Fantasy adventure Hi, I hope you're enjoying the change in seasons and getting some great weather. I love spring and autumn so much. We've had some lovely days over the last few weeks, so I thought I'd show off a picture of Wellington at night on a delightfully warm evening, to try and forget how cold it is tonight. (It's not that actually that cold, it just feels cold.) My writing: The Clockwork Dragon (working title) is over 50,000 words. I'm about half way through the last pass before it...
14 days ago • 3 min read
Fantasy adventure Hi, I hope you're having a great day and a wonderful week, with plenty of time for reading. And lots of wonderful books. I managed to pick up a couple more books from the Cozy the Day Away sale as one of the hazards of not being in America means I miss out on the special prices. Still, two is better than none! And I'm excited to get to read them. And it was also suggested by a friend that I should read the next Greton's Marvellous Maps book. So far I'm really enjoying it, so...
20 days ago • 4 min read
Fantasy adventure Hi, I hope you’ve had a lovely week. This week I've got the exciting Cozy the Day Away sale on. Last time I picked up I think it was nearly a dozen books for 99c or free. So I think it's really worth checking out. And in other news, I did go for that walk around Pāuatahanui inlet. It's such a pretty walk past the cheerful Camborne boat sheds. And I did find that poem from NZ poet Poet Sam Hunt. He's not my favourite poet, but it's so cool having the poem Of Dan and the...
27 days ago • 3 min read
Fantasy adventure Hi, I hope you’ve had a fantastic week. Today is such a lovely day here. The birds are outside singing in the garden. Well, some of them are. Some of our local kaka (a green/brown bush parrot) are screeching from the oak tree. But that's their thing, and they're so cheeky and fun they're still one of my favourite birds. Which is why I also vote for them for bird of the year--except for this year. They know what they did to my car. And I've got a great newsletter for you,...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Fantasy adventure Hi, I hope you’ve had a great week, we've had sunshine here and I even managed a game of croquet with the family, including my young nephew who is desperate . Now, I'd like to be able to tell you that I channeled either the Queen of Hearts of Alice in Wonderland, but I did completely fail on that point. Oh, what am I talking about, the Cheshire Cat is the person to channel during any game—have fun, smile, and only worry about keeping your head! :) In writing news, Klanket,...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Fantasy adventure Hi, I hope you’ve had a great week and wherever you are you have the perfect place to escape on a book adventure. Here it's the perfect weather here for cups of hot cocoa and snuggling up with a book. But part of me would like to escape to somewhere warm and spread out under a shade umbrella maybe with cocktails on the beach and a whole pile of reading. I've never done it before, but it does seem that it would be a lovely thing to do—even if I'd miss my cats. And what would...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Fantasy adventure Hi, I hope you’ve had a great week with lots of fantastic reading. I have to admit, I've really enjoyed my latest read, The Astral Library, and have moved onto Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisher. Which has started with a poisons expert, and a scene that gave me flashbacks to "The Apothecary Diaries" a show that I watched with my eldest last time they came home for a visit. Of course, besides taking poison in their role as poison experts, the characters are very different, so...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Fantasy adventure Hi, I hope you’ve had a great week. And you've been reading some great books. Thank you for your reading suggestions. Now I'm not even sure where to start! Hemlock and Silver by T KingfisherThe Astral Library by Kate QuinnA Resistance of Witches by Morgan RyanOf Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara TrueloveThe Witches of Eileanan by Kate ForsythBooks of the Raksura Witch King and Queen Demon by Martha Wells So, I was wondering which of these books do you think I should read...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Fantasy adventure Hi, I hope you’ve had an amazing week. I've been busy with my job as convenor of Te Pae Tawhiti, interviewing our judges for the website, organising the convenor manual and just generally ticking off formatting jobs like Into Treachery for paperback. Now live! And Eileen Mueller's Dragon Battle paperback, which will be live soon! Not to mention the Dragon Transport and Pacification Society! Also in exciting news, I've organized the art for the new covers of the Blood of the...
7 months ago • 3 min read