The Imaginary Lives of James Poneke by Tina Makereti
Set in Aotearoa and London some time in the 19th century, Tina Makereti's excellent novel tells the story of a Maori boy who makes…
June 2021 Reading Roundup
In my last reading roundup, I was still emerging from winter. Now, it’s been 30+ degrees for weeks, and I can barely…
Nightshade by Annalena McAfee
If you need your fictional characters to be likeable, to be the sort of people that you can "root for", then absolutely…
The Archipelago of Another Life Readalong, Part 4
Here’s a little life tip for you. If you ever feel that the time is starting to drag and you’d like your…
New Short Story Published
I had a short story published recently in Storgy magazine. It’s available to read free online, so do check it out if…
Borges Marathon, Part 3: The Widow Ching—Pirate
Before I read Borges, I used to think there was a sharp dividing line between fiction and nonfiction. In my own writing, there’s a…
The Archipelago of Another Life Readalong, Part 2
I’m reading The Archipelago of Another Life by Andreï Makine in the company of Emma at Words and Peace and Carol at…
April 2021 Reading Roundup
Spring is here: storks on the electricity poles, calves in the fields, and suddenly a million things to do around the house…
The Vastness of the Dark by Alistair MacLeod
The Vastness of the Dark seems to be a quite simple tale about a young man escaping from the confines of his…