It was January, 2011. I had spent the past decade living in Tokyo and was visiting my mother in Whanganui over the summer. Although Japan has amazing cuisine, arguably the best in the world (Tokyo has the highest number of Michelen starred restaurants), I often craved New Zealand food. On my first day back, Mum […]

I took this photo during my time in Tokyo. It is of a lotus about to bloom. I’ve always loved the Buddhist view of a lotus – as a lotus can grow out of mud and blossom above the muddy water, we too can rise above the mire and messiness of our lives. We can […]

I’ve been struggling with my writing lately. I’m working on a story set in the Hokianga in the 1950’s, based on true events that I am reshaping. Reimagining. I wasn’t there, obviously.   James George (mentor): ‘This is the strongest opening to any of the stories so far. Has real punch, and the economy, almost […]

It feels like I’m sending these journals into a void. Like an actual journal, for my eyes only, which is kinda freeing.   I had writer’s block until recently. Prior to that, I wrote a short story about a Japanese piano teacher who goes on a surfing trip to deal with a broken heart. This […]

There are two kinds of people: people who stay and people who leave.   I’m not judging people who stay. Someone needs to keep the home fires burning. Close ties and family must come before travel for many. I am grateful that my brother has been here to keep connections to whānau alive. On my […]

When you were a little girl, books were your refuge. You learned to read before you went to school. You would read the newspaper every day, on the floor with the sheets spread out. You read everything in the house: a set of Childcraft books, The Thorn Birds, Benét’s Reader’s Encyclopedia (the illustrated second edition). You read in […]