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:…
Women are not a special interest group
I'm thinking about International Women's Day (yesterday for us here in NZ). It's a day I both celebrate and lament. Because women are not a special interest group. We are more than half of the world's population. And the fact that we still have to have a "day", once a year, saddens me. The joy…
Quick Tips #5: How to publish a novel
Write a bad one.Fix it. (This step will take many months, and sometimes years.)Cry. (This will happen during points 1. and 2.)Finish it, to the best of your ability. Wallow in existential angst wondering if the best of your ability is enough.See point 3.Bravely send it to beta readers, then fix it some more.Get thoroughly…
Interview with the Author
My debut novel launches this Tuesday, 1st March. I have a number of interviews lined up, with various media outlets, and I've been preparing. I put together a mock interview, asking myself questions and answering them. It was very useful, and I'm sharing some of it with you today. It will give you a little…
The Naming of Things: Choosing a Title
It’s only two weeks until my debut novel is launched, and the PR is ramping up. At the beginning of this month I finally revealed the book’s cover and title: The reaction, particularly to the title, was unanimously enthusiastic, with many people saying they were intrigued, hooked already, and that they could not wait to…
Cover Reveal Day!
I'm delighted to reveal the cover of my debut novel, "The Library of Unfinished Business". And here's the cover blurb: "Maurice, a small-town librarian, dies one Monday morning in a fiery car crash. Finding himself in a very unexpected afterlife, he befriends Kit, who knows more than he should about Heaven—and about Maurice’s life on…
Dandelion Clocks
I'm delighted to announce that my short story "Dandelion Clocks" has won the 2021 NZSA Graeme Lay Short Story competition. In his announcement on Facebook today, Graeme said: Themes of childhood loss and the possibility of renewal make this beautifully observed and sensitively written story difficult to forget. Thank you, Graeme, and congratulations to the…
Offline Liberation
A couple of months ago I removed myself from Facebook (apart from my author page) and deleted Twitter. I spend a limited amount of time on LinkedIn and Instagram, mostly for my work. I’ve been thinking about how the decision to (mostly) unplug, based on protecting my mental health, saving time, and stopping mindless scrolling…
The Girl Behind the Bar
I dug this story out recently. It was highly commended in the 2014 Takahē short story competition. (Takahē is a New Zealand literary journal.) It's one of my favourite pieces of work - perhaps because it takes the reader to Northern Ireland, where I was born. It's never been published, although I did post it…
Soundbites and Clickbait: my experience as a radio journalist
Last month I posted my thoughts about journalism in New Zealand generally, and in a pandemic in particular. I thought today I would dig a bit deeper into my own experience as a journalist and what it taught me - about writing, about humanity, about the media, and about the way we choose to show…
Patricia Bell, Author 