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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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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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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Phoenix
I thought for the next few posts I’d write a retrospective on my previous novels. Phoenix was my first. This idea began to form when I was working as a journalist. My main female character was a reporter. To begin with. Then as the plot unfolds, she becomes...
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Making a Movie
Recently I was chatting to someone about my first novel. Phoenix. I was telling them the plot. “You should write it as a script,” they said. This person was not the first to suggest making the book into a movie. I have to admit I’m toying with the idea....
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Seasons of Change Series
I’ve been feeling a little guilty. I haven’t done as much work as I’d like on the new novel series. It’s not that I don’t want to. Or that I’m not inspired. The truth is, as I said in a previous post, it’s become a bit difficult to focus....
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Juggling
When I was writing fanfiction, it would not have been unusual for me to have about 10 works in progress. People would ask me, how do you manage to keep it straight? And honestly, it does feel like I’m juggling several things at once. I like to think it’s...
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Writing Something You’re Not So Familiar With
So, almost a month ago I started a new job working as a journalist in a small town. I am loving it so far, and I don’t imagine that will change. Journalism is a far different way of writing. I do try to inject a little bit of a...
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