Last week I spoke to some creative writing students about how authors can use social media to promote their work. Eventually one student asked me the inevitable question, “How many people read your blog?” I get asked this a lot, …
The TV crew was about to show up, and I was nervous. It’s an act of trust to put yourself in front of a camera. I didn’t know these people. What if they made me look like a fool?
Sometimes the right people land on your front door at just the right time. That’s what happened when I was thinking about a book trailer and two fabulous HelpX volunteers came to stay with us: Emilie and Jeremie. I didn’t …
“We think we need to fly you to Auckland,” Jennifer said on the phone. She’s my publicist at Random House New Zealand. “What for?” I asked. “To be on TVNZ’s Breakfast. They want to talk to you.”
Today’s full moon is Supermoon, so I’m publishing a Superpost. This blog post gathers together all the incredible things that have happened since I launched my book with Random House New Zealand on 7 June.
My publisher was coming to lunch, and I was nervous. She wanted to see the property and meet CJ and me, but she wanted something else as well. She wanted to talk to CJ about changing his name. What if …
When our neighbors John and Aussie Bronwyn announced that they were selling their property and moving away, CJ and I were mortified. More than anyone, those two have taught us how to live on 20 acres. How could they abandon …
The man on my front deck looked like he had teleported through a time machine, straight out of the 1960s. He was wearing dark sunglasses with octagonal, gold wire frames. His sideburns were long. “You must be Jared,” he said, …
We all headed out to the top paddock. Kowhai, our pet kunekune boar, was out there wandering happily through the grass. I felt bad. The poor pig had no idea what he was in for.
The first time Kowhai jabbed me in the leg with his tusk, it hurt. The second time, a week later, it bled. Both times he was just nudging me, but a gentle nudge from a 300 pound kunekune boar with …