Overkill

In praise of editors

2012-01-29T12:11:00.000+13:00

This week was a mad frenzy of work completing the copy edits for The Faceless. The timing was a bit crappy as it was the last week of the holidays and I'd been looking forward to kicking back and relaxing with the boys. But the timing was also brilliant as my editor happened to be down from Auckland the week before to help her daughter shift house, so we got to meet for a coffee and a chat and discover we were on the same wavelength - which is always good!

One of the things she said made me smile. She was concerned that I'd think her editing was a bit too detailed (she is a grammar and punctuation Queen) and that I might think she was being picky. I said are you kidding - I love that. I love that there is someone there with that eye to detail for all the things I miss or don't think are important. As I said to her, when I send my manuscript in to my agent and publisher, it is the first time anyone other than me has clapped eyes on it. That's the way I operate. I can't bear the thought of anyone else reading it while it is a work in progress, I'd be embarrassed. I have many writer friends who pass segments of work around to trusted friends to critique and give feedback, and that works for them, but for me writing is a solitary art, not even hubby gets a look. So I need my team of editors; my agents editor and publishers editor who first read the manuscript and make suggestions about how I can improve things, because I am so involved in the story I sometimes don't see the obvious. I know what's going to happen and who is who, and of course, I think what I've handed in is perfect, when naturally it is not! I need my copy editor who graciously points out that I've used a favourite word 34 times, and that I might like to think of some other synonyms or restructure the sentence.

As a writer you go through various stages of love and hate with a manuscript. After a couple of lots of revisions I was feeling utterly over this book. But after doing the copy edits, and seeing how changing a few words could polish it up sparkling, I have fallen in love with it again, I feel it has reached its true form.

So a toast to the editors. Bless you all.

A book or two...

2012-01-23T13:09:00.000+13:00

Those of us addicted to books always look forward to Christmas, harbouring hopes of solid rectangular packages under the tree. That didn't happen so much this year, at this point my family have given up hope of knowing what books I do or don't own, so don't buy me books. But fortunately vouchers take the risk out of it for the darlings and some were kind enough to bless me with book shop gift cards. Books that were under the tree were the wonderful Al Brown cook book Stoked. We've test driven a number of the recipes, and salivated over the other pages. I was also delighted to receive a special surprise of Nothing that Meets the Eye by Patricia Highsmith.

I did do a bit of purchasing over the holidays (it would have been rude not to contribute to the local economies of the towns we were visiting), I fell in love with Bruce McKenzie Booksellers in Palmerston North where I found an interesting little number called The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy by Ruth Richardson, an account of the making of Gray's Anatomy that covers everyone from the Mr Henry Gray and Mr Henry Vandyke Carter, to the publishers, wood engravers, the printers and even the women who folded and stitched the pages together.

I also felt the need to buy a little Christopher Hitchens so have Arguably to work my way through.

The books I'm reading at the moment are The Hungry Heart: Journeys with William Colenso, by Peter Wells and The Dead Witness: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Detective Stories, edited by Michael Sims. These are both rather large books, so I may be a while!

Killer songs

2012-01-17T21:58:00.000+13:00

One of the serendipitous discoveries on holiday was music, one album or CD in particular, an album that I loved from my childhood and I'd been carting the vinyl record of it around for the past 25 years but had nothing to play it on. So I couldn't believe my luck when trolling through the vast racks of music at JB HiFi that I spotted a CD of Angel Clare by Art Garfunkel. I know you're all going, seriously? Baby faced Art Garfunkel? Yes seriously. Some albums define your childhood, for me it was Angel Clare, and also ABBA, but hey, we wont go there.

So the other night I got to sit down and listen to this album for the first time in 25 years, and to my delight it was still as fabulous, and charming, and surprising as I remembered. The kids loved it. One of the songs I had forgotten about is a nasty little number called Down in the Willow Garden, and boy did I smile as I listened to the lyrics because this very gentle sounding, folksy song is about murdering his love, Rose Connelly. A year or so back Peter Rozovsky over at Detectives Beyond Borders had a post about songs with killer lyrics and I knew there was a song floating around in my consciousness, but I couldn't quite identify it. Well here it was, with it's gentle tune, and sung by this benign looking white guy with a fro, with lyrics like

'I drew a saber through her,
It was a bloody knife,
I threw her in the river,
Which was a dreadful sight.'

Nice.

You've got to watch the quiet ones.

The full lyrics are here on Art Garfunkel's website. No wonder I turned out to be a crime writer, filling my brain as a child with songs like that!

A new year? Bring it on!

2012-01-16T13:09:00.000+13:00

All has been quiet on the blogging front for a while, the grand reason for the silence? - we actually took a holiday! I mean a real holiday, the first holiday we've had in three years, and boy -oh-boy it was good. It was road trip time, from Dunedin to Auckland and lots of places between. So 3566km later, I feel refreshed and rearing to go. And would you believe it, I didn't read any books while I was away - it was a reading holiday too. And a computer holiday. Instead I indulged in lots of newspapers (we can't get The Dominion Post or the New Zealand Herald in Dunedin) crosswords and Sudoku. Bliss.

Highlights for anyone touring New Zealand with a car load of kids?

Prawn fishing at Taupo - yep, bamboo pole fishing rod + a couple of pleasant hours = yum dinner.
The Auckland Maritime Museum - brilliant. We also hit the Auckland Zoo & the War Memorial Museum.
Walking around or up Mt Maunganui.
Southward Car Museum, north of Paraparaumu. Petrol head heaven.
The Lynley Dodd retrospective at Te Manawa in Palmerston North. She is fabulous.
The cook straight ferry crossing - there's nothing quite like cruising down the Marlborough Sounds.
Driving - you certainly feel like you've seen the country when you've actually traveled every flaming kilometre of it!

The holiday also saw the transition of Mr Nine-year-old into Mr Ten-year-old. Wow, double figures. The occasion called for a cake, and this one was thrown together in a bit of a hurry, but the results were Smurfalicious.

So now I feel rested, restored and ready to face a new year head on. Excellent!!!

Golly, December already?!

2011-12-07T21:57:00.000+13:00

Who stole November? Come on, fess up now, was it you?

Life has been a bit crazy of late, crazy in a good way, not a harried and hectic way. I have just returned from school camp to Queenstown with thirty twelve and thirteen year-olds. It's fun being camp mum, and the trip was fantastic - we had a gold rush theme, so there was exploring Arrowtown, gold miner's camps, Gabrielle's Gully and a great day trip taking the TSS Earnslaw across lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station. We even swam in the lake - a snow melt fed lake is rather nippy!

There have been the usual end of year get togethers, with plenty of good food and chat, and more good food and chat, and some advance planning of the inevitable New Years resolutions to get rid of the results of too much good food and chat.

There's been looking at cover art for The Faceless - and no, I'm not giving any hints, you'll just have to be patient.

Biggest buzz of the week - having Bound listed as one of The Listener's best 100 books for 2011. That is always such a thrill.

But there's no let up on the busy stuff - off to Queenstown again tomorrow for my nieces' high school junior prize giving and my nephew's high school graduation.

Before we know it, Christmas will be here...arghhhhhhh!

Two reasons to celebrate

2011-11-20T14:36:00.000+13:00

Reason number one:

Revisions for The Faceless are finished and I get my life back for a while (and will get to do a few of things I've ignored for a while like blogging, playing with the kids, gardening, cleaning the house...okay, maybe not cleaning the house!)

Reason number two:

My radio show, Write On, which I do for the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors won the best show in the Community Group category in the Otago Access Radio Air Awards! I'm an award winning broadcaster! Last night's awards night was fantastic, and highlighted the true strength of Access Radio, which is giving a voice to the community - the range of groups, individuals and shows was hugely diverse and so inspiring! One of the people I admire most in this world took out the grand prize for best overall show, which is Julie Woods, otherwise known as That Blind Woman. Julie does an incredible show called Cooking Without Looking, and everyone was rapt she took out the big one.

I felt immensely proud and humbled to win the Community Groups category and the judges comments were marvelous. So a huge thank you to the OAR staff, Lesley, Jeff and Geoff for all their support, and The University Book Shop who sponsors the show, and thank you to all the wonderful guests I've had the pleasure of interviewing over the years. Producing and hosting Write On has broadened my horizons in ways I could never have imagined six years ago when I did that first show, feeling so nervous I wanted to throw up! Looking back, there are distinct advantages to lacking the ability to say no!

11:11:11 11/11/11

2011-11-11T11:25:00.000+13:00

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It is Armistice Day, the anniversary of the Armistice that ended the hostilities on the Western Front of the First World War. I have just listened to the boom of canon fire echoing around the hills of Dunedin, and had a huge lump in my throat at the sight and sound of a Mustang flying overhead.

As you know I have a fondness for numbers, so marking 11:11:11 on 11/11/11 was always going to be a priority.

Let this one also mark as a reminder of the waste of human life that is war.

Brave New World - SheKilda

2011-11-03T10:08:00.001+13:00

One of the most interesting panels I was involved in at SheKilda was Brave New World: or the death of the book, which looked at the effects of the digital publishing and social media on the book world. Fellow panelists were PD Martin, Vikki Petraitis, Kylie Fox and Lindy Cameron and the session was chaired by Jane Sullivan. I was very much looking forward to this panel as there had been a flurry of great email between us all before SheKilda.

My fellow panelists had jumped into this brave new world boots and all. In fact Lindy Cameron's reaction to the oncoming age of digital books was in part to form her own publishing company, Clan Destine Press, which publishes print and ebooks. This may seem counter intuitive in an age when many writers are going it alone and self-publishing, but Lindy recognised a need and opportunity to publish great books that were out of print, and new works too. She used the example of her company publishing Kerrie Greenwood's Medea, the first in her Delphic Woman Trilogy, and Vikki Petraitis' The Frankston Serial Killer. Lindy was also invaluable in clearing up some of the fallacies out there about the cost of publishing ebooks, which some larger publishers had used as a reason to sell ebooks and what we all considered to be too high a price, which sparked a great discussion on the pricing of ebooks. It wasn't expensive, software did the work.

Kylie Fox had a different take on the digital world as she and Amanda Wrangles had co-written Arabella Candellarbra and the Questy Thing to End All Questy Things on Facebook! They had taken social networking and used it in an exciting and fun new way to create an epic spoof, which had now been published and was fresh off the press at SheKilda.

One of the interesting points Vikki Petraitis brought up was that in the new digital era traditional large publishers shouldn't be seen as the gatekeepers of what was worth publishing, that their commercial decisions were not an indication that what they published was the only thing worth publishing. The relative ease of self-publishing and the emergence of smaller publishing houses gave opportunity for books on many fascinating topics that larger publishers may reject because they didn't deem them as being commercially worth it. The success of Vikki's The Frankston Serial Killer was a fine example of this self-published book selling very, very well thank you, when the big publishers hadn't thought it would and rejected it. Of course a progression of this is realising that with self-publishing being so easy there is an awful lot of poorly written crap out there, particularly fiction, but more importantly, there is now the opportunity for a lot of worthy work to find a place, particularly special interest, local history and non-fiction books that would not be considered wide enough appeal for big publishers.

P.D Martin talked about epublishing and how that changed how authors get paid, which launched onto an interesting discussion about where the profits go when the author has done all the work and gets a pittance. The opportunity for the author to get all of the profit in self-publishing is one that can't be overlooked! This also lead onto how to get your ebook noticed out there, amongst a sea of millions of them and how the use of social media was invaluable.

One of the most interesting discussions resulted from a question from the floor from Tara Moss about how ebooks can be value-added? We all got to flinging ideas around, from the ability of ebooks to incorporate things like more detailed background information and bibliography material, to the use of more interactive platforms such as iPads, to chucking in a walking tour map of where events in the book happen for anew slant on holiday tourism, to value adding to your print book purchase, buy the book, get the ebook free.

It was a fascinating session, which I learned a lot from, and actually acted on, because I was the only dinosaur in the panel who wasn't using social media and on facebook, so as a result of being nagged by my wonderful fellow panelists I did embark upon that brave new world...

SheKilda - Shamini Flint

2011-10-28T12:01:00.000+13:00

Singapore based writer Shamini Flint completed the happy trio of international guests at SheKilda. Once upon a time she was a corporate lawyer, but now keeps even busier as a writer, mum and, well, that's busy enough, isn't it, let alone chucking in the other things she does. She writes children's fiction and the Inspector Singh Investigates crime fiction series. The over-riding impression of Shamini at the festival was how very funny she is, make that hilarious. Her performance at the Davitt awards night was brilliant and immensely entertaining. Both she and Margie were great fun to be around.

I had the pleasure of being on the A World of Crime session with Shamini, and it was fascinating to see what makes her Inspector Singh tick. Where Margie Orford came from South Africa, which was rife with crime, Shamini lives in Singapore, as does her character, which she complained was ridiculously safe, and the biggest chance you had for getting arrested was for littering. But perceived safety aside, it was harder issues in many Asian countries she traveled to and worked in that compelled her to dig a little deeper into their histories and to embed her stories into the echoes of those. Her most recent book, A Deadly Cambodian Crime Spree was prompted by her feeling bad about her lack of knowledge of the Khymer Rouge and Pol Pot regime. Writing was a constant learning process.

Inspector Singh as a character is fascinating, she created someone who was an outsider, a food loving, fat, sweaty Sikh in Singapore. This was an advantage for her as it meant his bosses were never sure quite what to do with him so took every opportunity to send him away somewhere else, hence his adventures in many Asian countries, and, of course, their cuisine.

Shamini's children's books were also selling well at SheKilda and I enjoyed listening to her talk about the rationale for writing them, her environmental books and in particular her Sasha series of picture books, which follow the travels of a little girl in many interesting and well known places around Asia. I learned a lot from Shamini, who is a great writer and a very savvy business woman to boot.

Shamini was also rugby mad, make that sports mad in general, so with a Rugby World Cup happening at the same time as SheKilda we were both getting plenty of score updates from our respective spouses, although Shamini may have missed a session or two to watch... Anyway, one of my favourite memories of SheKilda was sitting in the Rydges bar with Shamini, Margie and I barracking for South Africa in the quarter final against Australia surrounded by a room full of Aussies. We are brave women.

SheKilda - Margie Orford

2011-10-21T12:03:00.000+13:00

One of the great joys of SheKilda was meeting so many fabulous women, many of whom were writers. Margie Orford, from South Africa, was one of the three International Guests of Honour, along with Shamini Flint and myself. I had the pleasure of listening to Margie on a number of occasions over the convention, in panels and as the star of the show, and every time she was on stage her humour, knowledge and wealth of experience shone through.

Margie opened the convention with the keynote address on Saturday morning, and I have to say afterwards I told her off for raising the bar so high for us fellow international guests to follow! Her talk about the nature of life in South Africa and her own experiences on the business end of the law when she spent a short time in prison as a twenty-one year old for treason captivated us all.

At the A World of Crime session Margie spoke of the immense rate of crime in South Africa, which is so high the difficulty for the writer was to make the reader actually care about this murder over any other. Some how the topic of crime tourism came up and Margie told of some folk who brought their partners or spouses to South Africa to knock them off, thinking that everyone would take it to be yet another random murder in SA and being sorely mistaken because all South Africans knew a pretty woman, or a tourist would never do that or go there and they were inevitably caught out. Takes dumb tourists to a whole new level. She also gave a beautiful description of describing settings in fiction, in response to an audience question. I liked the analogy she gave of using a camera, taking broad shot in scenes that took the wider view, but focusing in on detail in close scenes between people that needed that tension of the minutiae.

In An hour with Margie Orford we heard a bit more detail about that imprisonment, and a few hair-raising moments in the name of research, but also more about her character, Dr Clare Hart, and the story behind the woman. One of the intriguing comments from Margie was how difficult she made life for herself by making her lead character a woman, because in the books Clare puts herself in situations that in reality no woman with a shred of safety awareness and society would do, and she had to find a way of doing this credibly. She would have been far better off making Clare a man. (Although, I think most of us disagreed, in light of her books.) We also enjoyed Margie's honesty about the reality of trying to combine motherhood with writing, and the ways writing won!

It was a great pleasure to be around Margie, who is an extraordinary woman, and this writer certainly learned a lot from her. And yes, one of her books added to the immense weight of my luggage!

When life imitates art - sort of.

2011-10-15T20:44:00.000+13:00

The news in New Zealand has been full of images of the environmental disaster playing out off the shore of Tauranga, with the grounding of the container ship Rena. We have all watched transfixed and horrified as images of oil coming ashore and polluting pristine sand and containers washing up at Mount Maunganui beach and Motiti Island flood the media, usurping even the Rugby World Cup for headline space.

Containers washing up on beaches...hmmmm, that rings a bell. I have had several phone calls and texts from folk commenting on the similarities between reality and a certain novel I happened to write, Containment.

In Containment the containers of the grounded vessel Lauretia wash up on Aramoana Beach near Dunedin. The Rena has struck the Astrolabe reef at Tauranga.

In Containment the locals looted the heck out of the containers, the beginnings of very bad things for a few. In Tauranga the locals have shown far more restraint, and the containers have been well guarded.

Phew, plenty of dissimilarities to make me feel not quite so bad, except for one little coincidence... I was born in Tauranga!

About facebook

2011-10-13T21:39:00.000+13:00

Okay, you know how I've said I wouldn't join facebook? Erm, courtesy of the Brave New world panel at SheKilda and nagging from certain parties (you know who you are) I now have an author page.

I'm waiting for the lightening bolts to strike from on high...

SheKilda - Wow!

2011-10-12T16:17:00.000+13:00

I'm back in the real world, sitting at my computer with a happy smile on my face thinking of the fabulous time I had at SheKilda in Melbourne.

Firstly congratulations to the wonderful group of women brave enough to organise a second SheKilda Australian Women Crime Writers convention, it was a fabulous occasion and I felt privileged to be a part of it. (And yes, Lindy Cameron, there were plenty of witnesses who heard you say you'll happily do it again!) There was a very full programme, too full in fact as there were sessions I wanted to go to but missed because I couldn't be in two places at once! There was something there for everyone, and it was great to be around so many fabulous Australian women writers. Margie Orford and Shamini Flint, my fellow international guests were amazing, funny and very clever, and I learned a lot from them. In fact I came away from the weekend feeling happily knackered and mentally invigorated, it's left me dying to get back to my writing.

The body in the pool - yes that is a green stiletto sticking out of her eye!

A sense of fun infused the whole convention, as was evident by the 'body in the pool' which had to be the body by the pool due to the inclement weather - her death was a mystery we enjoyed trying to solve, and the perpetrator of the crime surprised us all, but no one was as surprised as she was. Carmel Shute, I didn't know you had it in you!

I also loved the fact it was one of those conventions where lunches and morning teas were provided there, so you had a great opportunity to mingle with the readers and writers and chat over a bite to eat and a drink, it made it feel very intimate and personal.

I'll report over the next few days on individual sessions I attended, and the Davitt Awards Night.

But for now, I'll sit here smiling, remembering, and marveling that I managed to sneak in 200gm under the weight limit for my luggage considering how many books I brought!

SheKilda - almost here!

2011-10-01T21:10:00.000+13:00

Counting down the days now until the fabulous SheKilda, Australian women's crime writers convention in Melbourne. It kicks off this coming Friday, which means I get to hop across the Tasman on Thursday. I'm so excited about it all I can't stand myself.

For a full list of their programme and guests check out the SheKilda website here.

Naturally there is a lot of preparation for me to do, ie, figure out what I'm going to wear. Although, I hear the shopping's quite good in Melbourne... and the food...

As you can guess from the above comment I have never been to Melbourne before (I've only been to Australia once before, two years ago, to Sydney.) So if any of you have some must see recommendations, especially for specialty stationery shops, book shops, or chocolatiers let me know! I'm already going to make getting to the Tutankhamen exhibition at the Melbourne Museum a priority - I can't believe my luck that it is there at the same time I will be.

Most of all I am looking forward to wallowing in the world of crime fiction with lots of fabulous women writers - it is going to be a blast.

Whanganui Literature Festival

2011-09-27T09:56:00.000+13:00

The weekend before last I had the pleasure of being a guest at the Whanganui Literature Festival. Joan Rosier-Jones and her crew of trustees and volunteers put together a interesting and varied programme over the three days of the festival, with writers Elizabeth Knox, Elizabeth Smither, Jenny Robin Jones, Peter Wells, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, Masterchef Brett McGregor, myself, Bill Manhire and Joseph Romanos.
One of the things I love about smaller festivals is the milling around and chatting with attendees and the happy buzz that permeates the whole affair. One of the things I particularly loved was having breakfast each morning with Jenny Robin Jones and Elizabeth Smither and friends. For a gal from a male dominated house (even the cat is a bloke) breakfasting with the ladies was wonderful.
I am very fond of Wanganui. Every time I go back the town has improved and there's always something cool going on. Festival weekend also coincided with the Wanganui Festival of Glass - the town has a vibrant art glass community and their work was on display throughout the shopping centre. Lets just say that I added to the local economy, ahem.
I had a great time at the Whanganui Literature Festival. Congrats to Joan and the organisers for a great event. I arrived back home feeling happily weary but invigorated.

Headhunters

2011-09-06T14:18:00.000+12:00

By Jo Nesbo.

Roger Brown is a headhunter - a recruiter for big-business, a man who has it all - a high power, high paid job, a beautiful wife. When he thinks he's discovered the perfect candidate for Pathfinders best client in the form of Clas Greve he thinks he's got it made. Even more so when he discovers Greve owns one of the holy grails of the art world, a long missing Rubens paining - The Calydonian bear Hunt. For Roger Brown has a double life, when he is interviewing potential clients, he is also seeking potential victims, he is an art thief, and of course he can't resist the big one. But from then his life turns on its head, and too late he realises he has bitten off more than he can chew with Clas Greve, and he has to think and react fast to survive.

There were parts of this book I really enjoyed, and parts of this book where I had to suspend belief too much for my tastes. I think my main problem was that I didn't warm to the narrator, which meant I generally felt a bit ho hum about it all. There were some great twists, and I can see that it would make a great movie, which is coming out next year. But for this reader, it was ok but not great.

The cover art of Justin Todd

2011-09-04T15:45:00.000+12:00

I've been quiet on the blogging front as I've been frantically working on the novel revisions...almost there, thank heavens. When I have had a moment to spare I have strayed dangerously to troll on Trade Me, and have made one or two, ahem, purchases - all in the name of research, honest.

As you know I'm a bit of a Ngaio Marsh fan, and have been collecting her books, and in particular those of one or two cover artists. Here are three recent acquisitions, Fontana editions featuring the work of Justin Todd, who manages to capture an almost comically gruesome atmosphere in his work.

Death at the Dolphin (1976 edition)
I like the nice teeth theme he has going on here.

Singing in the Shrouds (1976 edition)
Again, plenty of teeth, and some seriously filmed over eye action.

Death in a White Tie (1977 edition)
Not quite as dramatic as the first two, but there's still plenty of eye bulging happening.

Can't wait to find some more...

The Ngaio Marsh Awards Event!

2011-08-29T13:52:00.000+12:00

I know it's a week after the big event, and the announcement Paul Cleave won the Ngaio Marsh Award for best crime fiction, but hey, some of us are a bit slow at this time of the year! But better late than never, so here's my report on the Setting the Stage for Murder.

First up - the venue. I was delighted they kept the event in Christchurch, despite the physical limitations of a city still coming to grips with the aftermath of the earthquakes. With so many venues destroyed Christchurch has come up with a great idea which is the Events Village in Hagley Park - temporary but beautifully functional places to allow those all important social and cultural activities to happen. We were at the TelstraClear Club, which was like an enormous yurt. This large, circular marquee was warm and welcoming, with the inside lined with stained glass windows and leadlights, and a huge chandelier suspended from the centre. The raised circumference was lined with wooden dining booths and the central portion filled with seating. There was a cafe/ bar serving food and drinks, and the University Book Shop had set up a sales table. It was a fabulous venue. Well done Christchurch!

First on the billing were award-winning crime writers Tess Gerritsen and John Hart, ably chaired by Graham Beattie. The crowd enjoyed the candid and often very amusing conversations with these two popular authors. I loved the fact they disagreed on so much! Tess Gerritsen was all for working from home, John Hart had to have an office away from the house and the distractions of wife and kids. Tess advocated belonging to writing groups to get critiquing on your work, John was absolutely against. It was great to hear their differing opinions, and realise that all writers have their unique ways and quirks in how they approach their work.

Then we got to see the finalists of the Ngaio Marsh in action on the stage - Paul Cleave, Neil Cross, Paddy Richardson and Alix Bosco (AKA Greg McGee). Craig Sisterson, the driving force behind the awards, fired the questions, and this year he must have been relieved to know the winner would actually be at the awards! The results were interesting, often funny (Neil Cross has the split-second timing of a comedian) and entertaining. Again, I find it interesting when writers disagree, and one of the questions from the audience on whether they would use Christchurch post earthquakes as a setting made for lively discussion, with Paul Cleave adamant he couldn't do that at this stage as he would find it distasteful. Most of the other writers agreed. But it was John Hart who piped up from the audience that he felt it would be wrong not to include the hugely impacting event in fiction. Lots more discussion followed.

Finally we came to crunch time - the announcement of this year's winner of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Fiction....Paul Cleave, for Blood Men. Congratulations to Paul! His Dad looked so proud I thought he'd burst.

Congratulations to Craig Sisterson and the Christchurch Writers Festival folk for organising the event and keeping it in Christchurch, and it was great to see it well supported. It was wonderful to see Auckland crime writer Ben Sanders come down to support the event, and also local Christchurch writers Rachael King and Grant Shanks in the crowd.

It was a wonderful day, and well worth the hideously early start to catch the plane up from Dunedin. After the event, and a lovely lunch with the finalists, and international writers and local literati, and then an impromptu and emotional tour around the perimeter of the earthquake ravaged central city (crammed in the backseat of Dave Batterbury's car with Neil Cross and Paul Cleave, and with Craig Sisterson occupying the front seat)(it was very cosy and very very noisy!) I was a tired girl plonked in the plane home that night. Here's hoping I'm on the stage for next year's awards!

Death and the Dancing Footman

2011-08-20T08:27:00.000+12:00

by Ngaio Marsh

Jonathan Royal thought it would be great fun to invite a group of acquaintances along to Highfold Manor for a weekend of socialising. He was gleeful at the prospect as his flair for the dramatic lead him to carefully handpick the invitees - The disfigured Sandra Compline and her two sons, William and Nicholas. Chloris Wynne - William's fiancee and Nicholas's ex. Plastic surgeon Dr Francis Hart (the disfigurer) and his wife, beautician Elise Lisse (also Nicholas's lover). Lady Hersey Ablington, competing beautician. Aubrey Mandrake - a man with secrets of his own. Royal is delighted with the powder keg of emotion and hatreds he has created, and with a snow storm preventing anyone from escaping the confines of the Manor the fun turns rather sour with the murder of William Compline.
Throw in further attempts at murder and a spot of mistaken identity, and with everyone having motive and many opportunity, the whodunnit leaves everyone guessing as to the identity of the murderer under his roof. A mercy dash across the snowy roads brings Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn on the scene to sort out the mess before anyone else dies.

I enjoyed Death and the Dancing footman - it certainly kept me guessing right to the very last. My only quibble is that Roderick Alleyn doesn't make an appearance until 3/4 of the way through the novel, so I felt a bit cheated as I really am rather fond of him and his sidekick Fox. It did seem very appropriate to be reading a novel about people trapped in a house by snow when we were trapped in the house by the snow! Although we managed to get through without killing each other.

The cover art on this novel is by one of my favourite cover artists, Philip Hood. Fontana 1975 edition.

This novel also counts towards my tally for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge run by Bev Hankins at My Readers Block

Books that give you the chills?

2011-08-09T10:37:00.000+12:00

The Christchurch earthquake was several months ago, and for the vast majority of the country life is unaffected and we tend to forget. But for many of those in Christchurch life is far from normal, and the things we take for granted, like books and libraries are still unreachable. This is where little articles in the paper, like this one a week or so back make me smile.

Resourceful Cantabrians have come up with a great way to get books to people, and a bit of community spirit happeneing along the way, with book exchanges in fridges - yes, you read correctly, in fridges - unplugged of course. Fridges have appeared on vacant sites stocked with books people no longer want, and if you need a read you can pop along and grab one, and even better, chuck in one of your old reads for someone else. Brilliant.

You can read about it here:

Fridge a Magnet for Book Lovers.

A bit blue

2011-08-07T18:39:00.000+12:00

It's been an odd few weeks. Novel-wise I've been a bit in limbo land, I have the publisher feedback for the new manuscript, and know I need to crack on and do revisions, but I've needed to create a bit of space between drafts, that mulling time that requires distance, which is hard with a new pressing deadline, but I think I'm finally there.

Also a dear old writery friend died last week, and although I'd been expecting it, as she had been quietly declining for a while, I still feel like the world has a Joan sized hole in it now. There are some people in your life who, even though you know they are elderly, ill and frail, their indomitable spirit means you just expect them to keep on going and always be there, that the normal rules of mortality don't apply. Joan was one of those. So I'm sharing with you an obituary I wrote for this very special lady for the NZSA weekly newsletter.

Joan de Hamel (1924-2011)

It is with great sadness we pass on news of the death of NZSA Otago/Southland member Joan de Hamel.

'Joan de Hamel was the award-winning writer of many wonderful books for children and teenagers. She was one of the first authors to write books specifically for teens that were set in New Zealand amongst our unique flora and fauna with X Marks the Spot in 1973. Take the Long Path won the Esther Glen Award in 1979 and her children’s picture book, Hemi’s Pet, won the A.W. Reed award in 1985. Her books brought the gift of adventure and of laughter to generations of young New Zealanders.

Joan was born in England and educated at Oxford University. She and her husband, Francis, and their three young sons moved to New Zealand for what was supposed to be a short period of time in 1955. The emigration proved to be rather more permanent, and they added two more sons to their family here. The family lived a while in Christchurch before finally settling in Dunedin. As well as a love of writing, Joan had a passion for the donkeys and angora goats she bred on their Otago Peninsula farmlet by Paradise Rd. Joan was a hugely valued member of the writing community in Dunedin, and was one of the founding members of PEN in the city. She was integral in helping foster the warm and vibrant community we enjoy today. Her contribution was recognised with her being named the NZSA President of Honour from 1999-2000.

Most importantly, Joan was a person who genuinely cared about and supported others, offering advice and help to many writers when needed. She was practical too, opening her home to host writers’ luncheons and supporting events. A number of years ago the Otago Southland branch of the NZSA held a fundraising auction, and where the rest of the members brought along books to auction, Joan fronted up with bags of gorgeous wool from her beloved angoras. Joan was very knowledgeable about literature and a thoughtful reviewer, and until very recently reviewed books for the New Zealand Book Council Booknotes magazine.

Joan will be remembered with great love and affection as a wonderful writer, supporter and friend, and as her family wrote in her death notice, ‘she died peacefully after a long and happy life.’ Joan’s cheerful and adventurous spirit and love of nature shines through in the plaque dedicated to her in the Dunedin Octagon Writer’s Walk which quotes her 1992 novel Hideaway: ‘What more could anyone want than their own land down to the shoreline and the whole Pacific Ocean as a boundary fence.’

Libraries rule!

2011-07-24T11:11:00.000+12:00

I'm sitting at my desk watching the snow fall outside the window with the glee of a kid. Don't know what it is about snow, but it always makes me smile.

Yesterday I took the boys in to the Dunedin City Library to stock up for the next few days of predicted bad weather (the Met Service got it right!) So far, so normal. What I absolutely loved was that when we arrived about 10 minutes before opening time it wasn't just us waiting to get in - there were 40 to 50 people all lined up, chomping at the bit, queuing. And when the doors did open it was like what I imagine is like on sale day at Harrods - a stampede! I commented to one of the librarians about libraries being closed down in Britain and America and what a huge loss to a community that was. If you wanted evidence of how important libraries are to people you only had to look at the crowd eager to get into our library. It warms a girl's heart.

Win great NZ crime fiction!

2011-07-21T20:44:00.000+12:00

I'm a sucker for competitions, I enter lots of competitions, and win enough bits & pieces to urge me to keep on entering more. I've won lots of chocolate and books over the years, but are still waiting for that car...

Here's your chance to win a set of books of the long listed novels in the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best fiction. (Unfortunately I didn't have a book published in the relevant year so wasn't eligible to be in the running this time. Next year...)

Visit the excellent Crime Watch Blog for details. All you have to do is email Craig a photo of yourself reading a NZ crime fiction novel. Too easy. Go on, you know you want them...

I'm back...

2011-07-20T08:45:00.002+12:00

...not that I actually went away! After all that busy time racing for a book deadline, I then had two weeks till an academic deadline! So now both are passed and handed in, I finally get to breathe...briefly. I've got my feedback on the novel from my agent and publisher, and it's great, but of course, there are a few revisions to do, and soon, so it's straight back into it. But I will do a bit of relaxing with the kids over the school holidays, and I will continue with operation 'sort the shambles.' We've been in this house for over a year now and there are still boxes unpacked and things that haven't moved since we bunged them there on the day we shifted in. Then there is the disaster that is my desk - apparently there's a wooden surface under there somewhere - but it's all rumour...

Finished!

2011-07-01T10:01:00.000+12:00

It is always such a wonderful feeling...

Friday fun - more 'honest' book stickers

2011-06-17T12:58:00.000+12:00

My previous post about book cover stickers provoked this glorious response from one of my favourite bloggers - Margot over at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist.

Go on, check them out, have a laugh - make some suggestions of your own!

Ah, fabulous Friday, which means the weekend is here, which means after a hard, solid week of editing the novel, for a change I'll get to...edit the novel, and perhaps I'll even do some editing on the novel. So that I don't go completely insane I will take a short break to go attack people with swords, but then I'll do some fun weekend things like...editing the novel.

Fourteen days till deadline...

But to prove that it's not all loneliness and hard work, locked away in my office with only my slightly raving mad self for company, here's a gratuitous cat shot.

Those pesky book cover stickers...

2011-06-12T13:49:00.000+12:00

Publishers seem to be a little obsessed with putting pesky little stickers on books in an effort to boost sales. There have been many examples discussed in the blogosphere, with the unanimous opinion we all hate them. There have been Jo Nesbo books covered in 'the next Steig Larssen.' Well actually publishers, that is not correct, Jo Nesbo is still Jo Nesbo, no amount of stickers will cause him to have an identity crisis. It seems every new crime fiction novel has a sticker on it somewhere exalting it as the next ......................... (insert biggest selling name you can think of, even if inappropriate)

Anyway, I thought I'd take a new approach to the sticker method of increasing book sales, something a lot more truthful...

Do you think it will help?

Fuel...

2011-06-09T21:33:00.000+12:00

A flat white from The Fix today...

It's keeping me going...

Surfacing for air...

2011-06-06T21:20:00.000+12:00

My life has been utterly consumed by the looming deadline, and the new novel is finally taking shape the way I want it too, my panic-o-meter has inched down a few clicks. This weekend was Queen's Birthday Weekend in New Zealand, so I indulged in a few frivolous things to escape from the writing.

Hubby and I were invited to a friend's 40th birthday party on Saturday night. The theme was the 70's, so being a bit of a Star Wars fan I jumped at the chance to go as Princess Leia. Who wouldn't want to go as a kick-arse princess with a iconic hair-do? So I hauled the sewing machine out and whipped up the white Princess Leia dress in the morning, which turned out really well, and with the hired wig I was completely incognito. It took a few people a while to figure out who the heck it was! And so weird for a girl with a massive head of curly frizzy hair draped all over her face to suddenly have a sleek, dark brown do and no fringe to hide behind. It was weirdly liberating. Hubby went as the biker from the Village People!!!

Today, as well as doing some writing, I had a day in the kitchen as we had friends coming for dinner and I felt like having a Julia moment so I made a cassoulet. I've always wanted to make one, and although time consuming it was great fun and very satisfying. It took all day, in fact the recipe recommended taking a few days to make it. The bottom of the casserole dish was occupied by a perfect spiral of Toulouse sausage hand made by Hubby, so what with that, pork, bacon, lamb and chicken it was the perfect meat-a-thon with beans! So great food, great company, wine and a G & T made for a perfect evening.

Back to the full on writing tomorrow, and some awesome left-overs for lunch...

SheKilda

2011-05-23T20:01:00.000+12:00

What are you doing 7-9 October? If you happen to be in Melbourne, you could come see me in action at SheKilda!

I'm absolutely rapt to have been invited as an International Guest of Honour to SheKilda, the Australian Women's Crime Writing Convention, which marks the 20th anniversary of Sisters in Crime Australia.

You can find out more about SheKilda at their website here.

And you can find out more about Sisters in Crime Australia here.

Come and join us, go on, you know you want to!

Numbers

2011-05-19T09:49:00.000+12:00

I have a fondness for numbers. Numbers are comforting and predictable, far more predictable than words! Although I am not always predictable about numbers. For example, I tend to prefer birthdays that are even numbered, for me there's almost a sense of relief at turning from an odd into an even number. But then, for my lucky numbers, or the numbers I feel attracted to, I prefer odds - go figure! Maybe it's because, with the exception of the number 2, all prime numbers are odd, and I like primes.

Anyway, some numbers I've noticed this week:

The car's odometer ticked over 175571 (the kids & I like playing spot the odometer patterns.) I know, I can hear you say, shouldn't you be watching the road?!

When editing The Faceless the word count number 31113 was on page 103 and the word was 'feet' which is measurement and thus a number.

3 - The number of 'gifts' Louie the cat brought in this week. The first was a huge rat, fortunately dead. The second a skink, fortunately alive and liberated back to the wild. The third, a cicada - he likes to hold them in his mouth and go slightly cross-eyed while they buzz!

5 - The number of branches I saw break off our neighbour's big gum tree and fly off in the strong winds we had the other day. I found that a little disconcerting!

So you're probably thinking so what? Numbers schmumbers. But they all do a good job of distracting me from this little number...

6 - Weeks till my deadline - Arggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T09:47:00.000+12:00

I have been rather lax on the blogging front of late. Due in most part to the fact I have a looming book deadline, and between the craziness of daily life and the demands of the novel I'm feeling a little consumed by everything. So it is great when occasions like Mother's day come along and offer some topping up in the energy stakes.

Like all good spoil someone days it began with breakfast in bed and pressies. The darlings know me well, and know how to look after their own best interests at the same time so I was given an Italian cheese making kit so we can make ricotta and mozzarella among other things. Mmmmm home made pizza with home made mozzarella, lasagne with our own ricotta and home made pasta. I feel some great kitchen moments coming on...

I got to be queen of the remote control and did something I never do - I watched television in the day time! Well, not television, strictly speaking - DVD. Simon Schama's A History of Britain. While I enjoyed blobbing in front of the tele, Mr Nine year-old and Mr Eleven year-old spent the afternoon cooking up a storm. They made cupcakes, with pink icing and even made little love heart and star decorations out of chocolate. There's a lovely sample, soon to be consumed on this morning's tea tray.

This morning's tea tray...

They then cooked a roast chicken dinner, for me and Gran - a celebration of many Mummies.

While this was going on Hubby was outside attacking overgrown trees and restoring our lovely view of the harbour.

So a great day, and good for restoring a flagging mummy and author.

Watch out novel, here I come...well, after the tea and cupcake...

Book voucher heaven...

2011-05-03T10:05:00.000+12:00

I am often given book vouchers as a thank you for speaking or doing things for folk, and I like to hoard them up until there is an impressive amount and then go and blow them ceremoniously on something grand and flashy, you know, the books you wouldn't normally buy yourself, but that you have lusted and drooled over in the book shop.

This week I went and had my splurge...

I have often confessed a love of historic fashion, and this two volume set by Taschen has been beckoning and calling me for such a long time. Titled Fashion it is a history from the 18th to the 20th century, from the collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute. So it has sumptuous dresses and men's garments from the seventeen hundreds through to vintage Dior, and also modern things that I'm not sure what they are supposed to be!

So I am a happy girl.

Of course, I couldn't stop there, because I was in a book store after all, so I brought a few novels to add to Mount TBR. I have the self control of a kid in a candy store!

So thank you to all those who added to my gift voucher stash - I had fun!!!

Spoilers be damned.

2011-04-27T21:22:00.000+12:00

I really enjoy going out to talk to book groups, and I've realised there are two kinds of book groups. Of course, they all give me wine, so they are all the same there, oh, and cake too. Where they differ is in their approach to book selection.

Some book groups every one gets together each month and talks about whatever they have been reading - it's the individuals choice, and the books they read are often snapped up by other members who've liked the sound of them. I know I've come away from these groups with lots of titles written in my little 'must read' note book.

The other type of group is where everyone reads the same book, then they have a lively discussion about the merits and otherwise of the books. last week, I had my first outing to one of these book groups, and the book they had all read was Bound! I had my sister-in-law to thank for the invitation and she enjoyed the kudos she got by nonchalantly saying to her group, oh, I know the author, I can get her along if you like. What I really enjoyed about this group was they had all read the book! So for the first time, I didn't have to tiptoe around, not trying to give things away and spoil it for the people who hadn't read my books. It was so liberating! I could tell a few nifty anecdotes that I can't disclose to general public talks because of the spoilers. It was great fun.

My sister-in-law also reminded her group why it wasn't good being related to or friends with an author because they borrow bits of your life. Oops! I'd forgotten she'd provided me with a few gems over the years.

It was a great night out, and it was lovely to be able to blather about everything - no tongue biting required.

Many as One

2011-04-26T09:38:00.000+12:00

There have been some very generous initiatives that donate money to the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery, and a wonderfully artistic one has been Claire Beynon's Many as One. Claire, who is a wonderful artist and poet, has set up a website where her fellow artists have donated works, which then go in a raffle for those who donate money to the Christchurch fund.

Our family donated some money and I was delighted to get an email from Claire to say we had been drawn from the hat and won this fabulous perspex sculpture by Australian artist Lisa Roberts.

The sculpture is called Coccoliths, Carbon Sequesterers and it is so beautifully apt as I have a great fondness for unicellular organisms. So much so that I put a foraminfera into one of my novels - and I had to fight hard for that foram because my editor thought it should be an amoeba, because everyone knows what an amoeba is, but no, I wanted a foram, because they are amazing and tough little blighters and I stood my ground!!!

The Many as One initiative is still going, and Christchurch's need is immense, so if you would like to donate to this worthy cause, and have the opportunity to win some beautiful art, go to the Many as One website.

I love my little sculpture, it sits on the window ledge in my office and every time I look at it I smile. It reminds me that simple can be beautiful, and small can be mighty!

In the sticks

2011-04-19T11:39:00.000+12:00

Writing by it's very nature is a solitary thing, you get to spend a lot of time by yourself (which might explain a bit about writers!) So I really enjoy the opportunity to get out and speak to groups, it's me out of the house and gives me the chance to meet new people and engage with readers. If I'm really lucky they give me food or wine, or even better, food and wine.

Last week I had the pleasure of going to talk to the West Otago Dinner Club, at Heriot. If you're wondering where Heriot is, it's close to Tapanui, if that leaves you none the wiser, it's kind of close to Gore, if you're still confused, do what I did and look it up on Google maps. Heriot is typical of many New Zealand country towns - it has a pub and a farm supplies store, and that's about it. It also has a great community centre, which was where I got to talk to a wonderful group of ladies. The West Otago Dinner Club is a group of 100 or so farmer's wives and rural women who meet every two months for a catered dinner and guest speaker. The ladies get all dolled up in their glad rags and enjoy an evening of good company, dinner and entertainment. It's a wonderful group, and a great idea, so I felt privileged to be invited to talk to them. They were a great audience, with lots of questions (I love questions) and I came away from the evening with a happy buzz that wasn't just from the wine. I then got handed more wine by my rather gregarious B&B host - but that could fill up another post.

So here's to Heriot, and lots of wonderful country women.

Write On Radio Show day

2011-04-13T09:30:00.000+12:00

Today is show day, but with a difference, it will be the first time the radio show has been broadcast on the station's new FM frequency. To celebrate the change to FM, Toroa Radio has also re-branded and is now Otago Access Radio - or OAR for short. So those blessed folk who live in Dunedin can tune into Write On at noon on 105.4 FM or 1575 AM. For those not so fortunate to live in our beautiful city, you can listen live streamed from the OAR website

Fosterling is the new novel by Dunedin writer and poet Emma Neale. The back cover blurb starts ‘A young man is found unconscious in a remote forest. He is over seven-feet tall, his skin covered in thick hair, which reminds onlookers of an animal’s pelt. When he wakes in a city hospital, he is eerily uncommunicative...Speculation begins.

American author Annie Proulx recently visited Dunedin to promote her new book Bird Cloud, a memoir. I had the opportunity to talk with Annie about Bird Cloud, as well as her other writing.

Arfully covered.

2011-04-10T11:21:00.000+12:00

I've made no secret of my love for cover art, and my almost obsessive hunt for certain artists of Ngaio Marsh's covers. One of these is Philip Hood. I have rather fallen for the cover art that are paintings, I find them expressive and far more interesting than cover art that is photography based.

Philip Hood's cover art isn't quite as menacing as those of Justin Todd, which you can check out here. But I find Hood's work thoughtful and I think they capture the mood of the story very well. These are all Fontana paperbacks.

Hand in Glove (1974 ed) Love the interesting angle of this cover, looking up from in the hole.

Death and the Dancing Footman (1975 ed) Lots of brooding here.

Artists in Crime (1975 ed) Plenty of anatomy on display in this one! (And excuse the scratchy bit where someone had committed the crime of the price sticker on the cover!)

Colour Scheme (1976 ed) Check out the New Zealand thermal hot pools.

I'm still looking for more of Philip Hood's covers, so if you see any up for sale, let me know - because a girl can never have too many books...

Now available as eBooks!

2011-04-05T09:55:00.000+12:00

Yes, technology has caught up and I'm delighted to say my books are now available as eBooks through Kobobooks.com. In fact, to save you the bother of having to type in Vanda Symon, you can go straight to my novels here. Overkill, The Ringmaster, Containment and Bound are all there.

This means they can be read on Kobo and Sony eBook readers (and a few others), as well as via apps for iPads, iPods and smart phones.

Hell, that's so 21st century!

Coasting

2011-04-01T06:47:00.000+13:00

New Zealand Book Month has been a particularly busy time for me, and this week more so than ever. I had the pleasure of being invited to tour the West Coast, inflicting myself upon libraries and schools from Hokitika to Westport. Here's me in action at the Westport Library. If you look closely at the photo, they even gave me a support gnome on the table!

First thing I have to say is I had forgotten how beautiful the West Coast is, especially on a good day. It was sunny and warm the whole time I was away I spent most of the time traveling feeling gobsmacked at the scenery. Even the airplane flights were amazing, with spectacular views of Aoraki Mt Cook and the Alps. Here's a pic of Punakaiki or Pancake Rocks as they are also known. I feel a family holiday coming on...

The Coaster's hospitality was fantastic and the audiences attentive and friendly. I was really impressed with the high school students I spoke to, who were impeccably well behaved and asked great questions.

So I had a wonderful time away, and even got to experience the best ever chicken and mushroom pie at Hokitika Cheese and Deli. I'd give it a 6 out of 5! And the coolest building - I loved the Westport Municipal Chambers.

It had been over twenty years since I had traveled to Hokitika, Greymouth and Westport, and I was delighted to see how much the towns had flourished since then. The libraries in all of these towns were certainly a vital community hub, and when you see the effort and passion the librarians put into their work and communities, with little in the way of resources, you realise how precious they are. So hats off to the Librarians!

Covered again...

2011-03-23T10:04:00.000+13:00

It's been a crazy, busy time - NZ Book Month has been full on for me, last week it was the Book Lovers' Quiz Night that I organised at the Mornington Tavern. It was a fun night out, with a team from the Dunedin Library taking out the top honours for the quiz. A blokes' book group took the title for the best team name with The Novel Gazers.

Next week I'm off to do a three day tour of the West Coast for NZ Book Month, I love the West Coast, so was rapt to be invited over. The fellas here will have to survive by themselves for a few days. Mind you, Mr Eleven-Year-Old cooked the perfect roast chicken dinner the other night, so I'm sure they'll cope.

I mentioned in the last post I've now acquired all of Ngaio Marsh's novels, so I've started collecting specific cover artists, because a girl has always got to have something she wants to buy. The two I'm really interested in are Justin Todd and Philip Hood.

Here's a few of Justin Todd's...

Scales of Justice. I love this, especially the bullet hole in the man's forehead, very tasteful. Dead fish, dead man, fabulous.

Dead Water. This is one scary lady. That look says I've been sucking lemons for years, don't mess with me. But we all know Miss Emily Pride is going to ruffle a few too many feathers...

The Nursing Home Murder. There's something about a surgeon with a monocle and a hypodermic needle...

Under Cover

2011-03-15T11:27:00.000+13:00

As many of you will be aware, I'm rather fond of Ngaio Marsh and her books. A while back I undertook to find a copy of all her books, and had such a great time trolling bookshops and Trade Me that I completely forgot to stop when I had then all. So consequently I have multiple copies of some of them. Part of the reason for that was a love of cover art.

You'll probably think it is a little over the top to own five copies of The Nursing Home Murder (1935), by Ngaio Marsh, but I did some academic study on this book, and also it's quite interesting to see the progression of the cover art over a few decades. I should tell you in those days a nursing home was a private hospital, nowadays we think of them as geriatric hospitals. Also, this book is the only novel Ngaio wrote in collaboration with someone else, Irish physician Henry Jellett. I find it sad that none of the more modern editions mention him on the cover, although the earlier four here name him on the fly-leaf. The 1999 version doesn't mention his name at all!

This is the 1965 Fontana edition of The Nursing Home Murder. This is my second favourite cover.

1970 edition (Fontana) - it's awful! What were they thinking?!!!

1976. (Fontana) This is my favourite. In fact I've grown so fond of the cover art of Justin Todd that I'm now trying to find all the Ngaio Marsh books he did work for!

1983 (Fontana) Simple, but graphic, if a touch boring.

1999 Completely boring. Boring, Boring, Boring. And they didn't mention the co-authors name in the book anywhere! Naughty, naughty Harper Collins.

Which do you like best?

Book Lovers' Quiz Night

2011-03-10T10:13:00.000+13:00

March celebrates New Zealand Book Month, so we get out there with lots of fun book related events for young and old.

It's been busy, busy, busy, so far I've given a talk at the Mosgiel Public Library, and been a part of two events I organised for NZ Book Month along with Bridget & Jo at Kings High School, for year 9 and 10 students.

Called Teens Face Book, the first was a panel discussion with myself, Kyle Mewburn and Ella West, in front of an audience of school kids bussed in from around Dunedin. It was great fun, with lots of interesting questions from the kids. Below is a pic of some of the darlings along with the bewildered writers.

We also held writing workshops for some of the kids a week later, which was a first for me! (I was more than a little nervous at being teacher to a pile of high school students, but they survived me and I survived them, so it was all good! You can read their report on it here. )

Next up is a pub quiz with a difference, and you're all invited! OK, it may be easier if you live in Dunedin, but get your teams organised for the Book Lovers' Quiz Night. This is a pub quiz with a difference - all the questions relate to books. I'm doing MC duty - so once again, I get a microphone and to inflict myself upon an unsuspecting crowd...

Book Lovers' Quiz Night

Thursday 17 March
The Mornington Tavern
Dunedin
7.30 pm.

Lots of prizes and raffles, and a prize for the best team name.

$20.00 per team of four.

Registrations to vandasymon@orcon.net.nz

Let's see if you know your Rowling from your Rushdie!

A birthday gift...

2011-03-06T21:06:00.000+13:00

I celebrated a birthday this week, it was an even numbered one - which I always prefer for some odd reason, don't ask me why. I was thoroughly spoiled.

One of my favourite children's picture books is this... Cloudcatcher by Sue Wootton and illustrated by Carla Braun-Elwert...

One of my favourite pages in that book is this...

And look what I got... the original...(the glass reflections were tricky, so the colour didn't photograph so well)

Happy Vanda!

A Vintage Gift...

2011-03-02T21:48:00.000+13:00

A lovely friend came across this treasure when sorting out her late Aunt's things and thought of me...

The Listener is New Zealand's radio and television guide, and it's been around a while. This edition is dated July 8 - 14 1978. Back then there were only two television channels to choose from! As well as having a great interview with Ngaio Marsh, it has the fabulous portrait by Murray Webb, one of our premier caricaturists. I didn't know this article or the picture existed, so I'm utterly rapt.

I also got to have a jolly good laugh - there are an extraordinary number of advertisements and they have provided a lot of entertainment - some things haven't survived the test of time...thank god! Looking at the television programming was great - a real trip down memory lane with my favourites of the day - The Muppets, The Tomorrow People, and Wonder Woman!

So thanks, Amanda - a treasure trove in many ways!

Strange times.

2011-02-28T21:46:00.000+13:00

Like many New Zealanders, I have felt a little lost since Tuesday's devastating earthquake in Christchurch. I have cried, watched the news reports, turned off the telly because it all became too painful, and have felt speechless, bereft, impotent.

At 12.51 on Tuesday I was sitting upstairs in my office, working on my novel when the room started shaking side to side. My first thought was, oh shit, Christchurch. Then ten minutes later, when the room started rocking side to side again, my thoughts moved to oh, god, no. My worst fears were confirmed shortly after, and the disbelief and grieving for a city began.

I feel blessed that I haven't lost loved ones, that my Christchurch friends are safe, although they don't feel it. Like most other Kiwis I feel amazed by their resilience and courage, and baulk at the thought of the lengthy road ahead to getting their lives back to normal and rebuilding the city. For many who have lost their loved ones, life will never be normal.

Even though Dunedin is 4 to 5 hours drive away from Christchurch, life here has changed. There has been an influx of people into the city, I have watched the headlights of the constant stream of traffic come down State Highway One each night. I imagine there is even more during the day. The supermarket shelves here are pretty empty as the food is going to those who need it most. The boys' school has seen an influx of kids from Christchurch, whose parents have whisked them away from it all, for however long. Many friends have extras staying in their baches and spare bedrooms. My forensics friends and colleagues are off to help with the daunting task of victim identification.

I am buoyed and grateful to the many people who are reaching out to Christchurch and helping, and again, the international blogging community has rallied around too, with many having donation buttons on their webpages, and some even setting up appeals.

Thanks to Margot Kinberg, from the U.S.A. at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist for setting up her Lets All Do the Write Thing raffle. Also to Penelope Todd and author Dorothee Kocks from Rosa Mira Books - Until the 7th of March they will donate all the proceeds from sales of Dorothee's ebook The Glass Harmonica to Christchurch's Mayoral Fund.

I think it's the kids' questions that make it all hit home hardest. Why did this happen Mum? Did many people die? Can it happen here? Will they rebuild the Cathedral? What happened to the fish in the big aquarium?

Lots of questions I can't answer.

Barking-Mad Book Sale

2011-02-20T18:19:00.000+13:00

This is where, yet again, I confess my utter lack of self-control when it comes to books. Once a year the Dunedin Public Library hosts its Barking-Mad Book Sale, making space for new acquisitions, and a bit of cash to buy more. I vowed to myself that this year I would resist the temptation. We don't have enough books shelves now, so we certainly don't need more books in the house.

Come Friday I twitched and obsessed, but managed to resist - even the Friends of the Library pre-sale preview. I felt most noble and virtuous.

Then, ahem, Saturday came, and I happened to have an hour to spare in town, and, um, er...

Unsolved -Classic true Crime Cases
Crime in New Zealand by Greg Newbold
Convicted - Forensic science catching killers in new Zealand and Australia
Epitaph II
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Rosetta by Barbara Ewing
Dream Fish Floating by Karlo Mila
The Faber Book of Science ed. John Carey
The Encyclopaedia of Coloured Pencil Techniques
The Encyclopaedia of Wood Working Techniques
History of Children's Costume by Marion Sichel
Costume Reference 2 - Tudors and Elizabethans by Marion Sichel
Dime Pentacube Puzzles - an approach to thinking in three dimensions
Land Issues in the Pacific
Rocks, Shells, Fossils, Minerals & Gems
The Spiders of New Zealand Part II by R.R. Forster & C.L.Wilton

There you go, an eclectic mix!

Hitting the groove.

2011-02-15T17:26:00.000+13:00

Despite all the excitement of a new book out, and then having it debut as the Number 1 Bestseller, this has been a damn good writing week. Hence my absence from life - I've been working, people.

I haven't been blogging.
I sure as hell haven't done any house work.
I've neglected the laundry (although had to resort to washing when Mr Nine-Year Old informed me he had no clean underwear!)
Even the cat's looking disgruntled.
I've been writing.
Writing, writing, writing.

Feels good.

Bound - Number 1 Bestseller!!!!!

2011-02-10T17:20:00.000+13:00

This week's bestseller lists are out and Bound has debuted at Number 1 on the New Zealand fiction list!

Very, very happy author.

Break out the bubbles...

Of news and reviews

2011-02-08T21:49:00.000+13:00

It's been a hectic kind of a week, and I have been terribly quiet on the blogging front. Fortunately other media have been making up for my silence and Bound has been getting plenty of good publicity. So far the reviews have been great, which is a relief, because I really was uncertain of how this book would be received. So after a few good uns I'm finally starting to relax.

Craig Sisterson from the excellent Crime Watch blog wrote a fun article for the Weekend herald which is now up on their website here. He also makes reference to his recent acquisition of the February issue of The Australian Woman's Weekly, which features a two page interview with moi.

There have also been a couple of reviews on national radio.

Graham Beattie reviewed Bound on Critical mass with Jim Mora. The podcast is available here.

Bound was also reviewed by Louise O'Brien, which can be listened to here.

Tomorrow is Write On Radio Show day, and Dunedin writer Tania Roxborogh will be interviewing me, to avoid me having to do a monologue droning on about my own book. The show is at noon. My first guest is Helen Leach, talking about her new book From Kai to Kiwi Kitchen, then Tania will do her thing asking me the questions for a change! The show is live streamed from the Toroa Radio Website.

And what else did I do today?

Was Mum.
Wrote 1000 words on the new novel.
Pre-recorded the Tania interview.
Went to a New Zealand Book Month meeting to organise two schools events.
Made plum jam.
Two loads of washing...then it rained.
Rang my mum.
Fencing.

I'm tired now.

Night, night.

Bound and launched...

2011-02-02T21:57:00.000+13:00

I've had a wonderful evening launching Bound out into the world. A fabulous group of friends, family, colleagues and book lovers gathered at the University Book Shop for a most convivial evening. It was made extra special by the fact my Mum was down from Napier.

Thanks to Prof. Jean Fleming who launched the book for me, said flattering things and gave away a few of the secrets behind my double life (or quadruple life, depending on who you talk to) One of the things about launches I love is seeing the different groups of beloved people in my life converge, and discover how Dunedin is such a small town and they all know each other. There were my family, fencing buddies, university folk, writer mates and fellow school parents, amongst others, all very happily yacking away.

So I feel very happy and content Bound is out in the world. Tomorrow I'll start feeling nervous about the reviews!

Oh, and guess what? This is my 500th blog post. Thanks for dropping by!

Being Dead

2011-01-30T18:11:00.000+13:00

By Jim Crace

This has got to be one of the stranger books I've read, and I think I liked it, I think I liked it a lot, but I'm not entirely sure, it's that kind of a book.

As the title suggests, Being Dead is a description of the lives and deaths of Celine and Joseph. A Middle-aged, married couple they suffer the ultimate insult, being bludgeoned to death after having had a trip-down-memory-lane shag in the sand dunes at Baritone Bay. The chapters skip between their deaths, their past, their day, why they are there in the first place, what's happening to their remains, and who they leave behind. It's a strange, strange story, but strange in a good way, I think.

So there you go - the vaguest and most non-committal review I think I will ever give a book!

Navigation - a memoir

2011-01-26T06:08:00.000+13:00

By Joy Cowley

Joy Cowley is one of New Zealand's most beloved story tellers, the writer of hundreds of books and school readers for children as well as novels for adults. I remember listening to her speak at the Auckland Writer's Festival a few years ago and being thoroughly captivated by her warmth, passion and wisdom. I came away from that talk feeling privileged to have been a part of it. So I couldn't wait to read Navigation, her memoir, and as hoped it held me captivated by her warmth, passion and wisdom.

Joy mentions at the beginning that she'd been initially approached by Penguin to write an autobiography, which she declined, but when they approached suggesting a memoir she thought, yes. And I'm so glad she did as a memoir has allowed her to illustrate her life in a series of little stories, vignettes, rather than being stifled by the formality of an autobiography.

What an amazing and interesting woman, Being someone who grew up knowing her stories for myself and my children I have this image of her as a deliciously grandmotherly type of person, which she is, so I was delighted to discover her youthful spirit, the young woman who rode motorbikes and flew a Tigermoth aeroplane. From a personal perspective I was intrigued to she had a career in pharmacy, just like me.

She talks of her childhood and her parents influence, her marriages and children and how she came to see the need for better childrens' readers and books in schools and how she helped in achieving that to international renoun. She also talks about her loves and spirituality.

One of the little treats for me, for as you know I'm a bit of a fan, was this encounter, when she was a young writer, attending her first PEN Christmas party in Wellington.

"I don't know how long I stood there - long enough to understand that I was a country girl who had invaded a sophisticated party under false pretences. I needed to go back and wait at the station until the evening train.

As I turned and walked towards the door, a woman who had been sitting in a chair near the wall stood up. She was tall, angular, wore a big brimmed hat and white gloves. She strode across the room towards me, held out a gloved hand and said in a loud, well-rounded voice, 'How do you do. The name is Marsh.'

I was rescued by a perceptive Ngaio Marsh, who escorted me to the other end of the room and introduced me to writers I knew by name only - Denis Glover, Noel Hillard, Frank Sargeson, Ian Cross, Alistair Campbell. I discovered in the next hour that famous writers and poets were people."

Good on ya, Ngaio!

Joy Cowley is a beautiful story teller and it was a pleasure to read this book and I came away feeling as privileged to have had a glimpse into this lovely woman as I had seeing her on the stage all those years ago.

Lovely stuff.

In the letterbox...

2011-01-21T15:06:00.000+13:00

I love it when book shaped parcels arrive in the letter box, especially when I know the said book was a prize - everyone loves free stuff! Today's arrival was courtesy of a giveaway on Kerrie's Mysteries in Paradise.

Take Out by Felicity Young.

Felicity Young is an Australian crime writer, and I'm always keen to introduce myself to new authors from across the ditch. This is her third DSS Stevie Hooper novel.

Here's the back cover blurb...

YOU TAKE MY GIRLS AND I TAKE YOU: SKIN FOR SKIN

A deserted house. The remains of an unfinished meal. an unexpected find. And a routine police investigation going nowhere.

When Detective Senior Sergeant Stevie Hooper of the Sex Crimes unit steps into the empty Pavel house and someone else's jurisdiction, she upsets more than the ego of a struggling suburban cop. She has breached the defences of a world that has its rotten heart a ruthless disregard for human life.

Her own family in crisis, a case like this is the last thing Hooper needs. And she is about to discover that those who cross the Mamsan do so at their peril.

Surfeit of Lampreys

2011-01-19T21:40:00.000+13:00

By Ngaio Marsh

There are lots of reading challenges that circulate the blogosphere. Why only last year I failed dismally at Dorte's Global Reading Challenge. So why would I put myself through the prospect of another? Well, considering how much I like our dear Ngaio, and her mate Agatha how could I possibly resist a Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge?! Bev, over at My Readers Block, has issued the challenge, where the rule is the book has to have been written before 1960 and be from the mystery category. There are several challenge levels, and I have decided to be ambitious and opt for the Get a Clue level of 7 to 9 books.

I intend to keep enjoying my Ngaio Marsh books, throw in some Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers and Marjorie Allingham. I've also found a few vintage mysteries at the local second hand books stores that need to be read, so the way I see it I should reach my target easy peasy. (Don't bother reminding me that's what I said about the global Reading Challenge!)

Anyway, first off the starting block is Ngaio Marsh's Surfeit of Lampreys. (1941)

The Lampreys are that special form of London society family that has plenty of charm and peculiarities, but no cash. they seem to lurch from one cash crisis to the next and when things get desperate again they are forced to appeal to Uncle Gabriel to bail them out. But Uncle Gabriel isn't noted for his charitable spirit, especially to his relatives, so he refuses the request. Mere moments later Uncle Gabriel meets a particularly nasty end in the elevator of the Lamprey's apartment building. Naturally suspicion falls upon the family and it is up to Detective Chief Inspector Alleyn to find the truth amongst an endless sea of lies.

I took a wee while to get into this novel, but then I came to love it. I enjoyed the cast of characters and another unique method of knocking off the victim - Ngaio Marsh is rather inventive in that department. I also liked that the family had lived in New Zealand and Roberta, a visitor caught up in the mess was a visitor from the antipodes. The knowledge that the Lampreys were based upon Ngaio's friends the Rhodes family, the same family that invited her over to London where her crime writing career started, I can't help but look fondly on this book and imagine the character Roberta could just have easily been called Ngaio...

Another great read from the Kiwi Queen of Crime.

Cakes and crazy times

2011-01-17T11:19:00.000+13:00

Well, I fell off the blogging radar for a bit there, but I discovered it is actually really hard to get anything done with a birthday party to organise, cakes to make and an extra 5 people squidged into the house for a week. But the kids loved sleeping marae style in the lounge with their cousins.

Mr Eight-year-old made the transition to Mr Nine-year-old with a medieval themed party, so naturally he wanted an appropriate cake...

As with any self-respecting medieval themed party we had kings and fair maidens packing swords. There was even a wizard. There was feasting and sword fighting a plenty, but unfortunately we didn't have enough space to do jousting, there would have been a bit too much tree dodging necessary. Shame.

Guests are gone, party is over, life is back to normal...sigh.

Started Early, Took my Dog

2011-01-06T09:32:00.000+13:00

By Kate Atkinson

This is the third book Kate Atkinson has written featuring private investigator Jackson Brodie, following on from Case Histories, and the excellent When Will There be Good News.

Brodie is quietly following a case, trying to track down the birth mother of New Zealand woman Hope McMaster. He's also still trying to track down his ex-wife who swindled him somewhat. We meet Tracie Waterhouse, a retired cop now security manager for a large mall, who in a rash moment 'buys' a little girl off a no-hoper druggie prostitute in an attempt at rescuing her. Tracie soon realises no one in authority is going to buy that line and she's effectively kidnapped the child, which complicates life somewhat. Courtenay, the little girl is perfectly happy with her new arrangement, but Tracie realises she'd better make themselves scarce. But it soon becomes apparent someone is hunting them down. Jackson Brodie has acquired himself a dog under similar sorts of circumstances.

This book hops between the past and the present, with events that happened when Tracie Waterhouse was a young police constable, and how those events affect the current day. Like Kate Atkinson's other novels it can sometimes seem to meander, but then you realise that paths are going to intersect and in curious ways.

Her characterisation is wonderful. One of the most memorable characters is Tilly, an elderly actress who witnesses the events in the mall which start the whole affair. Her sad, yet riveting slide into confusion is very affecting.

Kate Atkinson is a very clever writer, the way she weaves her characters together, the result is a very satisfying read.

I had the pleasure of seeing Kate in action at the Christchurch Writers Festival a few years ago when she was talking about When Will There be Good News. Christchurch must have made an impression on her with her character Hope McMaster living there. As a proud Kiwi the nod to New Zealand made me smile.

1-1-11

2011-01-01T19:09:00.000+13:00

Isn't it funny how something as arbitrary as a roll over date marking the transition from one year to the next can make such a difference to your head space. The prospect of a new year, a clean slate, of endless potential.

Naturally this comes hand in hand with a few resolutions. Let me share a few of mine...

Read more than 56 books.

Buy at least one book a month from my favourite independent book shop (doing my bit to keep them alive and well.)

Try to actually reduce my TBR pile by reading them! (Please note that the first resolution supports this, but the second is a little counter-productive.)

Write a cracker of a crime fiction novel

Fence up a storm

Do less housework (-;

Christmas books...

2010-12-27T21:28:00.000+13:00

Lets face it folks, I'm honest enough to admit that Christmas isn't Christmas without books under the tree. Of course there is the love, and time with family and thoughtful gifts, and good company and food and wine, and love, and more love, and siestas because you've eaten too much, and tinsel and joy and peace and the wonderful break from the everyday and ordinary, and there's the love.

Then there's the books.

Hubby understands this - well, he jolly well should after all these years, so there were some very cool books under the tree.

Still Life: Inside the Antarctic huts of Scott and Shackleton Photography by Jane Ussher, Essays by Nigel Watson.

This is one of those emotional books that reduced me to tears the first time I looked through it. It's a magnificent thing and something anyone with an affinity to Antarctica, and the spirit of exploration and heroicism of these amazing men, needs to have this book. Antarctica is a brutal environment, and it amazes me that these huts still stand. The fact this book exists makes me rest a little easier as it is an extraordinary record of the living conditions of the men that sheltered there. Jane Ussher captures the desolation and mood of these places, and revels in the minutiae. The YouTube clip shows some of the pics to give you a little taste

As people who keep track of my blog have probably gathered, I'm a little partial to the sport of fencing. Okay, I'm borderline obsessive, so I was delighted to have these two books under the tree...

The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte

A thriller about fencing - it doesn't get much better than that!

Here's the back cover blurb...

Fencing is not a game but a science. The outcome is invariably the same: triumph or disaster, life or death.

Jaime Astarloa is a master-fencer of the old school, priding himself on the precision, dignity and honour of his ancient art. It is 1868; Spain teeters on the brink of revolution, his friends spend their days in cafes discussing plots at court, but Jaime's obsession is to perfect the irresistible sword thrust. Then Adela de Otero, violet-eyed and enigmatic appears at his door. When Jaime takes her on as a pupil he finds himself embroiled in dark political intrigues against which his old-fashioned values are no protection.

The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Fencing

Okay, so this one isn't going to have universal appeal, but it's pretty self-explanatory.

I was also given some book vouchers - oh dear, how sad ...

Baking up a storm

2010-12-24T22:21:00.000+13:00

Ah, the satisfaction of a good day's Christmas Baking. Mr Eight-year old and I had a lot of fun and we now have ready, for Yuletide consumption, a Pavlova, Christmas fruit mince pies, mini-pecan pies and two Christmas Stollen. The house smells delicious.

Mr Eleven-year old created these miniature marvels in marzipan...

The house is a symphony of Chrissydom.
Santa's plate has been lovingly prepared with fruit pies, a magic elf chocolate, glass of milk (I told them Santa wasn't allowed booze because he'd fall off his sleigh), and carrots for the reindeer.
Two extremely excited little fellas are trying to get to sleep...

Merry Christmas to you all.

God Bless,
Vanda

No Holiday for Crime

2010-12-23T22:14:00.000+13:00

Following along the lines of my Murder for Christmas post, here's another little something I stumbled across yesterday. Ok, it wasn't strictly stumbling, I was rifling through the $1.00 books stand at Octagon Books (which was voted as one of the top ten second-hand book stores in the world!). But as I have a little tendency to collect Christmas themed books, including crime fiction, I had to pick out No Holiday for Crime by Dell Shannon, well, it would have been rude not to.

Here's the back cover blurb:

Murderers take no holidays, not even Christmas eve, and especially not in Los Angeles. Homicide Lieutenant Luis Mendoza, up to his ears in liquor-store hijackings and bank, home and chainstore robberies, as well as the usual spate of murders, is dealt a singularly baffling case - a young, devout Mormon on her way home is brutally murdered during a one-hour stopover in L.A. Mendoza's a tough cop, but a smooth operator who knows the sleazy L.A. underworld inside out - this holiday killer is not about to get away...

A blast from the past - 1973.

If seasonal malice is your thing you should check out Kerrie from Mysteries in Paradise, who has a page devoted to Christmas with a taste of murder with her Suggest a Christmas Title page.

And before you think for a misguided moment that I got out of the book store with only one book - nah. Also picked up Scotland Yard by Sir Harold Scott - Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police 1945-53. Got to love that $1.00 book basket. There were also a heap of Keyhole Crime books, but I resisted those...for now...

56!

2010-12-22T17:51:00.000+13:00

No, that's not my age! That's how many books I've managed to read this year. That's over one a week, which is great for me because I'm not a fast reader - I'm a savourer of words, I like to roll them around in my head and enjoy them. Last year I didn't manage to break the fifty mark, so I'm chuffed to have done it this year. I guess having more reviewing to do on radio and television has made me keep my reading up, which is a good thing.

So the breakdown:

20 of those books were crime fiction
17 books were non-fiction
37 books were written by New Zealanders

Here's the interesting bit though...my TBR pile is a lot more than 56 books!!!

I know I shouldn't have, but...

2010-12-21T16:42:00.000+13:00

Those lousy folk at The University Book Shop have been tempting me again. I'm sure they realise how little I have in the way of will-power when it comes to books, so they keep having these buy 2 get 1 free sales in their upstairs continuous book sale. They are, truly, evil.

So their latest sale resulted in ...

Whispers of the Dead, by Simon Beckett
The Girl of His Dreams, by Donna Leon
The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl
Nature Girl, by Carl Hiaasen
An Imaginative Experience, by Mary Wesley
The Transit of Venus- the collected lectures of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Well, it would have been silly not to take advantage of the sale, wouldn't it?

And in reality, it's all UBS's fault!

Local picks for Christmas

2010-12-15T22:22:00.000+13:00

Tonight I got to go on Dunedin's Channel 9 Dunedin Diary Programme, hosted by Dougal Stevenson, and give my Christmas recommendations for that all around perfect gift - a book. Dunedin Diary is deliciously local orientated, and Dunedin writers have been very busy, so I had difficulty narrowing it down to five.

Children's picture book:

Cloudcatcher by Sue Wootton and illustrated by Carla Braun-Elwert

Mr Bellavista gets a bit carried away in the bid for his perfect tomatoes.

Young Adult Fiction:

Bloodlines by Tania Roxborogh.

Fleance, son of Banquo discovers how everything changes when you're king.

Fiction:

The Hut Builder by Laurence Fearnley.

Boden Black, butcher, has his horizons expanded in all directions one summer on Mount Cook.

Poetry:

Time of the Icebergs by David Eggleton

Hot off the press.

Non Fiction:

The Tasman by Neville Peat

A big biography of a big ocean.

Pulp Fiction

2010-12-13T11:11:00.000+13:00

The Otago University Library Special Collections hold regular brilliant exhibitions, courtesy of Special Collections Librarian Donald Kerr, who has a lot of imagination and flair in presenting some of the cool things they have hidden away. It's great these treasures get to see the light of day, and therefore people become aware of them and use them.

The current exhibition is Pulp Fiction, and is a fab representation of the great collection of Pulp Fiction titles the library brought a few years ago. It's worth a look for the covers alone - I hear the design students have had a good time playing with them. Baby Your Racket's Busted has to be one of my favourites - it's so Marilynish

The collection isn't just limited to pulp crime, there's also science fiction, westerns and so much more.

The exhibition is online - so click here and have a troll through the covers and the stories behind the stories - it's well worth a look!

And another happy bit of pre-Christmas news...

2010-12-10T11:14:00.000+13:00

...I now have an agent!

Courtesy of the ups and downs of the publishing world, the departure from Penguin New Zealand of Geoff Walker - my publisher and rock and shoulder to lean on, and the constant nagging of Paul Cleave, I finally got my act together and went in search of an agent.

So I am absolutely chuffed to say I am now represented by Gregory & Company, of London. They are a specialty agency, particularly crime fiction, and have a few names on their list of whom you may be familiar - Val McDermid, Mo Hayder, Minette Walters, Paul Cleave, and now moi!

Lets hope it leads to great things. I feel a little more secure in my world now.

Getting into the spirit of Christmas...

2010-12-06T21:45:00.000+13:00

... How could I possibly resist when I saw this book pop up on Trade Me last week? Nothing drives you to homicidal thoughts quite like Christmas. Must be something to do with all the extra rellies around!

The book, Murder for Christmas, proclaims to contain '26 Takes of Seasonal Malice.' Doesn't that have such a great ring to it? 'Seasonal Malice?' Even the fly leaf contains the charming little line - 'Here is a perfect Christmas gift for the person who has everything - and plans to leave it to you.'

It contains stories from the likes of Ngaio Marsh, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen - all the usual suspects.

What made me laugh out loud when I opened the book, though, was the book plate inside, which proudly states:
Christ's Collge
Prize for Merit
Form 3
Awarded to J.H. Dalton
December 1990.

So one has to ask, Did young Master Dalton inspire murderous thoughts in his Headmaster!?!

The Big Night...

2010-12-04T09:26:00.000+13:00

After months of anticipation we finally got to enjoy the big night which was the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. It was exciting to be flown up to Christchurch, get put up in a very posh hotel and then get dolled up in my new frock, cardy and shoes for the big event.

Photo : David Batterbury

A good sized crowd came to the Visions Restaurant at CPIT, enjoyed the drinks and nibbles and settled in for an evening of entertainment. It was great to see some familiar faces in the crowd including Bookman Beattie and Christchurch-based novelist Rachael King.

The entertainment came in the form of fellow panelists Ngaio Marsh Award finalist Neil Cross, Local crime author Paul Cleave (sporting a magnificent Movember effort!) and myself. The chair was instigator of the Ngaio Marsh Award, and Crime Watch blogger Craig Sisterson. Craig came up with a great bunch of questions for us, which we answered to some degree, avoided to some degree and generally had a fun time with. Both Paul and Neil are hilarious - the crowd was frequently in fits of laughter. They are also both interesting to listen to so I think the enthusiastic audience came away feeling informed and entertained.

Photo : David Batterbury

There was a wee interval for people to refresh their drinks, and buy books - I got to autograph plenty - which always pleases me! Then came the moment we had all been waiting for (and which I'd been worrying myself sick about all day - literally) the announcement of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. After such a great evening everyone was eagerly awaiting this moment.

The winner was announced - Congratulations to Alix Bosco, for Cut & Run.

Craig had to explain to the now subdued audience that Alix Bosco was a pseudonym for someone wishing to remain anonymous, and the award was duly accepted on her behalf by Louise Chrisp of Penguin NZ.

So, on to the Bouquets and Brick Bats...

Bouquets:

Huge, huge Bouquet to Craig Sisterson for having the vision and enthusiasm to set up an award for crime fiction in New Zealand. To have a national award for crime fiction is an enormous benefit to the crime writing community, and not only promotes crime fiction, but also New Zealand fiction. Craig - thank you so much for doing this - you're a hero as far as we are all concerned!

Warmest congratulations to Alix Bosco for winning the Ngaio Marsh Award for best Crime Novel - it is a great achievement and something you should be very, very proud of.

Thanks to Ruth Todd, Morrin Rout and Maryanne Hargreaves, and the crew of the Christchurch Writers' Festival for your ongoing support of this award, despite rather difficult circumstances.

To fellow panelists Neil Cross and Paul Cleave, and chair Craig Sisterson for a fun night.

Brick bats:

To Alix Bosco - for not turning up.

.

Ngaio Marsh Best Crime Fiction Award

2010-11-26T12:49:00.000+13:00

Here's a not so subtle reminder, if you're in Christchurch on Tuesday evening you must come along to the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel presentation evening.

Not only will you get to see moi in action, but also enjoy the charm and wit of fellow crime writers Neil Cross and Paul Cleave. I had the pleasure on being on a panel with both of these blokes in Wellington, and they are great - never shy to express an opinion and great fun. You also get the added bonus of seeing the presentation of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. Come along and support this new endeavour, that can only be a great thing for crime writing in New Zealand. A lot of hard work has gone into it from the brains and driving force behind it, Craig Sisterson (thanks Craig!) and his host of merry men, and women.

A reminder too of the finalists:

Containment by Vanda Symon
Burial by Neil Cross
Cut & Run by Alix Bosco

No doubt I'll be a nervous wreck, but when I'm nervous, I talk more!

Details:

Whodunnit and Whowunnit?
with the presentation of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel
7:30pm, Tuesday 30 November 2010
Visions on Campus Restaurant, CPIT,
cnr Madras St & Ferry Road, Christchurch
Drinks and nibbles from 7pm, author panel from 7:30pm
$10, includes a glass of wine and nibbles
Tickets from 03 3844721 or email ruth.todd@xtra.co.nz

And look what arrived in the mail...

2010-11-24T21:33:00.000+13:00

...today...

It's a real book!

Proper, like, with pages, and stuff...gosh.

I only cried a little bit...

Cover up

2010-11-23T11:12:00.000+13:00

Here it is, the cover of my latest baby - Bound, due for release in February 2011.

I''m really pleased with it, as with a title like Bound there was the obvious cliched shot to avoid, but I think they've captured the mood nicely.

What do you think?

The interplay of hands and mind

2010-11-21T16:29:00.000+13:00

Writing day in, day out is hard work. Some writers can do it, are disciplined to a fault, and front up at their computer every day, or at least Monday to Friday, sit down, and type out their target number of words before feeling, quite rightly so, virtuous, and like they've achieved something for the day.

I'm not quite that regimented. I aspire to be. I always have my daily target of 1000 words to write, and some days I'll do that easily, and some, and other days I'll struggle to write one sentence, or even one word!

I find that during these struggle times, where my mind won't cooperate, my hands take over - not typing words, but making things. For me there seems to be some connection to the creative process of physically crafting something, and the writing processes in my head. The last two weeks have not been a success as far as getting words on the page, which is a shame considering I was doing NaNoWriMo in principle, but I've made a lot of stuff!

The sewing machine has been running hot - I now have my Salle Angelo fencing club cloak made - in black wool and green lining, as well as quite a few more practical items, and it has been very satisfying.

It has also been very useful, because while my hands work on something tangible, my mind works on the intangibles that have been eluding me. So as well as having made a cloak, I have now worked out the psyche behind one of my main characters in my next novel, and with that now know what he needs to personally overcome to make things happen, and thus the time line of events.

So with lots of physical projects under my belt, I'm looking forward to fronting up to my desk tomorrow morning, with my requisite tea pot, milk jug and fine bone china cup, and setting my mind to producing words.

Treasure Island

2010-11-17T20:29:00.000+13:00

By Robert Louis Stevenson

I have been reading the adventures of young Jim Hawkins aboard the Hispaniola, and on Treasure Island, to the boys at bedtime. It's the classic tale of pirates and buried treasure, with the terrifying Captain Flint, and the treacherous Long John Silver.

It was Long John Silver who gave me problems. I've mentioned a few times in the past how reading books aloud to the kids can be a pleasure, with words rolling off the tongue, as was the case with The Hobbit, by J.R.R.Tolkien, or a horror, as in Famous Five by Enid Blyton, where the words clomped and thudded and tripped me up. I hate to say it, but Treasure Island was another horror, in particular, any dialogue by Long John Silver. I just couldn't get his lingo, and in the end kind of prattled any old thing that got the general meaning across. I have read a number of blog posts about dialect in dialogue, or accents or colloquial language, and how it can be a double edged sword, well, in this case, it was the death of me. Can't say I enjoyed it. I don't think they did either.

So far we're loving the first few chapters of the next book on the bedtime story list - Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, by Rick Riordan. This one rolls off the tongue beautifully, and is providing lots of laugh out loud moments for the little fellas, which is music to a mum's ears.

Crime Noir

2010-11-16T11:08:00.000+13:00

I love libraries, and the things you can discover while roaming the shelves. While helping the kids find Peanuts cartoon books, I stumbled across this little number in the cartoons/ comics section:

Drawing Crime Noir for Comics and Graphic Novels by Christoper Hart.

What a fun book! Let's face it, I'm never going to have the time to draw a graphic novel, although I do the odd sketch, but I had a great time reading through this, admiring the art and enjoying the entertaining text.

The introduction describes the Crime Noir comic book style as... 'This genre focuses on the slick, rainswept streets of the city, shadowy figures, heartless women, men without conscience, reluctant heroes, and boulevards of fear. It's the desperation of ordinary men, and the loneliness of the action hero.'

It's all about the mood, atmosphere and style. So I loved that the captions comparing traditional and noir drawings describing noir men with a 'predatory' tilt to the head, or women with 'kiss me before you die' lips.

You don't mess with a noir woman, as the chapter headed 'Goodbye, Johnny Boy' states. 'Breaking up is hard to do. A bullet is one way to end things. It's messy, but at least it prevents all that 'it's not you, it's me' crap. Plus, now she can get into his computer files and steal the password to his Swiss bank account. And that's a nice salve for a broken heart.'

Fun!!!

Old age and treachery...

2010-11-11T20:55:00.000+13:00

Gawd life has been busy - I haven't blogged because I've barely got near my computer. I've managed a few emails and that's it. It wasn't helped by our home network going phut. Anyway, I am here, just to say I won't be here for a few days, well won't be here in cyberspace. I'll be in Dunedin competing in the National Fencing Championships. Yep, I'm going to get out there among the shiny young things and do my thing - epee on Saturday, foil on Sunday and teams competition on Monday. I'm hoping what they say is true, that old age and treachery will overcome youth and exuberance!

Finally, a date...

2010-11-07T21:04:00.000+13:00

...for the announcement of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel:

Whodunnit and Whowunnit?
with the presentation of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel
7:30pm, Tuesday 30 November 2010
Visions on Campus Restaurant, CPIT, cnr Madras St & Ferry Road, Christchurch
Drinks and nibbles from 7pm, author panel from 7:30pm
$10, includes a glass of wine and nibbles

Now all I have to figure out is what to wear!

But definitely not a beret and pearls - it would take a special kind of a gal to carry that off!

I'm back...

2010-11-06T22:15:00.000+13:00

...and you didn't even know I'd gone. And what have I been up to? Three days away as School Camp Mummy to 27 eight to ten-year-olds. (I know some of you are cringing at the thought of it) I had a brilliant time, but man, it's taken me all day today to recover. That age group aren't the best at settling to sleep when they're away from home and enjoying the company of a dorm room of mates - enough said!

Mr Eight-Year-Old's favourite activity was abseiling, my favourite activity was taking the kids bush to do survival skills and bivouac building.

I came back home to a zillion emails, including some important things I'll update tomorrow. But for now, I desperately need some sleep!!!

Useful things...

2010-11-02T10:16:00.000+13:00

I had the pleasure of going to talk to the Aoraki Polytechnic Creative Writing class last week. Tutor Diane Brown invites me along each year to have a chat to each class, and one of the things I do is take along a pile of books I find helpful for my writing. So I thought I'd share them with you too. So in no particular order:

Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King.

Let's face it, editing can be tiresome, but it is the one thing we do as writers that can make a huge difference to the readability of our manuscript, and the chances of getting published. This was the first book I brought on editing, and I found it immensely useful. In my first manuscript draft it helped my to reduce the -ly adverbs, and to get rid of the dreaded ingly!

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.

A friend recommended this book, and thank heavens. It came at a time when my head was full of self-destructive chatter and self doubt, and Anne Lamott made me realise, well actually, most of us suffer from this, and how to calm the hyperactive head, get the self doubt into some kind of order, and just crack on with it.

The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kitely.

This was a book I picked up at the University Book Shop, and I was drawn to the title because I am often up at 3 A.M. and the thought of some kind of epiphany was most welcome. The book is subtitled 'Uncommon writing exercises that transform your fiction' and it is chocka with all sorts of interesting things. I have never actually sat down with a pen and done one of the writing exercises, but I look at them, and they stimulate my thoughts and have lead me to think of scenes and situations in a different way.

Writing Mysteries. Edited by Sue Grafton with Jan Burke and Barry Zeman.

The reason I use this book as a particular example is that I own a number of books on writing mysteries and crime writing, but the ones I love the most are books like this that have a chapter or subject done by a different writer. In this one there are contributions by the likes of Michael Connelly, Tess Gerritsen, The Kellermans and Sara Paretsky. So I find it fascinating and useful to have a well established and highly esteemed crime writers view on a particular subject. Also, to be brutally honest, sometimes I have the attention span of a gnat, and these books, with a different voice each chapter keep me interested.

The other thing I do like, particularly in this day and age of digital this and on-line that is a good, huge old fashioned thesaurus. I can waste hours happily looking at synonyms, and I'm the kind of person who likes to flick pages and see things in proper print. My Oxford Dictionary Thesaurus is my friend.

So there you go - hope it's useful

A new muse...

2010-10-28T11:32:00.000+13:00

I have mentioned on this blog before the importance of my dear cat, Smooch, in my writing life, and how the sound track to my novels had been the not so gentle tones of her snoring. We were all bereft when Smooch succumbed to old age a few months ago, and I have to say my writing has suffered. Part of that was due to where I was at in Bound - the editing stage, and more recently proof reading (sent off the last proofs yesterday). But mostly, it was because I missed Smooch, I missed her company, and just knowing there was another being in the house with me.

We all decided we were ready to introduce a new furry companion into our lives, so let me introduce you to the newest member of the Symon household - Louie. He is sitting behind me as I type, and is shaping up very nicely into a writer's cat. He doesn't sit on the keyboard - always a bonus - or me, but just likes to be close, seeing what I'm up to, making sure he's not missing out on anything. So far he hasn't stopped being nosey and curious enough to settle down for a nap, so I am yet to see if he snores...

2010 20/10 2010

2010-10-21T19:20:00.000+13:00

Last night, at just before 8.10pm we did a little countdown because for one special minute the time was 2010 on the twentieth day of the tenth month, 2010. We're a bit nerdy like that (-;

Other trivialities:

I can't be trusted in any book shop. Went to Marbeck's and came home with this: Victorian Murders, by Major Arthur Griffiths, which was first published in 1898. How could I possibly resist? The other lure about Marbeck's, is they have a coffee shop instore, and if you buy books, they put stamps on your coffee card, so a few books later you get a free cup of coffee! That's a marriage made in heaven. If only I could convince them to extend that to wine...

Other books I'm currently reading:

Fiction: Surrender, by Donna Malane

Non-fiction: Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl, by Donald Sturrock

Car Book: A Surfeit of Lampreys, by Ngaio Marsh

Kid's bedtime story: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Number of items I have checked out from the Dunedin Public Library - 25!!!

Chilling...

2010-10-17T21:57:00.000+13:00

...out.

I confess to having had a glorious week of doing nothing. Well, that's not entirely accurate, I had two speaking engagements, one at the University of Otago with fellow Dunedin crime writer Liam MacIlvanney, and another in Wellington. Oh, and my radio show. I also had the usual running around after the kids and daily life, but other than that I have been reading books, and gardening.

Our garden is amazing at this time of year, the rhododendrons are in full bloom, there are still all sorts of spring flowers poking through, the cherry trees are a mass of white and pink blossom, the clematis is flowering, as are the kowhai trees, which are full of a myriad of bird life gorging on the nectar. Alas, the weeds are going nuts too, so I've had my work cut out. So instead of writing, I've been doing other more relaxing things...

But when you're surrounded by these colours, it's hard not to head out to the garden...

The Poisonous Pen of Agatha Christie

2010-10-13T22:05:00.000+13:00

By Michael C. Gerald

This is a fun little book I stumbled across when doing some research on Ngaio Marsh and her use of poison as a murder weapon. No doubt about it, Agatha Christie was the Queen of Skulduggery and murder by poison. To quote from the book, 'in over half of her sixty-six novels, at least one or more of the corpses are the victims of overdoses of poisons, drugs and other chemicals.'

Agatha Christie had a head start in using poison in her fiction, with a decent knowledge of medicines due to her working as a dispenser during World War I at the Red Cross Hospital in Torquay. If she didn't know of the poison, she knew where to look to find out about it. Christie used almost anything imaginable, from common poisons, such as arsenic and strychnine, to the more unusual, hyoscine (my favourite), to the outright rare, thallium.

I should probably state that in a former life I was a pharmacist, so have a natural fascination with the use of poisons, and that I've just completed a post grad thesis called 'Poisonous Fiction: Murder, hyoscine and Ngaio Marsh.' So I took great delight in ooohing and aaahing over the various nefarious uses of medications, narcotics, elements and otherwise. The author is a Professor of Pharmacology at Ohio State University, so his approach tends to the academic - he loves statistics, and I have to say, in this context, stats are fun. And it's not just about the poisons used to kill, any medication or agent used correctly or incorrectly gets a mention. So for someone like me, it's a great resource.

Naturally, a book of this nature is one great big spoiler, so if you haven't read much Christie, and don't want to know whodunnit, and how, then best avoid it. But if you have a knowledge and a fondness for things chemical, then it's a fascinating read.

Radio show day

2010-10-12T12:28:00.000+13:00

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is radio show day once again - my, where does a month go? I looked at how many posts I have done this month and realised I've been rather slack. Oops.

Write On is broadcast on Toroa Radio 1575kHz AM in Dunedin or live streamed from their website.
The show is at noon.

Tania Roxborogh has recently released Bloodlines, the second book in her Banquo's Son Trilogy, the first of which recently won the Young Adult Fiction category in the LIANZA Book Awards. We'll talk about Bloodlines, and the pressures and joys of having to deliver a trilogy of books to an eager audience.

British born, Canadian living crime writer Peter Robinson was in New Zealand recently promoting his new Detective Chief Inspector Banks novel, Bad Boy. I had the opportunity to talk with him about the book, music and his novels getting to television.

Bloodlines

2010-10-06T10:57:00.001+13:00

By TK Roxborogh.

Bloodlines is the second book in the Banquo's Son Trilogy, in which the first, Banquo's Son, has recently won the Young Adult Fiction category in the LIANZA Book Awards. Although Bloodlines is aimed at the young adult market, it is a cross over book that is a great read for adults too.

Tania Roxborogh has taken the events in Shakespeare's Macbeth and followed the story of Fleance, the young son of the murdered Banquo. In Bloodlines Fleance is now the king of Scotland, a young and inexperienced king who finds himself to some extent at sea with the politics of such a position and having to deal with rebel uprisings, lead by Magness, the man who raised him to adulthood and who he loves like a father. His betrothed, Rachel, is kidnapped by Callum, the king of Norway and Fleance has to make hard decisions as what he personally must confront first. As you can imagine, as in any kingdom, he has his detractors and his loyal followers, and you're never sure quite who is in which camp.

This is based on part of Macbeth, and as is fitting there is ever the work of the three witches in the background spreading their visions and poisoning minds, leaving a sense of foreboding and mysticism. We get to see the world from Rachel's eyes too, abducted and maltreated. We see how she copes with the very real prospect of her own mortality and her strengths shining through.

I really enjoyed meeting the historical figures in this novel, and you can see the writer has done her homework in creating a vision of life in the mid-eleventh century. This is written as a stand alone novel, but I felt I benefited from having read the first in the series and in having full knowledge of the character's background and how far they had come since their carefree days of youth, before the burden of being King. But even without that knowledge Bloodlines stands on its own as a gripping and enjoyable story of love, honour, betrayal and duty. Can't wait for Birthright.

Of pens and paper...

2010-10-04T09:11:00.000+13:00

I knew it couldn't last, that I wouldn't be able to down pen and just let things be for a week or two. No, the writing urge just wont let up and yesterday I relented and popped down to the University Book Shop to buy my traditional new notebook for the new novel. It couldn't wait another day...

So let me introduce you to my new friend, a novel called The Faceless, a notebook - a Paper Blanks Cartella Collection Lussuria, and my New Banker fountain pen. No I don't hand write my novels, but I do like to jot things in a good notebook, it's a symbolic and ritualistic thing.

I have always had a thing for paper - you should see my stationery drawers, and have always been a fan of handwritten letters - I help keep New Zealand Post in business. And I have more beautiful notebooks than I can possibly justify. But it is only recently I have discovered the joy of fountain pens. I've always used good pens, but now I have realised there is a whole new world out there of fountain pens, and ink. And don't get me started on mechanical pencils. There may even be a couple of new, er, acquisitions arriving this week, ahem. There are a few people, well aware of my total lack of self-control, who send links to temptation my way. (You know who you are!)

My tempters sent me this link, to Andy's Pens, and the Conway Sterwart Detection Collection - yes, Conway Stewart are releasing a series of limited edition fountain pens inspired by crime writers. The first release is Michael Jenks. I wonder who else will be immortalised with a stylish writing implement?

Has any fictional character been murdered with a fountain pen? I wonder...

Done!

2010-10-02T09:28:00.000+13:00

The thesis is submitted, the novel is finished (except for the proof reading) and finally, I get to relax - well as much as you can with the kids at home for the holidays. But then, we can still be in our Pyjamas at lunch time if we want, and the books scattered everywhere and the sea of Lego across the lounge floor attests to the fact the kids are well occupied.

I'm now turning serious attention to my garden...

Here's a few pics of the wonderful things popping up in it in spring...

Redwall

2010-09-28T19:25:00.000+13:00

By Brian Jacques

In the search to find cool things to read to the boys at bedtime I took the recommendation of a nephew, and we have just completed Redwall, by Brian Jacques. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, think Wind in the Willows with teeth and swords. We have Matthias and his warrior mice and woodland creatures defending the abbey of Redwall from Cluny the Scourge, an evil rat and his rat and stoat hoards. Throw in an adder named Asmodeussssssss, a mad as a meat axe hare named Basil Stag Hare, and my favourite character of all, a young sparrow called War-beak, a very warlike character who when captured tells every one I killee, I killee you, and it makes for a rollicking adventure. I don't know if it's a good thing but we've been wandering around the house telling each other I killee you, you no lookie and I killee! This is what you get in a crime writer's household.

Next up is Treasure Island...

Busted!

2010-09-27T17:50:00.000+13:00

Mr Ten-year-old made the transition into Mr Eleven-year-old last week, so naturally we had to mark the occasion with a party, and the only reason they get parties is because I like to make cakes! The birthday boy decided he wanted a Mythbusters party theme, which was great because it meant we got to do experiments and do things that went bang. The Coke and Mentos experiment was a bit of a fizzer, but blowing up plastic bags with baking soda and vinegar worked a treat!

For the cake I felt obliged to do mean things to Buster... Birthday boy was amused....

Saints of New York

2010-09-24T09:27:00.000+12:00

By R.J. Ellory

New York detective Frank Parrish is a man who has seen a lot of evil and feels bringing criminals to justice is his reason for being. When a drug dealer turns up shot dead Parrish thinks it's a standard homicide. But when the dealer's teenage sister is found strangled to death Parrish realises the stakes are a lot higher. When he notices the similarities between her death and those of other ordinary seeming teenage girls he knows he's on to something big. What they have in common is truly alarming.

Parrish is not what you'd call a team player. His new partner has got his work cut out as Parrish is gruff, rude and not altogether sharing. He's a risk taker who feels he has nothing to lose. He's already on disciplinary for being insubordinate and has been forced to see the police shrink.

Through these sessions we begin to realise Parrish not only gets to live with his own demons, but he has to live in the shadow of his late father, a legendary New York detective who everyone held up as a saint, one of the detectives who brought the mafia under control, but one who Parrish knows was as corrupt as they come.

This novel combines two elements for me - a satisfying crime novel, but also a human drama. We have this internal struggle going on within our character coming to terms with hiss father, and also his family dynamics with a bitter ex-wife and strained relationships with his children. Both elements succeed without overshadowing each other. It makes for a great read- I loved this book and keep thinking about it.

The Murder at the Vicarage

2010-09-19T17:36:00.003+12:00

By Agatha Christie.

Hello to visitors from Mysteries in Paradise Agatha Christie Blog Tour! We're celebrating a month long tribute to Agatha Christie on the 120th anniversary of her birth. Go here to see the other stops on the tour.

Recently Dunedin had the pleasure of Scottish crime writer Val McDermid coming to town. I blogged about the visit, and the fine time I had out to dinner with Val, fellow Dunedin writer Liam MacIlvanney and friends. One of the intriguing things in Val's talk at the Settler's Museum was her recounting books that had influenced her life, and one of those mentioned was Agatha Christie's, The Murder at the Vicarage. Val's family didn't have the luxury of many books at home. The library became Val's lifeline when she was a child, but one of the books they did happen to have at home was Agatha Christie's The Murder at the Vicarage. The result of this was that the book became Val's default book when she couldn't find anything else to read. In fact she had lost count of the number of times she had read the book and said she enjoyed it every time. So one has to think Agatha Christie had quite an effect on the one-day-to-be best-selling crime writer.

So, I thought, if it's good enough for Val, I had better see what it was all about...

Oh, the goings on in the little village of St Mary Mead when Colonel Protheroe is shot dead in the Vicarage. Len Clement, the vicar, is appalled that such a thing should happen in his village, let alone in his home. A local artist with a reputation with the ladies promptly confesses to the crime, and then so does the not-so-grieving widow. When the timing shows it couldn't have been either of them, who knows who to believe? In the midst of all this chaos and confusion are the ever vigilant eyes of Miss Jane Marple, one of a quartet of old biddies in the town who know everyone's business. But Miss Marple's skills prove rather valuable.

Oh, the intricacies of this book; clues, red herrings, diversions, coincidences, multiple schemings, I was at a loss until the last few pages. Christie's skill in plotting certainly shows it self in this novel, as do her colourful characters, from the Vicar's much younger and vivacious wife, Griselda, to the ahead of her time Gladys Cram, a young single woman employed as a secretary to a visiting archaeologist and with a penchant for short skirts. I do have to say I was quite surprised at how harsh Miss Marple comes across in The Murder at the Vicarage. This is the first Miss Marple book I have read, and I gather she softens in later novels, but in this one she was really quite bitchy!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think I'll even have to do a Val and read it again. I'll look out for all the clues with the advantage of foresight.

In a nice little bonus at the end of the novel, the edition I read had an advertisement for my favourite Kiwi girl Ngaio Marsh and her novel The Nursing Home Murder, so happy happy all around.

Cloudcatcher

2010-09-16T21:00:00.003+12:00

Book launches are always fun and tonight I got to enjoy the launch of Cloudcatcher into the world. Cloudcatcher is the baby of Sue Wootton and illustrator Carla Braun-Elwert.

A large and jovial crowd packed into the University Book Shop to help Sue and Carla celebrate this gorgeous children's book. Publisher Roger Steele from Steel Roberts added to the festivities. It was also apt there were also plenty of kids enjoying the occasion.
Sue Wootton is best known as a poet, and her skills show in the musicality and flow of words, which roll off the tongue with delight. Cloudcatcher is a book to be read aloud. Mr Bellavista is a proud tomato grower who goes to extremes to keep the sun on his tomatoes. In fact he invents a machine to catch the clouds, with unforeseen results.

The illustrations are beautiful, and it was a special treat to see framed full sized versions of the pictures displayed around the book shop. Made me wish I could take one home.

So congratulations to Sue and Carla. It was a delightful evening celebrating what is a truly beautiful book.

Bad Boy

2010-09-15T09:48:00.003+12:00

by Peter Robinson

This is Peter Robinson's 19th Detective Chief Inspector Banks novel, and it's the first I have read. I really enjoyed it.

Bad Boy starts with DCI Banks in America on holiday and while he is away all sorts of trouble is brewing on the home front. His daughter's best friend triggers a disastrous series of events when she, in a moment of pique, sneaks off with her boyfriend's gun. He is a very charming and dangerous young man and when Tracy Banks, who fancies him, decides to warn Jaff about the police attention coming his way, she ends up on the run with him.
It all starts out as a bit of thrilling fun for her, off with the bad boy, until it turns deadly serious and he shoots DI Annie Cabot in front of her. Tracy then realises just how bad her bad boy is.
DCI Banks comes back from America to find his partner shot and his daughter on the run and implicated in the crime. It all becomes very personal.
This was a great read, fast paced and with compelling and interesting characters, including a couple of particularly nasty fix-it men. It is one of those stories where you can see the inevitable escalation of events and the slide out of control for the players. There are some very nasty moments, but they are done well.
I have to say I did get a shock when it all wrapped up because of how suddenly it ended, for me a little too soon, but it was still finished in a satisfying kind of way.
It was a good read, and I'll certainly look out for some of Peter Robinson's other novels.

Trick of the Dark

2010-09-13T21:17:00.003+12:00

By Val McDermid

Dr Charlie Flint is a psychologist whose career is in tatters and who is under investigation by her professional body after her recommendation sets a killer free to go on and murder four women. She's asked by her former Oxford tutor Dr Corinna Newsome to look into the background of Jay Macallan Stewart, a celebrity memoirist and now lover of her daughter. Newsome's daughter, Magda, has had the unthinkable happen - her husband murdered at their wedding. Newsome can't reconcile herself with the fact her daughter has found solace in the arms of another woman, especially Jay Stewart, another former student.
As Charlie digs into jay's past she starts to find an alarming number of people who stand in Jay's way end up dead.

I thought this was a fabulous novel, beautifully written and full of strong women characters. It's a novel that keeps you guessing. Is Jay Stewart a psychopathic killer? Or is she just unlucky and bad things happen to people around her? The story is told from different character's perspective and also from Jay's memoirs, one she is currently writing and one published which weaves throughout the novel, giving great insight into her character and the truths she's filtering, and adding doubt and confusion for the reader.

It gives a fascinating insight into collegiate times in days gone by in Oxford, McDermid's old stomping ground, so she's gone back to her roots and had fun with it.

I'm a squeamish reader, so I loved that this novel doesn't have blood and gore, but it builds up tension beautifully and as all of the narrators are pretty unreliable and busy deceiving each other, it keeps you guessing. Great read.

RJ Ellory - Oh how the sparks flew...

2010-09-11T21:33:00.003+12:00

Dunedin has had a veritable feast of visiting crime writers in recent weeks. Yesterday it was the turn of British crime writer RJ Ellory. Roger is a writer I've only recently become aware of with his novel A Simple Act of Violence winning the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel Award. He was in Dunedin promoting his novel Saints of New York.

A cosy crowd turned out to hear him talk at the Dunedin City Library, and I have to say it was a real treat to listen to him. Roger is a natural storyteller, and he held everyone captivated with his entertaining and generous answers to our questions. His story of how he came to be published was one of sheer exasperation and pig-headed determination. I think he wins the award for the most rejections received by an author, which means nowadays when he's making a living out of doing what he loves, he gets to have the last laugh. I think that is one of the main things I came away with from the night was his sheer passion and enjoyment of writing.

He said he writes about human drama, and wants his novels to resonate and stay with the reader well after they've finished. He wants his characters to be memorable, real. He certainly achieved that in Saints of New York, a novel I loved and haven't been able to get out of my head.

Naturally I had to get my shameless groupie shot with the author and my book autographed, but I also had the pleasure of getting to pre-record a radio interview with him for the Write On Radio Show. And that is where the sparks flew...

I bowled up to his hotel at 9.00am this morning, armed with Toroa Radio's mini-disc recorder (it's a high tech station, really!) I got it all set up at a table in a quiet corner of the hotel restaurant, Roger rocked up, looking very tolerant for someone who had to get up for an interview at 9.00am on a Saturday morning. I went to hit record...and nothing. Hmmm, it was working a few moments ago, but no, the display had disappeared, and for all intents and purposes the minidisc recorder appeared dead.

I pushed a few buttons;

Nothing.

I gave it a few cautious taps.

Nothing.

Minor humiliation and panic start to set in.

I gave it a hearty slap.

Still nothing.

Mr Ellory looked amused.

Then we started to smell the acrid tang of smoke.

Hmmmm.

I pick up the power transformer and watched in fascination as pretty electrical arcs spark across the exposed wires where they connected with the box.

At this point self-preservation set in and I pulled the plug out of the wall and looked nervously up at the sprinklers above the table. Thanks god the smoke detectors didn't go off.

Mr Ellory looked very amused at this point.

So alas, no interview. But I did get to have a lovely informal chat about the virtues of Facebook, among other things.

There you go. I now go down in history as the person who did her jolly best to electrocute RJ Ellory!

Write On Radio Show, Wednesday

2010-09-07T16:39:00.003+12:00

What a crazy up and down week it has been. The Christchurch earthquake must have been terrifying to experience there, because the shaking was scary enough here in Dunedin! They have announced the cancellation of The Press Christchurch Writer's Festival, and with that, the announcement of the winner of the Ngaio Marsh Award for best crime fiction. The organiser is trying to figure out something special for that, so we'll keep you posted.

I'm bummed out that the festival is no longer to be, as I was so excited about it, but I am relieved not to be traveling to Christchurch when they are still getting aftershocks ranking in the 5's on the Richter scale.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is Write On Radio Show Day, which is live on Toroa 1575kHz AM radio in Dunedin at noon, or live streamed from the Toroa Radio website.

Scottish crime writer extraordinaire Val McDermid was recently in Dunedin and I had the pleasure of recording a radio interview with her, as well as doing a spot of socialising. In the interview we talk about her life as a crime writer, as well as her newly released novel Trick of the Dark.

Sue Wootton is best known as a poet and short story writer, but she has now added children's book writer to her list of achievements. We'll talk about her new children's picture book Cloudcatcher, and also her passion for poetry and short fiction.

Listen in!

Emerging for spring air...

2010-09-01T14:40:00.003+12:00

Once again, I find myself apologising for being strangely silent on the blog front. So this is me waving my hand around saying hi guys, yes, I'm still alive.

So what's been going on...?

I've been busy putting the finishing touches on the post grad thesis, just about there, just waiting on the last bit of feedback. When it's handed in you'll hear the whoop and hollering of delight from your place!

I'm expecting the edits back on Bound from the publisher any day now. Any thoughts of a week or two off before they arrive has gone out the window!

Found out I'm not going to be the Robert Burns Fellow next year, damn it. Ah well, I'll just keep on applying...

Speaking of keeping on applying... applications for Creative New Zealand funding close on Friday.

I pre-recorded a telephone interview with Peter Robinson about his writing and his new book Bad Boy.

Next week I get to interview RJ Ellory.

I did book reviews for Jim Mora's Critical Mass programme on Radio New Zealand yesterday

The garden is blooming lovely - every spring flower you can imagine. This is the excitement of a new home - seeing what pops up in the garden.

My mum's come to stay on holiday!

And now I'm counting down to next Friday, and the Christchurch Writers Festival, and the announcement of the Ngaio Marsh Award for best crime fiction novel! In the meantime I've got to think about the really important questions of life, like what on earth am I going to wear!!!

Val McDermid hits Dunedin

2010-08-23T10:05:00.003+12:00

On Friday I got to drag myself out of my study induced incarceration to make the most of crime writer extraordinaire Val McDermid's visit to Dunedin.

Thanks to fellow Dunedin crime writer Liam McIlvanney twisting her arm while at the Harrogate Festival, Val's NZ tour was extened to include the Edinburgh of the South. To us down here it seemed altogether logical that the Scottish writer should come here first!

A very appreciative crowd turned out on Friday evening to hear her talk at the Otago Settlers Museum, and she kept us thoroughly entertained with her stories about writing, her new novel Trick of the Dark, and some of her writerly processes, including testing characters by talking out loud with them while walking her dog along her neighbourhood beach. Luckily the locals have got used to it!

After the event I had the privilege of going out to dinner with Val, Liam McIlvanney and a few others to Dunedin's best Scottish bistro and Whisky Bar, Scotia. Scotia has over 300 whiskies to choose from if you fancy a dram. It was a very entertaining evening, and the meal was fantastic.

One of the highlights for me was the discussions about crime fiction and crime writers. Val McDermid is incredibly knowledgeable about writers, as is Liam, who is the Stuart Chair in Scottish Studies at the University of Otago, and one of the other guests who also lectures in crime fiction. I learned an awful lot and as a result will have to add a mountain of writers to my must read list. So a brilliant evening all around.

I also pre-recorded a radio interview with Val which will be broadcast on the Write On Radio Show on September the 8th - but I shall remind folk about that closer to the date.

It was one of those evenings that left me feeling invigorated and rearing to get stuck into writing the next novel...

There's always another deadline...

2010-08-17T09:18:00.003+12:00

I apologise if I've been a bit quiet on the blogging front. I mean to, and I want to, but after a day hard out writing, I look at the screen and contemplate posting something witty and erudite, or informative and realise, oops, I seem to have used up my daily allocation of witty, erudite and informative and the well is dry.

Writing you ask? Is it the next novel? A short story for the Sunday Star Times competition? Nah, sorry, it's something quite different - I'm in the final throes of a thesis. Muggins here decided she needed to do some post-graduate study, that life wasn't busy enough with being a mum and writing novels and all the other associated stuff, nope, I thought I'd become a student again.

Oh you silly cow, you say, and you'd be right - the extra pressure has been hard, BUT it has been a lot of fun and a journey of discovery.

So what does a Crime Writer/ academic wannabe study then? For those out there that like official titles, I'm doing a Post Graduate Certificate in Pharmacy Research. But here is the fun bit - I'm researching a crime writer, and not just any crime writer, I'm researching Ngaio Marsh. What the hell does Ngaio Marsh have to do with Pharmacy research you ask? Well, she used the occasional poison, didn't she? Et voila, we have a connection.

So there is some method to my madness - I get to tick lots of boxes in one go. I get to look into the workings of a writer I hugely admire, I get to satisfy my inner geek and I get to look closely into the world of crime writing. It's all good.

But it does make me a bad blogger, just for a while.

Finalist!!!

2010-08-13T16:13:00.003+12:00

The finalists have been announced for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for the best crime novel... and Containment is one of them!

I'm utterly stoked. It feels such an honour to make the top three along with Cut & Run by Alix Bosco and Burial by Neil Cross.

The winner will be announced at The Press Christchurch Writer's Festival on Friday the 10th of September.

For this Ngaio Marsh fan to make it into the final of the Ngaio Marsh Award is just too exciting for words.

The Write Tools

2010-08-09T16:47:00.002+12:00

Today I have the pleasure of being the guest blogger over at Damon Young's blog Darkly Wise, Rudely Great. Damon has been running a Monday series of guest blogs called the Write Tools, and I am number 25. Fellow NZ writer Rachael King has also been a past guest, among Australian and international bloggers.

So how do I know Damon? I don't. But Damon has taunted me in the past by leaving comments on my blog fueling my slight obsession with fountain pens and now beautiful inks. He teases me relentlessly with links like this. Cruel, cruel man, and expensive, because I have no impulse control when it comes to stationery and writing supplies!