Recently, I sat up till late while staying with my brother and sister in law in Taranaki – a beautiful region in New Zealand where my novel is set. The reason? I had an online interview with Emma Dhesi who is based in the UK and the time zones between the UK and New Zealand, as you know, are different.
Emma Dhesi is a UK author and book coach. She runs a YouTube channel where she helps authors who are writing their first novels with aspects of craft, accountability and motivation. She is a terrific interviewer and very easy to chat to. She has interviewed hundreds of authors about their writing.
My brother and his wife’s home is a beautiful old villa that has been moved by truck from its original site and placed onto a piece of land in the countryside where it has been lovingly restored to its original glory. Around it, a tree lined drive way and an awesome garden has been created. From the house you can see the majesty of Mount Taranaki, the Taranaki maunga which features on the cover of my novel. Not that night of the interview, of course, because it was near midnight!
Their farm is also very close to the site of an ancient Māori pa, items from which were discovered during road works to remove a dangerous overbridge and create a new section of the highway.
Somewhat fittingly, my novel Secrets of the Land also includes the discovery of an old pa site and burial ground.
In her interview, Emma asked me a bunch of questions about writing, and how I came to complete my novel. Among them were:
What inspired you to start writing
The steps you took from first draft to published book
An overview of your book and who you think would enjoy reading it
What surprised you most about the publishing process/anything you found interesting or unexpected
If you are a writer, do look out for Emma’s channel. Her series includes lots of helpful advice and tips from the authors she interviews.
If you would like to watch the full interview, you can here.
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