When my daughter was four, we took her to Disney on Ice. As princesses and pirates and heroines and villains swished and pirouetted and twirled, her little face was a study in concentration. At one point, Donald Duck was put into an enchanted sleep by an evil queen. All the children around us oooohed and…
The Stories Within Us
My daughter turns 14 next week. As is always the case at this time of year, I'm reflecting on the difference she has made to my life, what joy she has brought, and what lessons she has taught me. And as I prepare for the publication of my first novel next year, my thoughts inevitably…
The Magic Thread
My last post, A Letter to my Daughter, got me thinking about the connection between parents and their children, and how it never truly breaks, even when tested by conflict or emotional damage or grief or fear or numerous other challenges - and even when either or both parties think it has been irreparably damaged.…
A Letter to my Daughter
To my daughter, This is your last week of primary school. I couldn’t let it go by without writing to you. It’s what I do to process my thoughts and feelings; to line things up in my mind until they make sense and form some sort of pattern; to express what sometimes cannot be said…
Less really is more
Here is another poem inspired by my daughter. It's amazing how an everyday task can spark a creative impulse. At first I tried to make the poem much longer, and sat for a number of hours trying to come up with more clever and intricate word plays and puns. In the end, I just went with the few,…
The Story Thief
My six-year-old daughter made up a story for me before going to bed tonight. Here it is, as close to her exact words as I can remember: The Story Thief [NB - not to be confused with Markus Zusak's The Book Thief - although possibly just as riveting.] Once upon a time, before the dinosaurs…
God Rest Ye Merry Bloggers
As I scrolled through the WordPress Reader this morning I felt a mixture of admiration and despair. So many bloggers are sharing beautifully polished posts about Christmas literature and legends and other festive wonderments. I imagine them tucked away in their little Dickens-like hamlets, snow softly falling on their windows which are beautifully lit by a dancing fire…
Through the claws of the stars
You may have read my earlier post relating the survival story of our little tabby cat Lucy. In case you haven't, it's here. In it, I wrote about our other cat Samantha, who was 17 and in such surprisingly good health that she seemed virtually indestructible. I called her my cockroach cat because I was sure she…
A Different Child
As some of you know, I have one child - not by choice. I wrote about my struggles to have a second child and my experience of recurrent miscarriage and secondary infertility in this article, which was published in a New Zealand magazine last year. I wanted to share my journey for selfish reasons - cathartic…
Selling Beauty to Babies
My six-year-old daughter was invited to a party this weekend. The little birthday girl is a delight and I would have loved Miss B. to attend. After checking out the venue online, however, my partner and I decided we had to decline the invitation.Club Girly Girlz hosts parties for young girls centred around getting made up,…
Patricia Bell, Author 