What do you do when you have a free morning in New York City–one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the world? You go to the library, of course. I’d heard there were five hugely famous celebrities at...
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Jam sandwiches for a sick pig
We were sitting in a cafe in Sydney when the image of our pet pig came through on my phone. There she was—Mrs. D, one of our three pet kunekune pigs back home in New Zealand—with a jaw that was...
Pig breakfast!
Readers have been asking for videos of the pigs. So join me as I feed the pigs breakfast.
New year greetings from the olive grove
Wishing you a happy 2018!
Cover reveal for ‘An Olive Grove at the Edge of the World’
I have finally found a new cover for ‘An Olive Grove at the Edge of the World’ – the international edition of ‘Moon Over Martinborough.’ And it’s fantastic. The tools I used to find it were 99designs and PickFu. First, I...
‘Moon’ goes international – under a new title
Wisteria after the rain Four years ago, Random House New Zealand published my book, ‘Moon Over Martinborough: How an American city boy became a Kiwi farmer.’ Time flies! The print and ebook rights have now reverted back to me, and...
Reading as an act of civil disobedience
This photograph shows me doing something illegal. It seems innocent enough. There I am, a mild-mannered, middle-aged white guy, reading a book on the streets of Wellington, pretending to be shocked. But let there be no mistake. It was an...
Alien in the olive grove
It was dark when I got home. Standing on the front deck, I looked out into the pitch blackness towards the olive grove. I knew something was out there. I grabbed a flashlight and went down into the grove. (more…)
4 author blogging lessons from my web stats
Last week I spoke to some creative writing students about how authors can use social media to promote their work. Eventually one student asked me the inevitable question, “How many people read your blog?” I get asked this a lot,...
This town is on TV
The TV crew was about to show up, and I was nervous. It’s an act of trust to put yourself in front of a camera. I didn’t know these people. What if they made me look like a fool? (more…)