Subtitle: One woman’s quest to find out if self-help really can change her life A friend recommended this book because I’m interested in personal development and I’m… Read more “Book review: Help me! By Marianne Power”

I was lent this book by a fellow romance writer from the Wellington-Kapiti branch of Romance Writers of New Zealand (thanks Lisa!). Who wants an up close… Read more “Book Review: Jane in Love by Rachel Givney”

To start off you need to know this is a work of fiction. It’s unclear why this was created rather than researching and telling the real story… Read more “Book Review: The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner”

Charlotte is a picture of domesticity. The bulk of the book is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Charlotte’s perspective but it takes us a while… Read more “Book Review: Charlotte by Helen Moffett”

“In the midst of so large a family, (Mary) was utterly alone” and after the inevitable death of her father she is adrift in the world still… Read more “Book Review: The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow”

If you know me at all you know I’m not good at self promotion (did I even mention that I published a book in October?). So it… Read more “The Amateur Austenite”

I’ve been home from my ten days in Hawai’i for about three weeks now. It makes me think of Dido’s Sand in my Shoes; “Two weeks away feels… Read more “Home again, home again”

Being Māori is an important part of my identity. But it’s not something you can tell about me by looking at me, or even talking to me.

I’m really good at helping people develop a vague idea into an actionable idea*. It’s a weird talent. Case in point: Ataria was lamenting the lack of information… Read more “Impostor Syndrome”

In classic my family fashion we were late to the mosque for the two minutes of silence, the roads were blocked, there were no parks. We pulled… Read more “Our Way of Life”