and so forth. We’re not expected to come up with that, but something that will give an idea of the writing techniques we’ve employed and our writing style. A page of dialogue or description isn’t going to cut it, so I found a page that incorporates dialogue, description, first person voice, action, internal monologue, theme and writing style. Hopefully it’s OK. I couldn’t believe how much time I spent on it though, buffing and polishing so hard, I’m sure I erased the essence right out of it.

Better get back to work I suppose. Sigh. Yawn. I think it’s time for some fuel to fire up those sleepy synaptic transmissions going on upstairs.

Surrender by Donna Malane

2010-10-18T17:15:00.007+13:00

Missing person’s expert, Diane Rowe, operates her own business and works for the police. When her sister Niki is murdered and with easy access to resources at police HQ, she can’t help but get involved in the investigation. When the crime team find their 'suspect' and no evidence to ‘nail’ him the case becomes a dead-end investigation. Diane gets frustrated and angry with the police for letting the murderer slip through their fingers, badgering and harassing them to keep searching. This gets her nowhere except for interfering in a police investigation and confrontation with the C/O. As a result, she loses her police job. Losing her biggest contract, however, doesn’t compare to losing her husband Sean, a detective, who also worked on her sister’s case. Unable to cope living with Diane’s grief and obsession over her dead sister, he takes up residence with another woman.

A year later, when Sean informs Diane that Niki’s suspected killer, Snow, had confessed to her murder in an undercover operation (evidence that was deemed inadmissible) is found murdered in the same cruel way, she begins investigating his death, despite repeated warnings not to interfere with this case as well. At the same time she’s been re-hired by the police to investigate the skeletal remains of a person found in the Rimutaka forest with the aid of Robbie, an attractive colleague from Wainuiomata police station.

Surrender is a steady-paced, poignant and suspenseful read with a little sprinkling of humour. The main protagonist is vulnerable in many ways but strong and feisty in others, which makes her an interesting and compelling figure. The setting is well evoked, in and around Wellington, particularly the harrowing scene at Pencarrow Head and the unsettling bush tramp through the Rimutakas. It was difficult to put this book down for a breath of air, which explains why I read it in one sitting - holding my breath.

Donna Malane won the 2010 NZSA Pindar Publishing Prize competition this year out of 500 entrants. It seems apt to win, not only for its merit of course, but for the promotion of crime writing in New Zealand, which lately, seems to be having something of a renaissance or reincarnation after a long period of dormancy. Long may it live!