Yes, it's true. Hercule Poirot has received the kiss of life and is exercising his "little grey cells" in the well-heeled living rooms of British author Sophie Hannah's latest murder mystery, Closed Casket. Closed Casket I cut my reading teeth on Agatha Christie's novels and devoured every word she wrote with a voracious appetite for…
Monster Making 101 – WORD Christchurch
Recently I braved the heaviest rain of winter to attend the WORD Writer’s Workshop “Teaching the Monster to Speak” hosted by the energetic Tracy Farr. Tracy, who was born across the ditch but who we’ll claim as a Kiwi as she’s lived in Wellington for the past 20 years, wrote The Life and Loves of…
Jane Smiley – “Important things are happening”
At the Christchurch Art Gallery last night, a keen group of contemporary fiction fans gathered to hear American author Jane Smiley talk about her life, her books and her love of "playing" with fiction. Jane appeared at this WORD Christchurch event with thanks to the Auckland Writers Festival. Well-known Christchurch literary promoter Morrin Rout introduced…
Confessions of a Jane Smiley groupie
I'm a great fan of Jane Smiley. I came across her in the late 90s when I read Moo and was impressed by her ability to write about issues confronting contemporary humanity - in this case how agribusiness was impacting on academia - with a quick wit and a writer's eye that can spot hypocrisy…
Short and sweet
Short stories are delicious. Like chocolates in a box, you pick one that looks good and indulge in a bite-sized treat. I was recently stuck at Auckland Airport and lifted the lid on a copy of Stone Mattress, nine tales from the ingenious mind of Margaret Atwood. I must admit I found these stories rather…
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