The Author's Tale

This is the final part of my chat with the amazing New Zealand writer Owen Marshall. Hear about his short stories being picked up for films, his fabulous novels in particular The Larnach's and Pearly Gates, and his wonderful poetry. Owen's latest book of short stories 'New Stories' - https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/new-stories-9781776950010 Landmarks by Owen Marshall, Grahame Sydney and Brian Turn...

Continuing my chat with Owen Marshall we talk about his first book of short stories "Supper Waltz Wilson", the importance of dialogue and setting, along with the value of reviews. Find out more about Owen Marshall at: http://owenmarshall.net.nz/ His new book New Stories is available now: https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/new-stories-9781776950010 Read Eleanor Catton's short story that Owen judged th...

Part one of my chat with the completely wonderful Owen Marshall. If you've never read any New Zealand writing before I highly recommend Owen, he sets the bar extremely high. We discuss his early writing days, who influenced him and we talk "practicing your shots..." You can find out more about Owen from his website http://owenmarshall.net.nz/ Owen's latest book 'New Stories' is published by Pengui...

The final part of my cracking chat with Heather McQuillan. An absolute wordstar! We talk about her delightful children's book Avis and the Promise of Dragons, it's sequel Avis and the Call of the Kraken, her time spent in Dunedin as a writer in residence at the University of Otago College of Education, and I learn more about the trials and wins of publishing. Brought to you by Edition Audiobooks w...

Another fabulous part of my chat with Heather McQuillan. This is a MUST LISTEN to episode for all who love flash fiction, would like to learn how to do it, or simply those who love listening to a great author talk about how they work. We focus on her book 'Where Ocean's Meet' - full of flash fictions. Want to know more about Heather or want to purchase a copy of her books go to: www.heathermcquill...

This is Part Two of my casual chat with the fabulous writer Heather McQuillan who's mastery of words covers writing for children, young adults, short story and flash fiction. In this episode we focus on her dystopian young adult novel 'Nest of Lies' and how to decide what's appropriate or not for a younger reader. Find out more about Heather at her website www.heathermcquillanwriter.com Brought to...

This is the first part of my wonderful chat with Heather McQuillan, another award winning Christchurch based author. The passion she has for her readers is so apparent and her move from - as she calls it - "as teacher who writes to a writer who teaches" is true in every sense of the words. We discuss the origins of her journey as a writer and her first novel - Mind Over Matter, published in 2005 b...

This final part of my discussion with Helen Lowe reinforces my belief that the fantasy writer is a master of words and worlds. We discuss what it takes to keep on track when writing, who has influenced her and how she's going to go forward. I'd like to thank Helen for using some of her precious writing time chatting with me in a chilly meeting room of a public library on a very stormy day. It was...

Listen in on the third part of my wonderful conversation with the fabulous fantasy writer Helen Lowe. In this episode we discuss her first novel Heir of Night which is also the first book in her Wall of Night Series. We discuss the importance of names - people and place - and the fun that a writer can have with language and how you never know where your characters will take you. Other writers ment...

We hear the second part of fantasy writer Helen Lowe's tale. Moving on from her poetry we discuss her first novel Thornspell, the difficulties of being published, and just what a difference it can make having an agent who sees your potential and gets you in front of the right people. Find out more about Helen Lowe at www.helenlowe.info Reading of Thornspell by Elliott Grey Kindly brought to you by...

We start Season Two talking to an amazing fantasy writer - Helen Lowe. In this episode we talk mythology, and poetry, Helen reads for us her poems From the Hill, The Wayfarer and The Sparrows which was read by a past Prime Minister of New Zealand, Dame Jacinda Adern at a memorial for victims of the Christchurch Earthquake. You can find out more about Helen at her website: www.helenlowe.info The Au...

While I'm preparing for season 2 in 2023 I thought I'd share with you an interview done by the New Zealand Society of Authors with NZ based author Philip Temple. You can also listen to other interviews with authors done many years ago at the NZSA website - authors.org.nz If you wish to contact me, with comments, author suggestions or if you'd like to become a sponsor of the show, you can email me...

The New Zealand Heritage Book Awards were held at the St Michael and All Angel's Church in Christchurch on the 20th October 2022. In this episode I chat with the winners of the Best Children's Book, David Hill, and the Best Fiction Jenny Pattrick, about their winning books. David Hill - Coastwatchers Jenny Pattrick - Harbouring You can listen to the full ceremony at https://plainsfm.org.nz/Program...

The New Zealand Heritage Book Awards were held at the St Michael and All Angel's Church in Christchurch on the 20th October 2022. In this episode I chat with the winners of the Best Poetry Book, Janet Newman, and the Wily Publications Award Winner, Nic Low, about their winning books. Janet Newman - Unseasoned Campaigner Nic Low - Uprising You can listen to the full ceremony at https://plainsfm.org...

We take the chance to hear readings from his collection of poetry "Shadowplay"; his children's book "Mallory Mallory Trick or Treat"; an audience favourite 'The True Story of Soap' from Letters to Dr Dee; and a repeat airing of a reading from his YA novel The Assassin of Gleam. Special thanks to the following publishers: Proverse Hong Kong for providing the audio of 'At Fossil Gorge' and 'Hamlet N...

A bonus episode presenting readings from two of Gavin Bishop's books, that hold a very special place in his heart. The first is from Teddy One Eye - The Autobiography of a Teddy Bear which is part of Gavin's own autobiography; the second is Katarina which tells this true story of his great aunt when she was a young woman travelling from her Maori whanau in the Waikato to live with her husband a Sc...

I conclude my discussion with James. We talk about the marketing of 'The Frog Prince', and he offers words of wisdom for the new poet and writer trying to get a break in the New Zealand Market. We also have a reading of his poem 'Five travellers in a small Ford' from his collection of poetry 'Deadpan' published by Otago University Press. 'Five travellers in a small Ford' is read by Drew Noble. You...

I continue my chat with award winning poet and novelist James Norcliffe. We discuss his fabulous fantasy novel for children 'The Loblolly Boy'; the story behind his latest adult novel 'The Frog Prince'; his residency at Randell Cottage; and the pitfalls of multi-publisher agreements. You can find out more about James and his work at jamesnorcliffe.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

I continue my entertaining discussion with award winning poet and novelist James Norcliffe. For anyone wanting to gain an insight into how to write poetry, or simply to play with words and create a story, James is one to listen to. We touch on his witty and touching poems about everyday life, and then we move on to his novels, in particular fantasy and the award winning The Assassin of Gleam. You...

In this episode we discover who influenced the young James to become 'The Poet', where he learnt his craft, how taking his family to China impacted him and the way he views the world. Find out more about James at jamesnorcliffe.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Norcliffe is a multi-award winning poet and novelist who lives on Banks Peninsula, Christchurch, New Zealand. His dry sense of humour and complete honesty about himself and the world makes for wonderful retelling of tales from his life. In this episode we hear about his early childhood and first attempts at writing. You can find out more about James at jamesnorcliffe.com Canterbury Poets Col...

In this episode we conclude our chat about Gavin's very clever picture book The House that Jack Built ,which deals withthe complexities of British Colonisation in New Zealand. We then move on to his new project on the New Zealand Wars; his wonderful autobiographical novel Teddy One-Eye; and we laugh about the difficulties of dealilng with Hollywood, script writing and agents. You can find out more...

Having discovered his family heritage links him to prominent Maori women we discuss their interesting involvement in The New Zealand Wars, and their strong connections to the Anglican Church in New Zealand at the time. We also hear about his hopes and disappointments of working with agents, the reprint of his book 'The House that Jack Built' which includes an inspired dust jacket - a must see for...

Continuing my discussion with award winning children's book author and illustrator Gavin Bishop as we follow the hard work behind Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant. Gavin also takes us on a journey of discovery as he unearths the story behind his Maori heritage and the fabulous family members he discovered. You can find out more about Gavin at his website gavinbishop.com . Hosted on Acast. See aca...

If you haven't listened to parts 1 and 2 of Gavin's tale, and you're an author/illustrator or would like to be - I recommend you listen to those first. In this episode we pick up where we left off last time and hear about how a simple question can change your life. We also hear the story of how difficult it was for Gavin to get his first book published, how determination and looking beyond the squ...