New Zealand author Joanne Drayton launches her new book The Queen's Wife TONIGHT as part of Auckland Pride Month's Samesame but Different LGBTQIA+ Writers and Readers Festival. Congratulations, Joanne! I reviewed the book for NZ Booklovers. Here is my review: ‘Life is a game of chess. You should try playing it with two queens.’ So…
Book Review: Mila and the Bone Man
Mila and the Bone Man by Lauren Roche Book reviewing 101: Review a book when you’ve finished it. I thought I would try something different with Lauren Roche’s Mila and the Bone Man. I’m currently reading it, and I propose this: a short meditation on the journey so far. The thoughts and feelings that have…
Book Review: The Doctor’s Wife
The Doctor's Wife by Fiona Sussman I sense it when I talk about murder mysteries and psychological thrillers written by New Zealand authors. I call it the Kiwi cultural cringe: the idea that New Zealand commercial (or genre) fiction is inferior. Perhaps it’s something to do with New Zealand’s literary tradition still being in its…
Much Ado About … what, exactly?
The issue of arts funding and who gets what is not a new debate in Aotearoa New Zealand. Creative New Zealand (CNZ) has regularly come under fire from writers and artists, with literary doyenne Paula Morris even winning a bias complaint against it earlier this year, after it turned down her application on behalf of…
Drink, Smoke, Snort, Stroke
I don't normally dedicate a whole post to a book I've edited ... but I've made an exception for this one. I'm so proud to have edited this book for Willy de Wit, one of the most prominent names in New Zealand comedy and a man who has faced addiction, despair, depression, and a brush…
Women’s writing: how the world dismisses it
I published my debut novel in March, and was lucky enough to receive positive reviews, wonderful reader feedback, and a stint on three bestseller lists. I'm now working on my second novel, and as I write (and procrastinate), I've been thinking about stories and how we tell them and how they are received. I've been…
Scar
I never thought I was very good at writing poetry. I still don't. But Anna Jackson has convinced me I should do it anyway. The NZ poet and academic has recently published a wonderful book called Actions and Travels, about the joys of poetry. And the greatest joy, perhaps, is that anyone can write it:…
Why I Write
I received these emails a few days after my debut novel, The Library of Unfinished Business, launched last week. "Hi Patricia, I loved your book! I couldn't put it down once I got into it, and finished it last night. I think it’s brilliant the way you handle the plot with all its twists and…
Today
The world has become still. The voices of the dying are terrifying in their silence. We are grieving what is lost, and what will be lost. We are separate, but united. We are ALL the frontline. We do not know exactly what our world will look like when it reboots. But for today, I am…
Building Bridges
A friend sent me a much-needed text yesterday. Earlier in the day we had walked together and I had updated her on the very difficult period I was going through. Here is an edited extract: Darling, I'm so so sorry that your heart is so heavy. You'll get through this...Keep thinking and living in baby…
Patricia Bell, Author 