This festive season

Dancing on the beach, 1920, William James (public domain)

May is my birthday month (thus always a time of celebrations and joy to the  world, right?). But this May feels extra-festive, cause for much shimmying, shaking, and leg-kicking, on the beach and elsewhere. The Hope Fault acquired by Aardvark Bureau I’ve been quietly dancing on the ceiling (and everywhere else) about this for a while, so I’m delighted to … Read more…

Aardvark Bureau to publish The Hope Fault

The Hope Fault (Fremantle Press, 2017)

I’m thrilled to share the news that UK publisher Aardvark Bureau (Gallic Books) has signed The Hope Fault, my novel ‘about family and fault lines’. Aardvark Bureau also published my first novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, in the UK and US in 2016. The acquisition announcement for The Hope Fault was reported in The Bookseller (11 May … Read more…

Ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive – a 2016 countdown

Let’s face it, 2016 has been a crap year for the world. And politically, 2017 scares the poop out of me (though let’s hope New Zealand seizes the opportunity later this year to #changethegovernment). But in writing terms, for me 2016 was a great year, and — with my new novel due out in a … Read more…

Aardvarks + Aussies + BUST, oh my!

Hashtag wordchch

In a fortnight I’ll be in Christchurch for WORD Christchurch Writers & Readers Festival 2016 (24–28 August). There’s a hashtag, of course; trust @kebabette to wear it with style. The last #WORDCHCH, in 2014, was fabulous (I wrote about it here and here, and here‘s the PechaKucha talk I gave there), and this year the festival promises (less scary than lions and tigers … Read more…

The merry month of May

Dancing round the May-Pole

O, the month of May, the merry month of May, So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green! ‘The Merry Month of May’ by Thomas Dekker (1599) The month just past (So frolic. Much gay. Many green. Wow.) would’ve warranted a celebratory skip around the maypole, if it hadn’t been a bit chilly … Read more…

Lee Randall reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt

The Life + Loves of Lena Gaunt (Aardvark Bureau 2016)

Edinburgh-based writer and journalist Lee Randall wrote a lovely review of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt on her Randall Writes / A History of my Life in 100 Objects blog early in the new year. Lena is the third of three novels Lee reviews in the post Book Reviews: Three for January. Farr’s exploring whether or not we can reproduce … Read more…

Lonesome Reader reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt

The Life + Loves of Lena Gaunt (Aardvark Bureau 2016)

Eric Anderson reviews and writes about books on his blog Lonesome Reader. His review of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt appeared in January. I was thrilled that my novel reminded Eric of Anna Smaill’s The Chimes, a novel I love (see my best reads of 2015 post for Aardvark Bureau/Gallic Books). For [Lena], the rumblings of life … Read more…

The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt published in the UK

The Life + Loves of Lena Gaunt (Aardvark Bureau 2016)

Though it’s been creeping into shops (online and bricks-and-mortar) for the past few weeks, and already gaining some glowing early online reviews, today – 9 January 2016 – marks the official UK publication date for The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt (Aardvark Bureau). To celebrate, this is my virtual group hug to all involved, including but not … Read more…

Early reviews of Lena Gaunt ahead of UK publication

The Life + Loves of Lena Gaunt (Aardvark Bureau 2016)

The official UK publication date of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt (Aardvark Bureau) is 9 January 2016, but – thanks largely to advance copies made available by Gallic Books for Aardvark Bureau via NetGalley – there’s been a steady stream of early reviews appearing on NetGalley, GoodReads and blogs. Thanks so much to everyone who’s … Read more…