One of the exciting things that happened recently was the launch Faceless in Britain. One of the weird things that happened recenty was the launch of Faceless in Britain. Weird, you ask? Yes, weird. One of the wonders of modern technology is the ability to have virtual book launches, so had the absolute pleasure of sharing an event with the wonderful Eve Smith and Simone Buchholz chaired by Dr Noir  - Jacky Collins, but from the comfort of my home. They were celebrating in the evening with a glass of something fun, I was celebrating in the morning with a cuppa. It was fun, but I look forward to in person book launches in the future, especially as my fabulous publisher Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books is famous for her book themed cupcakes! I missed the cupcakes!

Here's the link to our fabulous launch.

 

The Big Issue - Homelessness

One of the underlying themes of Faceless is homelessness and society's perceptions of those who find themselves in this awful situation. I was asked to write an article for the UK publication The Big Issue to mark International Women's Day. The statistics in Aotearoa New Zealand are sobering.

Why Māori women in New Zealand are disproportionately likely to be homeless

 

Faceless on tour... Blog tour, that is

 You know publication date is looming and it's starting to get real when your book kicks off on a blog tour. I have been very priviledged to have had blog tours organised for my books by the fabulous Anne Cater of Random Things Through My Letterbox. I always look forward with a sense of excitement, and slight trepidation, to hear what the reviewers think of my book baby. So it's all go this March, keep your eyes out...

New flash website, dusting off the blog...

It has been an embarrasingly long time since I posted anything on my blog. I guess, like many people who used to blog regularly, I was seduced by the likes of Facebook, and Twitter, and the short, sharp and snappy.

Now I find myself with a flash new website (thanks to eldest kid for designing it, and to David Batterbury for dealing with the hell on wheels of domain name transfer) it's time to embrace that longer form of sharing your thoughts, from the deep and meaningful (that won't happen often - promise) to the quirky (much more my style).

But first, to celebrate...

Tea.

And in the very exciting news department - this baby comes out in the UK today!

I'm just a little bit stoked

Hello Blog, remember me?

Well, it's been a while, dear Blog. I know I have neglected you while I've been concentrating on that other piece of writing - the PhD thesis. But hey, that's almost done and dusted, so you know, er, I'm back... No hard feelings, I hope...

Why crime writers struggle to write theses

This academic writing business is strange. And you'd think that someone who is accustomed to sitting herself down and writing 1000 words a day on a novel would have a distinct advantage when it came to the long haul of writing a thesis. But apparently not! And it is my crime writer side that is struggling the most.

Want to know why? (of course you do, but it was only polite to ask.) As a crime writer it is my goal to surprise you at the end, so you don't know until the last who did the dastardly deed, so that you get that aha moment and you think, of course the clues were all there, but I still didn't see that coming. If I can achieve that aha moment for my readers and I have satisfied them as they turn those last pages, I am a happy gal.

Academic writing is the opposite. Academics don't like surprises. I am supposed to tell them what happens in the first sentence of the paragraph. I am supposed to be upfront about where it is going and guide my readers through my thought processes. Can you imagine how much that grates a crime writer?!!! Every creative urge in my mind fights against it.

Must...finish...thesis...

Want...to...write...novel!