A book tour and some very big weather.

I started writing this on Friday, and it is in danger of becoming out of date before I can finish it, so I'm posting it now... will be back soon to add to it.

I am sitting in my brother's kitchen in Wellington on a borrowed computer, waiting for my flight to Christchurch and hoping it hasn't been delayed. I was due to fly out last night at 7.45pm. I had been worried for days that the forecasted snow in Christchurch was going to keep me out; in the end it was Wellington's Big Storm that kept me in.

And what a storm it was. Pictures emerging this morning were gobsmacking -- of the road torn up along the South Coast, of Island Bay's seawall in tattered chunks. I thought of the children I visited on Wednesday as part of the NZ Post Children's Book Festival week, and hoped that they weren't too scared and managed to stay safe and dry, that their homes weren't damaged.

Horrible weather aside, I had a wonderful couple of days visiting schools to talk about Red Rocks. I was particularly excited to be going to Island Bay and Owhiro Bay schools, as Red Rocks is set in their neighbourhood. When I talked about my initial idea, about a strange woman walking around the streets looking in people's houses, searching for something (her skin, perhaps), I suggested to the children that perhaps it was their houses she might have been looking into. All the kids were familiar with seals and had been to Red Rocks, and many of the children live on Owhiro Bay Parade, where Jake's dad lives. Lots of them had an idea of which house it might be, but of course the house itself came out of my imagination, based loosely on one I had spotted, which had a sleepout on the hill above it (as a few of them do), a perfect writing shed.

At Roseneath school I talked about how I had taken some of my father's words, which I talked about here, and put them into Red Rocks. The teacher pointed to the wall behind me, where the exact quote from the Wellington Writers' Walk was pinned. The kids had studied the Writers' Walk, knew the quote well, and had spotted it in the book. I was most impressed. They presented me with a lovely handmade card when I left, which I'll add to my gallery of Cool Stuff Kids Have Made Me and post soon.

I have a big thank you for John McIntyre from The Children's Bookshop, who drove me around for the day and minded me, and who also managed to sell a few books along the way.

After Wellington, I was on the train to Masterton, where I was taken out for a very nice dinner by David Hedley of Hedley's Books fame. I was dying for a glass of wine at that point, it has to be said. We had never met before but had plenty of bookish stuff to talk about over a good local Pinot Noir.

On Thursday I visited three schools in Masterton: Masterton Intermediate, Solway College and Hadlow School. All were fantastic audiences, and I was ably looked after by Penny from Featherston library who tirelessly drove me around.

That's it for now! I made it back to Christchurch on Friday evening. More soon...

Avenues.

Avenues, a Christchurch magazine, has very admirably put a writer on their cover - me! I'm very happy with the story, which is one of the more in-depth interviews I've done in my career. It covers all of my books and a bit of my family and personal history, as well as a peek at my taxidermy and weird ephemera collection. And happily, it is available online, right here: Avenues.

Good news!

I am delighted to announce (somewhat belatedly) that Red Rocks is a finalist in the Junior Fiction category of the NZ Post Children's Book Awards. I am the newbie in a line-up of some big names in NZ children's lit - Kate de Goldi and Greg O'Brien, Jack Lasenby, Barbara Else and David Hill. For information about the awards, and to vote in the Children's Choice Award (hint hint) go here.

To celebrate I have made a public confession of the secret I planted in Red Rocks. The photo below gives you some clue. To read the secret, and the story behind the picture, go to the Booksellers blog.

NZ Book Month Antics.

Here's a picture of me*, yesterday, talking to about 90 kids at the Shirley Library in Christchurch. Being as how it is New Zealand Book Month and the theme is "Books Change Lives", I took along a selection of books that changed my life - books I still own from childhood. The kids seemed fascinated to see the small, yellowed, 1970s versions of books they still read today: Danny the Champion of the World, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I also showed them an old copy of Under the Mountain and was very pleased to find how many of them had read it, and how many had seen the film. I was able to tell them about how I auditioned for the TV series when I was 10 years old, and how (in my mind) my chances were thwarted by my older brother, who went on to be the voice of Theo in the Radio NZ version, then to  direct and co-write the film all those years later (still rubbing my face in it!).

I then talked about writing Red Rocks and read a spooky passage. One little girl in the front looked so scared I had to keep reading to the end of the chapter so she knew that Jake, the protagonist, was okay and was not actually murdered by seals.

We finished up with some questions from the audience and what great questions they were. Unlike adults at literary festivals, kids really don't hold back. The best one was "What do you like about Red Rocks?" which really made me stop and think. In the end, I said I liked how personal a story it was to me, about how much I had unwittingly inserted myself and my experiences into it, and how my two boys, when they are old enough, will be able to read it and I can use it to tell them about my own childhood.

I'll be doing it all over again tomorrow (Friday March 15th) at Christchurch's South Library, at 11.30am, and very much looking forward to it.

*Thanks to Zac at Shirley Library for the great photos, and thanks to the library for hosting me.

Happy NZ Book Month.

So it's March already, and that means it's New Zealand Book Month. Sure, I know it's now about all books, to get people reading and buying books, but if you do happen to acquire one of those nifty $5 off vouchers, how about spending it on a New Zealand book? You might even discover somebody new you like. Take a punt. All we need is for more people to read and talk about the books that are unique to this country and to banish the 'cultural cringe' surrounding New Zealand books. It worked for music - let's see if we can do the same for books.

There are lots of fantastic events happening around the country, which are about New Zealand authors. Authors reading, talking and answering questions and if any of them have any special talents, they will probably be on display as well. For more information, you can go the NZ Book Month website or specifically to the events page. 

I'm doing two events: the first is at the Shirley Library in Christchurch, Wednesday March 13 at 11.30, the second at South Library, Friday March 15 at 11.30. I'll be talking about Red Rocks, so it's a good one to bring the kids (ages about 8-12) to. I'll be talking about my inspiration for the story, reading an exciting chapter and answering any questions. I will not have any other special talents on display, sorry.

I hope to see you there.

Happy New Year.

Happy new year to you all! To welcome in the new year, here is a pic of the four notebooks I have on the go, each representing a different project I am working on. At the the moment one seems to be taking precedence over the others in the work stakes, but knowing me, and my skittish work habits of late, this could change at any moment. These do not include the other three ideas I would also like to develop this year, each of which is a huge departure for me. Will I find the time? I've already cut back on my huge television consumption and have even started writing in the evenings, which is a first for me, so who knows?

Maybe this post is the start of a new blogging year. A girl can dream.

My favourite books of 2012.

I thought I’d kick some life back into my blog by completing an annual ritual that I have sadly shunned for the last two years: naming my favourite books. This was the year that my reading returned to form after a period of slackness, and I think it’s because my kids are old enough that I’m not so exhausted that I just fall on the couch and zone out every night. In 2012 I read, or attempted to read (this was also the year of not finishing books if I didn’t want to) 26 books. Here are the highlights, roughly divided into categories. But first, some random facts: only two of these books are by men; eight are by New Zealanders; six of them are by people I know (one of the hazards of being a writer and a reader in a small country); four of them are published for children and young adults; four of them were not published this year; four of them I haven’t actually finished yet but am confident they deserve their place on here; one of them I listened to as an audio book as I jogged around the streets of my neighbourhood, transporting me away from roadworks and broken footpaths to a New World.

So, here are my picks:   

First books by dear friends (yes I am biased but I stand behind my recommendations. These books are wonderful for wildly different reasons)

The Girl Below, Bianca Zander

Sea Fever, Angela Meyer

Zen Under Fire, Marianne Elliot

Books supposedly for young persons (Writing for children has led me to reading children’s books and it has opened up a huge, sparkling world to me)

When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead

The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness

The Apothecary, Maile Meloy

Fire in the Sea, Myke Bartlett

Books that have generally been raved about (and which I have enjoyed very much)

The Forrests, Emily Perkins

A Visit From the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan

Kirsten McDougall, The Invisible Rider

Two books by Janet Frame. 

Gorse is not People, Janet Frame
In her Own Words, Janet Frame



A book by a family member that I have yet to start but I hope the author will forgive me and I just know it will be amazing.

Mad on Radium, Rebecca Priestley


Yes I know I have cheated but it's my list and I'll do what I want. So there.

Publication Day!

It's here - publication day for Red Rocks.  It's always a strange feeling to describe. I sit at home while my book may or may not yet be on the shelves in bookstores around the country. But of course I'm excited, and that's what launch parties are for, to make the author feel like Something Big has happened.

Speaking of launches, mine is at The Children's Bookshop in Kilbirnie on Thursday, June 7, from 5.45-7.30. Come along for a glass of wine, some nibbles and some electrifying speeches from the likes of me and the fabulous Jolisa Gracewood. All are welcome, but it would also be helpful if you could RSVP to reception@randomhouse.co.nz if you are thinking of coming along so we don't run out of aforementioned wine.

The wonderful Children's Bookshop is the perfect venue for the launch, as it's a stone's throw away from the action of the story, which is Wellington's south coast.

I've done a small interview over at the Christchurch Libraries website in celebration. You can read it here.  And in this weekend's Sunday Star Times, I've written a wee piece about the books I loved as a child and the effect they've had on me. Do take a look.

Hope to see you at the launch, and in the meantime, I'm off for a glass of wine to wet my new baby's head well and truly. Cheers.

Festivals & Festivities.

I'm off for my annual dose of literary society - to the Auckland Writers & Readers festival this weekend. I'll be there primarily as a punter, but I will also be chairing this session with Paula Morris and Stephanie Johnson, which should be lively and intelligent given the calibre of the brains and personalities involved (I'm talking about the writers, not the chair... oh never mind). They have both written wonderful novels, based on the lives of their ancestors and there will be a lot to talk about. I am also looking forward to seeing Jeffrey Eugenides, Emily Perkins, Eion Colfer, Geoff Dyer, Jesmyn Ward, Mal Peet, just to name but a few.

Then it'll be back to Christchurch to start preparing for the launch of Red Rocks (see below). The official launch will be at the Children's Bookshop in Kilbirnie on June 7, and I'll be posting more details as I have them. I'm hoping then I can have a bit of a break, but things just seem to thunder on and just as one thing falls out of the wagon, another usually jumps in to take its place.

Introducing... my new book.

I can finally reveal the cover of my new book, Red Rocks, a novel for children aged 8-12, out June 1. Here’s the blurb:

“While holidaying at his father's house, Jake explores Wellington's wild south coast, with its high cliffs, biting winds, and its fierce seals. When he stumbles upon a perfectly preserved sealskin, hidden in a crevice at Red Rocks, he's compelled to take it home and hide it under his bed, setting off a chain of events that threatens to destroy his family. Red Rocks takes the Celtic myth of the selkies, or seal people, and transplants it into the New Zealand landscape, throwing an ordinary boy into an adventure tinged with magic. With its beautiful writing and eerie atmosphere, junior readers will be thrilled and moved by this captivating story.”

It's been exciting watching it come together: first the editing process, then the layouts arriving and needing proofreading. Twice. Choosing a cover design, with lots of back and forth. I love the cover. It's eye-catching and retro looking at the same time, which is kind of fitting, as it's an old-fashioned sort of a kids' adventure, the kind I loved as a child. I see Jake standing in sillouette, very static and grounded on the rock, while he looks out at the wild sky that promises a maelstrom of magical adventure and danger. Will he be tempted?