There’s a word for people with an inordinate fondness for cemeteries – taphophile. Being a tombstone tourist is an absorbing pastime – a bit of exercise, architecture and history all rolled into the one package – so whenever I get the chance, I join a cemetery guided tour. Ghost walks are also a fun way... Continue Reading →
One of the joys of reading historical fiction are books about events that immerse you in the world of your ancestors – to imagine what it would be like and the perils that accompanied voyages across the seas, for example. I wrote about the 1894 wreck of the Wairarapa on Great Barrier Island in The... Continue Reading →
Exciting news - my book The Only Living Lady Parachutist has been on Australian TV! Last year I shared my research on the Van Tassel sisters with Northern Pictures in Australia who were making a programme called Tiny Oz – where comedian Jimmy Rees and tiny craft artist JoAnne Bouzianis-Sellick unite with the extraordinary crafts... Continue Reading →
Another year of living covidly (hence no book fairs) but there have been some great New Zealand publications this year. A third of the book I read in 2021 and my top three recommendations are all recently published books by NZ authors. Check them out! Come Back to Mona Vale – Alexander McKinnon Family secrets,... Continue Reading →
Wanganui Herald 9 June 1894 I drew on this article for a scene at the end of Chapter 20 in The Only Living Lady Parachutist, but I thought it was probably just bluster on Leila Adair’s part – that she never really intended making a complaint to the United States Consul because, despite her claims,... Continue Reading →
One of the many colourful characters I came across during my research for The Only Living Lady Parachutist was a local Whanganui identity known as Granny Dalton. She doesn’t feature in the novel, but when Leila Adair made a balloon ascent from the Whanganui Racecourse, Granny Dalton was living in a shack nearby. Feisty, independent,... Continue Reading →
One of the best things about my new locale, Petone, is the history associated with the area. Since we are all restricted to short walks in our local area during the Covid-19 pandemic let me invite you to a virtual walk through Discover Historic Petone. Many of the Petone streets are named after the early... Continue Reading →
I’m fascinated by the history of early New Zealand hotels — and there were a lot of them! While researching The Only Living Lady Parachutist I sometimes found mention of the hotels that Leila Adair stayed in: Albion Hotel, WhanganuiClub Hotel, Palmerston NorthClub Hotel, Masterton Digby Andrews’ Coach and Horses Hotel, Nelson European Hotel, Dunedin... Continue Reading →
What is a booktown, you may well ask? Alex Johnson in his book Book Towns: Forty-five Paradises of the Printed Word defines it as “simply a small town, usually rural and scenic, full of bookshops and book-related industries.” The most well-known booktowns are Hay-on-Wye in Wales and Wigtown in Scotland (the location of Shaun Bythell’s... Continue Reading →
Catherine Clarke 