Author Interview: Josie Shapiro - Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts /  by Time Out Bookstore

 

Hollie spoke to Josie Shapiro about her stunning debut novel. An unforgettable debut about change, family and grit, and what it takes to achieve your dreams.

 

Tell us about yourself. 

I’m married and a mum of two daughters, and we live on the North Shore with our little dog, Tess.

What author is a recent discovery for you?

I am late to the party, but that doesn’t spoil how much I’ve enjoyed discovering Annie Ernaux and Taylor Jenkins-Reid. Two writers with different styles that have given me food for thought about how books are created and enjoyed. 

What are you currently reading? 

I have three books on the go – I’m A Fan by Sheena Patel, The Riders by Tim Winton, and I was lucky to get an early reading copy of The Bone Tree by Airana Ngarewa (out in Aug).  

What drew you to write about running opposed to another sport?

There seemed like a space to write about a female runner – I’d only read books about males. Then I read a quote by Alexi Pappas, ‘the marathon, like a good story, lures you in, takes you along if you are willing; all is nearly lost and then! The hero emerges victorious!’, and the narrative potential of running was clear.

Describe the feeling of when you found out that you were the winner of the A&U fiction prize.

I honestly couldn’t believe it. I have a habit of laughing when I should really be crying – I laughed and laughed and laughed. It was such an incredible feeling to win and to know that I would be published. 

What is your relationship with running? 

I stopped running about ten years ago, and even then I was a very average amateur. I wished I had run a marathon. This novel was a way of experiencing that without having to actually put on my sneakers and run. I am fully cured of any desire to run now, the book was true catharsis.

What is your writing routine? 

When I am into something, I try to write as often as possible – at least every day. That way I’m immersed into the story and it ticks over in my head when I’m busy doing other things and good ideas float to mind. 

What is your favorite snack to enjoy while writing?

Coffee and chocolate covered almonds

 

Author Interview: Shaneel Lal - One of Them /  by Time Out Bookstore

 

Hollie spoke to Shaneel Lal about their memoir One Of Them. This is a story of one person's fight for the right to live their life as they deserved - and their extraordinary work to protect other young New Zealanders.

Tell us about yourself.

I am Shaneel Lal. I am your Young New Zealander of the Year and the author of One of Them.  I am young and queer and have a hunger for disrupting the status quo. I sometimes say I came out of my mother with a pride flag in one hand, yelling 'Freedom!'

What are you currently reading?

I am rereading The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls by Mona Eltahawy. The book is a feminist manifesto discussing the importance of anger, attention, profanity, ambition, power, violence and lust.

What was the process of getting your memoir published? 

I sat down for coffee with my manager and Allen & Unwin, during which I shared my experience of surviving conversion therapy and how I led the movement to ban conversion therapy, and the next thing I knew, I had a book deal. 

How do you feel now that the book is out and people are reading it? 

It is frightening and exciting. Frightening because I have written about my conversion therapy, something I have never spoken to anyone before. Exciting because I think the book shows people there is a human behind the media façade. 

What was your writing routine? 

I wrote my memoir while doing law school full-time, writing for the Herald and working in hospitality. I had little capacity. I wrote for 8 hours every Saturday. Somehow, it did not feel laborious, and I could keep going. 

What author or book is a recent discovery for you? 

The Savage Coloniser Book by Tusiata Avia. 

What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing? 

Grapes and carrots.  I am trying to minimise my dairy and sugar intake. I wouldn’t recommend it. 

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

If you’d like another memoir, you’ll have to give me at least a decade. If all goes as planned, I'll soon be working on something gayer than One of Them. 

 

Author Interview: Susan Wardell - The Lighthouse Princess /  by Time Out Bookstore

 

Hollie spoke to Susan Wardell about their gorgeous children’s book, The Lighthouse Princess. A delightful contemporary fairytale about an independent princess, who looks after a very special lighthouse lamp, fishes off the balcony and goes swimming with seals.

Tell us about yourself.
I have an academic job, a big garden, and a restless mind. I like to hop between genres and mediums, and see how they cross-pollinate. 

What inspired The Lighthouse Princess?
A walk on a wild Southern beach, the story of Rapunzel, my own introverted heart, and raising a daughter.

How did you team up with illustrator Rose Northey? 
My manuscript was selected for use in the Gavin Bishop Award for first-time illustrators... and Rose entered and won!

How does it feel being a finalist in two categories at the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults?
Startling and delightful. I feel encouraged to dig even deeper into the space of Children's writing.

What are some of your favourite childhood books? 
Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree series. Debbie's Dream (Gilbert Delahaye). Books full of animals and adventures.

What is in the pipeline for you?  
A couple of projects connecting my academic interests (in emotion and mental health) with children's writing, and also trying my hand at longer (junior fiction) texts. 

What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing?
Salt and vinegar chips, all the way!

 

Author Interview: Airana Ngarewa - The Bone Tree /  by Time Out Bookstore

 

Hollie spoke to Airana Ngarewa (Ngati Ruanui, Ngarauru, Ngaruahine) about his debut novel The Bone Tree. The Bone Tree is a gritty coming of age novel, where the unforgettable young protagonist faces immense challenges, and the stakes are life or death - yet it also has a lyrical beauty, and a powerful message of love at its heart.

What does a typical day look like for you? 
Wake up, read, write, work, read, write, train. I find my R & R in variety. As long as I am reading widely and mixing up my training I am quite content. I also tend to do this all with podcasts and YouTube blaring in the background which keeps it interesting and makes me very hard to live laugh. 

What are you currently reading? 
Dissemination by Jacques Derrida; Te Koroua me te Moana (a translation of The Old Man and the Sea into te reo) and Ngāti Ruanui, a short history of my iwi. 

Where did the idea for The Bone Tree come from? 
The story runs adjacent to so many of our stories in Pātea after the closing of the freezing works and the economic collapse of South Taranaki. You could say the idea came from every conversation I had growing up. 

What was your thought about setting the book in Taranaki?
We claim direct descent from Taranaki Maunga so the story had to be set here, under his shadow. The next book will be set here too!

How important was it for you to include te reo Māori in the story?
We call te reo Māori te reo rangatira: the chiefly language or the language of chiefs. So many concepts and ideas are beyond translation. To capture the thoughts and experiences of Māori across time, the book had to be sprinkled with the language. 

How did you feel when you heard The Bone Tree was going to be published? 
I am pretty stoic. Publication felt like the next natural step of writing a novel. What has got me excited is the love and care of Moa Press. I am incredibly grateful for their guidance and wisdom. 

What is your desert island book? 
Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History by Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney and Aroha Harris.

What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing?
Toast. 

 

Author Interview: Michaela Keeble - Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapōkai /  by Time Out Bookstore

 

Hollie spoke to Michaela Keeble about creating her book Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapōkai alongside her son, Kerehi.

What does a typical day look like for you? 

Wake up too late, stumble around looking for my socks then my kid’s socks, slug coffee, get kids to school. Work werk wurk, mainly from home, very little writing. Walk Boss the Dog. Hang out with the kids. Talk politics or history or bad jokes with their dad. Eat. Sleep. Lovely.

What was the process of creating this book with your son, Kerehi?

When he was little, he talked, all the time, as some kids do. I remembered a lot of it and wrote it down. He zoned in and out of the long process of publishing (he loved riffing with Tokerau the most). He’s stoked with our pukapuka.

How did you team up with illustrator Tokerau Brown?

I just asked! And Tokerau said yes. How lucky is that.

What is one thing you would like readers to take away from Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapōkai? 

Every single person, no matter how small, has intrinsic power. The trick is in learning to wield it gently and for the right reasons (like, standing up for, alongside and behind any being with less political power).

How would you compare writing poetry to writing a children’s book?

It’s really similar. Light on words, heavy on meaning. And it doesn’t take as long as a novel!

What are some of your favourite childhood books? 

Tokerau and I share a love of the What-a-mess books. I remember a book called Creatures in the Beard, and a hit kids book of the 80s, The Jolly Postman. A bit later, I loved everything by Isobelle Carmody.

What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing?

Not a snack, but when I do find time to write (often with friends), they’ll set superlux hand creams and light natural candles. When you stop to think (or because you can’t think), you can give yourself a lil relaxing hand massage instead.

 

Author Interview: Giselle Clarkson - The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions /  by Time Out Bookstore

 

Hollie spoke to Giselle Clarkson about her gorgeous book The Observologist. A highly illustrated and creative scientific guide to the small creatures and natural wonders we find when we take time to open our eyes to the world around us—and ode to the power of quiet observation.

Tell us about yourself.

Hello! I’m an author and an illustrator and a cartoonist. Some of the things I like are gardening, sea swims, hot chips after a long walk, and crosswords. The best flavour of ice cream is a tie between chocolate and boysenberry.

Where did the idea for The Observologist come from? 

I’ve been fascinated by tiny things in nature all my life and I really love invertebrates. I like getting really close and watching them go about their lives so it seemed like a logical thing for me to make a book about. Once I started making a list of all the interesting things I knew about worms and flies and spiders and lichen I couldn’t stop!

What is one thing all young observologists need to pack for expeditions? 

Nothing! That’s the very best thing about observology: all you need is curiosity and your senses. Sometimes it’s fun to have a pencil and paper with you though, because drawing is a good way to practise focussing on tiny details and you end up with a neat record of what you’ve seen too.

What are some of your favourite tiny creatures? 

Praying mantises always feel special to me, and it’s pretty exciting to watch one hunting. I love having them in the garden because during their wingless nymph stages they don’t move around very much and it’s possible to visit the same individual day after day and watch it develop. I also have a real soft spot for jumping spiders. They’re so fluffy! With such big eyes!

What was one of the best scientific adventures you’ve been on? 

A favourite moment was when I was helping with some tawaki penguin field work in Piopiotahi/Milford Sound. We had to stay up into the wee hours of the morning, silently watching and waiting for the tawaki we were monitoring to return to their burrows. The Sound was moonlit and completely still and one of the most magical places I have ever been.

If you could be half human and half bug, what bug and what half

would you be? 

There are very few ways to blend humans and bugs without creating something horrifying! Perhaps I could be selectively 50% dragonfly. I’ll take their eyesight, their incredible wings, and a couple of extra legs would definitely come in handy.

What is your desert island book? 

I really like remote islands, even better if I’m alone to fossick in the undergrowth or comb the shoreline. A guide to all the flora and fauna of that particular island would keep me entertained for years, and maybe provide me with something to eat too. I mean in terms of foraging, not eating the pages of the book (unless the foraging prospects really are that bad).

What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing or drawing?

I don’t tend to snack while I’m focussed, but every so often I’ll emerge from my room to breathe some fresh air, straighten out my hunched back and eat a piece of toast. It must be very dry and crispy, with a savoury topping.

 

95bFM's Loose Reads: Doppelganger by Naomi Klein /  by Time Out Bookstore

Professor, commentator and activist, Naomi Klein’s latest book analyses the mirroring of truth online.

Underpinning this cultural exploration with her Klein’s own experience of being constantly misidentified as author and conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf, this is a critique of existing on the internet that is unlined with hope.

Suri does often say this, but declares Doppelganger one of the best books she has read in a long time.

Listen to Suri, Rachel & Stella chat below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: Green Dot by Madeleine Gray /  by Time Out Bookstore

Green Dot is the debut novel by Australian arts writer, critic, academic annnnd former bookseller, Madeleine Gray.

Hera is a woman in her mid-twenties, who embarks on a self-destructive, long term relationship with an older, married man, who continues to promise he will leave his wife for her.
This Fleabag-esque page-turner observes millennial life & the internet with such on the nose humour, it could have been written by Hera Lindsay Bird.

Listen to Jenna’s on studio chat with Rachel and Stella below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Strangers at the Port by Lauren Aimee Curtis /  by Time Out Bookstore

From the one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2023, Strangers at the Port depicts what happens when foreign arrivals shake up an archipelago community who live a quiet and repetitious existence.

Suri describes this book as gothic cottage-core, that is reflective of late nineteen century events.

Listen to Suri and Rachel chat below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray /  by Time Out Bookstore

Newly Booker Shortlisted and one of three Pauls in the running, The Bee Sting is a laugh out loud Irish family saga. With the humour and teen angst of Derry Girls meets the structure and depth of Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads, Jenna rates this as this year’s BIG SUMMER READ.

Listen to Jenna’s chat with Rachel and Stella below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Palo Alto by Malcolm Harris /  by Time Out Bookstore

On this week’s Loose Read’s review, Suri deep dives into the weighty tome that is Palo Alto by Malcolm Harris. (Not to be confused with James Franco’s novel of the same name).

Connecting the explosion of the gold rush to what is now the epicentre of Silicon Valley, Harris presents an emotive, interesting and clear-eyed history of California.

Suri also recommends If Then by Jill Lepore.

Listen Suri’s chat with Frances and Stella below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Adventures with Emilie by Victoria Bruce /  by Time Out Bookstore

Jenna called into the 95bFM studio this morning from Murihiku/Southland to chat about Adventures with Emilie.

Victoria Bruce was living in Christchurch working in a successful yet stressful career in comms, while raising her young daughter. But her depression and PTSD from a tough adolescence were catching up on her. Looking towards nature as a solace, she decided to take Emilie out of school and have them both walk the length of Aotearoa on the Te Araroa trail.

Listen to Jenna’s chat with Rachel and Stella below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck /  by Time Out Bookstore

Suri is in the 95bFM studio this week to review Jenny Erpenbeck’s fourth translated novel, Kairos. Set in Berlin, a 19 year woman starts an affair with an older, married man. An observational love story & psycho-drama that mirrors the tension of East and West Germany and the fall of the Berlin wall.

One of the most interesting fiction novels Suri has read this year!

Listen Suri’s chat with Rachel and Stella below.

RNZ's Nine to Noon: Cousins by Aurora Venturini (trans. by Kit Maude) /  by Time Out Bookstore

Described as a “punk” by Mariana Enriquez, Aurora Venturini wrote this novel as an 85 year old, submitting the typewritten manuscript anonymously to a newspaper competition in 2007. After she won, she said, “Finally, an honest jury.” She had previously written 30 novels.

This is a story of vulnerable women, bad men and revenge in 1940’s Buenos Aires. Cousins is the first Venturini novel to be translated into English.

Listen to Jenna’s review with Kathryn below for more.

PHOTO BY CLAUDIA BERNALDO DE QUIRÓS

95bFM's Loose Reads: In Ascension by Martin MacInnes /  by Time Out Bookstore

On this rare sunny morning in Tāmaki, Jenna visited the studio to talk about the 2023 Booker longlisted, In Ascension. A book that hits the depths of the sea and stretches into the wider universe, this is a book that explores the connection between science, humans and the environment.

For fans of Richard Powers!

Listen to Jenna’s chat with Rachel and Stella below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: The Gospel of Orla by Eoghan Walls /  by Time Out Bookstore

Suri was in the studio this morning to talk about the coming-of-age tale, The Gospel of Orla, written by Northern Irish poet Eoghan Walls. Young Orla travels on her bike from England to Ireland to seek her Mother’s gravesite and meets a mysterious man named Jesus along the way.

Fable-like, filled with magic realism and reminiscent of the Booker longlisted, Treacle Walker, Suri recommends this strongly.

Author Interview: Margaret Meyer - The Witching Tide /  by Time Out Bookstore

 

Hollie spoke to Margaret Meyer about her debut novel The Witching Tide. An immersive literary debut inspired by historical events—a deadly witch hunt in 17th-century England—that claimed many innocent lives.

Where did the idea for The Witching Tide come from? 

The idea grew from a visit to a local museum in Aldeburgh, a picturesque seaside town in Suffolk. I already knew of the 1645‒7 East Anglian witch-hunt, but in the museum, I discovered that self-styled witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins had visited the town in winter 1646 to purge it of its witches. As a result, seven innocent women were hanged. Later, when I started my research, I was deeply saddened to find that only two of the seven accused women were named in the historical record. The loss of their lives was bad enough, but it seemed to me that their namelessness effectively obliterated them from history. So, I resolved to write something to commemorate them.

What research was involved in the writing of the book? 

A lot! I started by reading around UK witch-hunting and of course this particular hunt, which was England’s deadliest, in some detail. I did some primary research, looking at 17th -century records, although lockdown brought this to a halt. The rest of my research I had to do through secondary sources and online. Because the landscape is important in the book – almost a character in its own right – I read widely about the history of the Suffolk and Norfolk coast, as well as its flora and fauna. My main character, Martha, is a midwife and ‘herb woman’, so it was necessary, and also a great pleasure, to read about the different plants in Martha’s physick garden and how they would have been used. For this part of the research, I turned to wonderful source, The Midwives Book, published in 1671 by a midwife, Jane Sharp. Her book gives such an insight into women’s lives at that time. Its pages contain a wealth of information about plants and humoral medicine. I grew to absolutely love this book and eventually bought my own copy. 

Why do you think people are so fascinated by witches? 

Over the last few years there’s been noticeable momentum towards writing women back into ‘the narrative’, whether historical or mythological. I’m thinking, for example, of Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls or Naomi Wood’s Mrs Hemingway. Both books are engaged with rounding out the record by prioritising women’s experiences and perspectives. Witches and the hunting of them are rich seams to mine. The witch is one of those archetypes that simply won’t lie down. In our psyches and our cultures she occupies a unique position: on the one hand relegated to the margin, yet still able to exert influence. In past times the figure of the witch has been an affront to patriarchal norms, an epitome of subversion. In more recent depictions it’s her attributes that are explored ‒ her disruptive capacities, her different kinds of power.

Do you have a favourite witch in pop culture and why? 

I don’t have a favourite, but a fantasy project of mine would be to somehow interview famous witches from history and mythology. I’d love to talk to the Witch of Endor, Circe, some of the African witch-deities and Macbeth’s three witch sisters, to find out their back stories as well as what they’re like as people.

What is your writing routine?

I aim to write for up to 4 hours each day, preferably in the morning, but I don’t really mind the time of day. Then I’ll do another 1‒2 hours of research (my next novel is also historical fiction), admin or responding to publicity enquiries. Around this I fit in walking my dog, Polly the standard poodle, as well as workouts in the gym.

What’s a book you always recommended to people? 

Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black, about a touring psychic medium and her assistant. It’s less well known than some of Mantel’s other novels but is arguably her wittiest. I read it every year.

What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing? 

Great question! I do like a good muffin and most weeks will make a batch. The family favourite is courgette and banana. I now double the recipe because – unless I manage to hide some of them in the freezer – they disappear very fast.

 

Author Interview: Catherine Chidgey - Pet /  by Time Out Bookstore

 

Hollie spoke to award winning author Catherine Chidgey about her latest novel ‘Pet’. When a charismatic new teacher arrives, everyone longs to be her pet. A gripping story of deception and guilt, set in a Catholic school during the 1980s.

How did you celebrate your recent win at the 2023 Ockham Book Awards? 

I was quite preoccupied with trying to stop my 7-year-old daughter from barging into frame on the TV interviews! After that I had a lovely conversation with Acorn Foundation people about Jann Medlicott and her incredible legacy. Then I tucked my two Acorns up in bed for the night at Sky City.

What are some of your favorite writers or books?

Kate Atkinson, Maggie O’Farrell, Bernardine Evaristo, Kevin Barry, Patricia Grace, Peter Carey, Janet Frame, Edna O’Brien.

Where did the idea for Pet come from? 

There was a very glamorous, charismatic teacher at my primary school, briefly, who played favourites. She invited select children to do errands for her, or to come to her house to make fudge and listen to records…and she ostracised those she deemed unworthy. She’s stayed with me for decades.

Were you a teacher’s pet?

I was! I still have the framed prayer my Primer One teacher gave me for helping after school.

Why is morning the best time for you to write? 

Because I’m still in a half-dream state, when I can access my unconscious more easily – and that seems to be where the writing comes from. (Also because I have a full-time day job!)

What is your favorite snack to enjoy while writing? 

I have an outrageously restricted diet due to extreme allergies, so I’ll have to go with the bad reviews of the books of my enemies.

What is one thing you would like readers to take away from Pet?

Never, ever take your Smurf collection to school.