Each week, we focus on one of our wonderful authors and their work.
Recently retired CB Landy has rediscovered her love for writing and crafty things. Avid reader, passionate about great stories and storytelling. Her perfect day is to sit in the sun reading the latest mystery. Author of the Nettie’s Knit Shop Mystery series, with 4 books and 1 short story, she still enjoys immersing herself into the life and drama of Thornbury and has two more planned.
Nettie’s Knit Shop series – cozy mysteries set in a fictional small town in the South Wairarapa. Nettie, Bob and Mags frequently find themselves embroiled in mysteries and murder.
Bruce Melrose is the author of five novels following the exploits of John Kelly, an aspiring middle-distance runner, in ‘No Wind‘ then unwitting coach, to a new generation of athletes who bring a whole raft of altogether different problems in ‘Clipped Heels‘ and ‘Go Gayle Go‘ .
These fast paced thrillers set in the turbulant world of elete sport continue when John Kelly’s daughter is chosen as an olympian in ‘Spiked‘. Followed by international intrigue and an escape from Africa in ‘Busted’.
Recently, Bruce finished two action-adventure/thriller stories set in the South Pacific. His first novel, For Past Sins is due later this year, while Coconut Milk Run, is scheduled for 2023.
Born in The Netherlands, Claudia Disney loved books from an early age. Her father worked in a paper factory, regularly bringing home books that were destined for the book graveyard. Claudia dreamed of writing her own book one day.
Many years later, she wrote her first trilogy and has not stopped writing since, hoping to create many more enjoyable books.
I am a Drama Llama: A picture book to help children see that temper tantrums are tiring and simply not worth it.
How to Wash Your Cat: Bubble the cat loves dirt, his owner wants to give Bubble a bath. But wait! Do cats really need to be washed?
Q The Friendly Earthquake Giant: Is this friendly giant from an island far away responsible for earthquakes?
The Unigon trilogy: Ariana and Billy find a box that transports them to Unigon Island, and their adventures begin. Meet bad Unigons, good Unigons, and anything in between. Discover new worlds and find out how love and friendship conquers all.
Pat Whitaker started writing late in 2006, creating books that are intended to tell a good story and then to leave the reader with something to ponder. His stories attempt to provide an original take on some commonly held belief, be it cultural, social or scientific.
A fan of both science fiction and classic murder mysteries, Pat has these common themes often combined in a single story.
Ethylwyn: A murder mystery set in the glamorous ’30s, Ethylwyn provides a window into an era of Lighter than Air technology.
Bad Blood: A serial killer loose in Manchester masquerading as a vampire. A forensic psychologist tasked to catch them finds unexpected results.
Time Out: Reporting on so-called alien abductions, a newspaperman is caught in mixture of drugs, murder and an extraordinary set of events.
Antithesis: An entomologist seeking answers about ant communication goes to Namibia for answers.
Mindset: Mindset follows a small group of outcasts, abandoned in space and forced to survive anyway they can.
Nemesis: Humanity is under attack from within by an enemy that can’t be seen or confronted. In a battle with no rules, individuals have to find answers and ways to protect themselves.
Raw Spirit: A physicist, suspected of a murder, tries to answer two questions, who killed the woman in the next room, and how did he see a ghost?
Returning: An alien, exiled to Earth, tries to survive in an unfamiliar world, then searches for a way to return to his own kind.
Born in Eltham, New Zealand, Heather Ross grew up on her parents dairy farm. Now a retired registered nurse, she and her siblings, dropped everything to return to the farm to aid a relative struggling with a legal battle. This was 2014.
The women joked that someone should write a book about their adventures, resulting in the creative non-fiction story – ‘The Weekend Gumboots‘. A fiction story based on true life, a family fighting to keep the four-generation family farm put together from the diary’s the sisters kept. Sketches and photographs completed the story.
“It was quite remarkable at our ages, doing what we were doing. But a great time was had by all.”
Like any good story, there’s a villain (a vengeful ex-wife) and some unlikely heroines – who, like Ross and her two sisters, have all spent their lives in cities.
James N. Bade is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of Auckland and lives in Upper Hutt.
The Secret of the Glass Mountains – A YA Adventure Novel. Three university students are chosen to take part in a 2019 United Nations special mission around a chart discovered in archives near Berlin. The chart reveals whereabouts of a crucial message from the German novelist Theodor Fontane concerning the future of humankind.
Snake Point – Continuing the story from The Secret of the Glass Mountains, the three university students search for the message from Theodor Fontane in the Glass Mountains of Oklahoma. Adventures unfold, but there are people who want it to remain a secret.
Sea Devil: Count von Luckner in NZ and Pacific – a colourful figure in 20th century Pacific history. He first arrived in New Zealand in October 1917 as a prisoner of war, needing protection from outraged members of the public, as anti-German sentiment was at its peak.
With a background in healthcare, education, psychology and philosophy, human nature is no mystery to Mirjam Maclean, and she writes both non-fiction and fiction under the pen names Nōnen Títi and Gina Poekeleen. She lives in Wellington.
Of a Note in a Cosmic Song (science-fiction series) – A group of colonists, all seeking a better future, and their own beliefs, must survive on a new planet. How do they organize life, deal with conflict and diseases, and build a new culture they can all be happy with?
The Music of Life (Non-fiction series) – Each person is born with a set of natural talents – their inner composition (or psychological type). Ignore these talents and you may find life difficult.
Just Pie Mystery series – Junior investigator, Eryn, does most of her observing from the Just Pie bakery. Every mystery addresses an ethical issue, and together they form a mystery of their own.
View all Mirjam’s books on our website.
L P Hansen writes about fast-paced stories for adolescents already involved in change, questioning social and cultural controls as they depart from childhood. Teenagers finding their true strengths as they respond to issues like threatened environments, bullying in schools, over-ambitious parents, consumerist cultures, the hidden faces of war and slavery. All books include sources for further reading.
An Unexpected Hero – A boy bullied for his stammer takes a courageous stand after learning about WW1 conscientious objector Archie Baxter, the father of poet James K. Baxter.
Bad Oil and the Animals – Teenage friends aim a spotlight at illegal palm oil production and animal welfare in New Zealand and elsewhere. What do they need to do to succeed?
The Dark Quest of Countess X – A Call to the World’s Youth, teenagers around the world embark on a mysterious quest to help confront a major human rights abuse.
The Fire Keeper’s Girls – Two rebel teenage girls outwit oppressors and uncover their true talents.
| Pat Backley is an author, born in England but now based in Auckland, New Zealand. Passionate about people and travelling the world, she has spent 70 years living a colourful and interesting life and her books reflect these passions. Social history and the lives of ordinary people have always fascinated her, and she believes their stories should be told. “It is a way of honouring my ancestors. They have no voice, so I will make sure we hear their stories.” Pat has 2 books in her Daisy series, personal memoirs and has co-authored The Warrior Women project. |
Cat Connor is a multi-published crime thriller author. A tequila aficionado, long black drinker, music lover, fruitcake maker, traveller, murderer of perfectly happy characters and teacher of crime writing via CEC at Wellington High School. She can be found at Writers Plot Bookshop three mornings a week – pop in and say hello!
Best known for her best-selling Byte series She is currently working on a 4th story in her new Kiwi set Spy/PI series. All Cat’s paperbacks are available from Writers Plot Bookshop and worldwide via Amazon.
[Nothing Happens Here] – Set in Upper Hutt, NZ, Veronica Tracey has enough on her plate, with her 94 year old Nana and the Cronies of Doom, her mad cousin’s love life, a retired greyhound, a new Private Investigation company, and a crazy stalker. They say nothing happens here…
[Lure the Lie] – In NZ indefinitely and finally back in the field, Australian intelligence officer Dave Crocker (aka Crockett) is tasked with locating a missing cryptographer, Tania Bateman.
Anne Barwell lives in Wellington. She works in a library and is an avid reader and watcher of a wide range of genres. She writes paranormal, fantasy, and historical, with a touch of contemporary and SF. Music often plays a part in her stories and/or her characters are musicians.
Anne’s books are available for purchase through our shop & website.
Echos Rising series – A game of cat and mouse across war-torn Europe. A trilogy set during World War 2.
The Sleepless City series (co-written with Elizabeth Noble) – A found family of supernaturals protects humanity from the stuff of nightmares.
On Wings of Song – A chance meeting they never forgot. Set after WW 1
Sunset at Pencarrow (co-written with Lou Sylvre) – Two men trying not to fall in love.
The Harp and the Sea (co-written with Lou Sylvre) – A 16th century Reiver meets a Highland warrior in 1745. Magic makes it happen. Love makes it work.
Robyn Yuwell grew up in the North of New Zealand and has lived much her working life in Japan and Bali. She has published articles and poetry in various magazines including Jakarta Post and NZ Poetry Anthology between having children, teaching, writing and running Kubu Arts Space in Bali with Yudane. She recorded and wrote her first book ‘Sonic Dissonance’ throughout the first year of the covid pandemic and while going through chemotherapy. Read more about the book on our website.
Denika Mead is a Wellington teen fantasy author who has published three books in her Royal Orchid series. Her latest release, The Last Kingdom, was published in October last year. The last instalment of the Royal Orchid series will be released at the end of this year.
All of Denika’s books are available for purchase through our shop and on our website.
Royal Orchid: The Death Hunters – Fourteen-year-old Ivy falls through a portal into Ghost Orchid, she is scared and alone until she meets a group of teen rebels fighting to save the icy wasteland. Are they really the good guys? Or are they as crazy and dangerous as they seem?
Royal Orchid: The Ghost Warriors – Ivy’s peaceful life is shattered when her father, King Leor, is captured, thrusting the Kingdom into turmoil.
With only a mysterious note from the kidnappers to guide her, Ivy must rally the Crystal People. But will they follow her?
Royal Orchid: Into the Flames – Frantic to save the young Crystal Kingdom princess from the clutches of the dragon, King Leor and Queen Charlotte embark on a rescue mission.
The Last Kingdom – Thrust into a world he’s been dreading his whole life, Prince Phoenix must take the throne. But who can he trust?