Favourite books – The Count of Monte Cristo
I first read the Count of Monte Cristo as a Classics Illustrated comic. I had a few of these. Prisoner of Zenda, Three Musketeers, The Time Machine. But this was the one that captured my interest the most. To summarise the story, Edmond Dantes is about to marry the...
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History
As a journalist, I often cover events. Sometimes at these events, I meet interesting people. And have interesting discussions. One thing came up today about history. I won’t go into too much detail on the discussion. Except to say that not all versions of historical events are the same....
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Favourite Books: The Changeover
I have to admit that I have not read a lot of Margaret Mahy. Despite her being from New Zealand. I’m not sure why. I think I just didn’t find any stories that appealed to me. Apart from this one. I first found this book when I was 13,...
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Favourite books – Early Autumn by Robert B Parker
I thought I’d do something a little bit different. I was reading another writer’s blog and she did reviews of some authors. So I decided to choose my favourite books and talk about them. Robert B Parker was a prolific writer from the early 1970s until his death in...
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Anzac
This is slightly off-topic but relevant to writing. This week, New Zealand commemorated the 106th anniversary of Anzac Day. For those who aren’t aware, in 1915, Australia and New Zealand soldiers landed on the shores of Gallipoli. It was the second year of the first world war. The campaign...
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Some advice from a fellow author
This week, I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing local author Lyn McConchie. She not only understands the media and gave me some great material, she also gave me some great advice. Those who’ve known me a long time know I sometimes doubt myself. I guess I’ve been a...
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More in the Seasons of Change series
I’ve been doing a bit of work on another book in this series. This one will be the last book in the series. I know it’s out of order, but I have two reasons for this. One is that I felt inspired to work on that one. Two is...
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We’re all in this together
As part of my job, I recently interviewed a couple of writers. With one, he gave me a tip which I researched and decided to use for myself. The second writer, I was able to pass on that same tip and offer some tips of my own. The way...
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Second Time Around
This novel started off as a fanfic. I decided to take the original plot and create original characters. I won’t go into the fandom. The story itself is no longer on the forums. Most of the book is original material anyway. Only some passages, which have nothing to do...
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Letting Go
Letting Go is about a woman who loses her best friend to suicide. Along the way, she meets someone who tries to help her move on. This novel started as me wanting to work through some personal issues. I also wanted to find a way to explain some things...
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