Sutton, Gaye

Gaye Sutton was born and lived in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital and the nearby Hutt Valley until 1994 when, after many years as a counselor, storyteller, celebrant and advocate for women, she moved to the small farm she and her husband own, in the Wairarapa. There she works in a small studio.

A storyteller since the eighties, Gaye has created many stories to perform on the stage, here and overseas, one of her short stories has been published in Takahe, others online.
She never thought about writing a novel, until, as part of her work, she met a young woman who had that ambition. Trapped in an abusive relationship she yearned to write a novel that would tell the stories of women who are abused and how easy it is to become entangled with someone violent and controlling and how hard to escape. Her old school suitcase, hidden under her bed was a repository for her notes.

Sadly, that young woman took her own life after a crisis in her relationship and at her funeral Gaye made a silent promise to write the novel for her.