In Emma Neale’s first collection of short fiction, the tales range from the surreal to the real; from the true to the tall. This collection includes some of her internationally recognised flash fiction and more extended examinations of the eerie gaps and odd swerves in intimate relationships. There are confidence tricksters, compulsive liars, emotional turn-coats, the pulse of jumbled childhood memory still felt in adult life, the weird metamorphosis of fantasy hardening into reality. A woman meets up with an ex-lover after twenty years, to be told an outrageous secret; a mother takes her ailing son to a doctor for an undocumented condition; a bride is left at the altar; a brother and sister reel from a family tragedy decades after the event; a children’s birthday party turns all Queen of the Flies; a hidden family legacy appears in a grand-daughter’s strange affliction. From everyday realism to the speculative and imaginary, recurring motifs in these stories (the scientist father; the mystery of identity even within families; what we can’t know about even those closest to us) toy with the boundaries between memory and the unknown: the blending of the real and the invented.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 128

Dimensions: 153 x 234 mm

Publication Date: 19-07-2021

When a distinguished New Zealand businessman is murdered in London, Detective Inspector O’Rorke is once again called in by Scotland Yard to help find the killer. But O’Rorke is soon enmeshed in the secrets of the past involving the chaos of the Crimean War thirty-four years previously and the murderous activities of the young revolutionaries who called themselves the Society of the White Rose. The dramatic events of those days shaped the lives and determined the fates of all who survived and now, the Society of the White Rose, more powerful than ever, is led by two of O’Rorke’s most unforgiving and ruthless enemies. Bogdan Lynskey and Count Zoltan Bathory have returned to London not only to assassinate the Austrian General Carl-Heinz Lorenz but to finally destroy O’Rorke himself. As O’Rorke tries to focus on the task at hand, whispers from the past grow louder, the circles of intrigue continue to swirl and alliances splinter, leading him to distrust even those who seem to be his closest colleagues. With danger now threatening his very household, O’Rorke’s return to New Zealand takes on a new and unwelcome urgency.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm

Publication Date: 06-09-2023

Stella’s world is unravelling in this remarkable work of speculative fiction – reminiscent of Netflix satire Black Mirror and The Handmaid’s Tale – a new novel from writer and literary agent Chris Else. Climate change is ever-present in chilling, dystopian novel Waterline. Here, in a remote South Pacific nation, coastal settlements are being inundated and families uprooted; Artificial Intelligence controls most human endeavour; social media has run amok, and many have fled from reality to live online. Losing their uninsurable beachfront home to storm and high seas, wealthy nuclear family the Handsons have little choice but to move to Byte, a bleak, southern city run by computerised bureaucracy BORIS and a gang of religious vigilantes. Separated in the move, Brian ends up on the wrong side of the law and is incarcerated, leaving wife Stella and their two teenage children, Mandy and Luke, to fend for themselves. An offer of help from a group of outsiders, living off the land, promises redemption and hope, but at what cost? Waterline explores the choices our own and future generations might have to face in our increasingly complex society. It is a dramatic and portentous tale about the decisions we make now and how they might challenge all our values. Darkly humorous, laced with violence and corruption, it also examines the human capacity for change, responsibility, self-determination, and the search for meaning and love.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 153 x 234 mm

Publication Date: 31-10-2019

Michael Willis was ten years old, already keeping rabbits, guinea pigs, frogs, possums and birds in his parents’ garden and dreaming of running a zoo of his own. Then came a life-changing present: a copy of naturalist Gerald Durrell’s The Bafut Beagles. Suddenly the idea of working with animals became more than just a fantasy. A lot of hard work and ingenuity later, the dream came true in 1974, when Michael opened Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, on the outskirts of Christchurch. An immensely popular and prize-winning tourist attraction, Willowbank is home to a rich collection of exotic and native animals, from kiwi and kea to otters, camels and monkeys. But that has been only part of the story. Over the years Michael has been increasingly driven to save and conserve rare livestock breeds, many of them far more endangered than some of their familiar native counterparts. He has travelled New Zealand, and the world, in his quest to save these often forgotten animals from extinction. Whether it is rediscovering the tasselled and beguiling kune kune pig, saving the goats of remote Arapawa Island, capturing wild pigs on the forbidding Auckland Islands, bringing back to life the lost wild cattle of Enderby Island or travelling to the Galápagos in search of threatened wild donkeys, his has been a life full of adventure, and full of the animals he loves. And the search continues. Just as he did in his delightful, best-selling first book, Some of My Best Friends are Animals, Michael Willis recounts his sometimes perilous and always riveting experiences with warmth, passion and infectiously laconic humour. Rescue will make you laugh and gasp, and think. For, as he reminds us, in an uncertain world, the saving of these animals could be the saving of us all.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 304

Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 31-10-2019

"Physick is a book of poetry that sears and coaxes and it could have been written by no one apart from the scholar, poet and elder that is Pete Hay. No one else takes the temperature of this island like him and no one else uses Tasmania as such an effective prism through which to consider human nature. Physick is a book of transcendent poetry which helps us understand not only place but the vagaries and passions of the human condition. It should be prescribed reading for all of us." – Rachel Edwards, The Australian

Bind: paperback

Pages: 156

Dimensions: 135 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 10-10-2023

Otto Bader, Pansy Williams and Clem Bright live in the small mining town of Blackball on the West Coast, shaped by stories and the dream of a better, more equal society to come. But the First World War erupts and Otto, being of German descent, is torn from his family and the love of his life, Pansy, to endure the war interned as an enemy alien on Somes Island in Wellington Harbour. His suffering with the other internees, the culture of brutality and abuse of power by those in charge, is both chilling and truthful, and all the more poignant by taking place within sight of the capital city. Both his present and his future appear to be stolen from him. Pansy, pregnant, marries good, kind Clem, who then betrays his socialist principles by enlisting. Love, loss and abandonment haunt both Otto and Pansy, with reverberations far into the future. Lena is their child. Spirited, clever and perceptive, she tells her own story of growing up in the close-knit Bright family and the changes that occur when Clem returns from the war damaged both physically and psychologically. Lena’s journey to adulthood is beautifully por-trayed as she observes the people who make up her family and develops into an educated and creative young woman. Blackball is where she belongs and it is the place she recalls when she paints her memories. By the Green of the Spring is the gripping story of lives changed forever by war, the hurts suffered, the losses borne, and the secrets kept, yet it is also the story of the capacity of the human spirit to endure, to hope and to love. https://www.book2look.com/book/YuAlsdWDXK

Bind: paperback

Pages: 272

Dimensions: 153 x 234 mm

Publication Date: 02-08-2022

“We think you’re the type of joker who would suit working undercover. No controls, out there doing deals and drinking piss.” And with that the young beat cop shed what was left of his uniform and slid into the underworld of strippers, junkies, crooks and gangsters. Codename: Emu. Mission: to take out hardened criminals. What could possibly go wrong? This is the true story of a Kiwi cop who survives the dangerous double life of an undercover agent and goes on to become New Zealand’s most successful international fraud investigator. Along the way he is a key figure in a murder, weathers multiple contract hits, finds true love, gains a law degree, tangles with the Russian mafia, and continues to nail the bad guys, the con artists, the career criminals, wherever he finds them. And he still keeps a shottie under the bed.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 256

Dimensions: 153 x 234 mm

Publication Date: 07-10-2021

As he enters his 90th year on the planet, Kevin Ireland describes his third memoir as a process of ‘sweeping up all the reflective wrappers and the tinsel, and describing how, in the setting sun, they glitter with the brilliant romance of nostalgia…’. Unlike his earlier two memoirs, one of which won a National Book Award, this is not a systematic chronicle of lasting interests and colourful occurrences, but a reflective, almost absent-minded, rummaging through 30 episodes – representing a month – at the back of his brain. The method is open and experimental, and it allows the ordinary and everyday to take a rightful place among the souvenirs of his ‘life’. Matters that once seemed significant are relegated to obscurity and events and intersections that were once thought to be minor are now allowed space to reveal how they stealthily altered viewpoints and added to a store of vital experiences. In his 90th year Ireland no longer believes that the highpoints of an existence are always decided by important events. Some of them do have lasting results, but this memoir deliberately sets out to uncover the enduring worth and power of happenings that may have seemed simple at the time but were complex and entirely out of the ordinary in their effects. Overlooked memories return to us in our old age with a new and astonishing energy and with all the buzz of their magic reborn. About the Author Kevin Ireland OBE has published novels, short stories, memoirs, a book on fishing and another on growing old. Awards include an honorary doctorate, the 2004 Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement and the 2006 A.W. Reed Award for his contribution to New Zealand writing.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 174

Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm

Publication Date: 09-11-2022

A novel about loss and light, about storytelling and the sea. The year is 1977 and a shocking accident sees Robert and Jess suddenly orphaned. Finding refuge with their lighthouse keeper grandparents, they begin to navigate their loss and rebuild their lives. But how secure can this new home be, with the threat of lighthouse automation and closures looming? As adults, Jess and Robert must deal with the fallout of the tragic events of their childhood, disconnected from each other and the home that once sheltered them. Buffeted by the storms of life, they find themselves inescapably drawn back towards the world of the sea. Light Keeping is a subtle and immersive novel drawing on the richness of family stories and their role in defining and connecting us. Set in the late-seventies and contemporary New Zealand, the book follows parallel storylines, evoking fascinating details of lighthouse life and reflecting on the relentless social change brought by new technology. Ultimately, this is a story of hope and reconnection – of finding, and keeping, light.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 220

Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm

Publication Date: 02-10-2023

For lovers of the great outdoors and those captivated by the silent allure of Canterbury’s alpine horizon, Andy Buchanan’s Alpine Panorama: A view to a climb is a celebration of nature’s majesty and a tribute to the enduring connection between man and mountain. The distant alpine skyline served as a magnetic force during Buchanan’s childhood, pulling him towards the untamed beauty of the region. Family holidays were spent tramping and skiing amidst the rugged peaks, creating enduring memories that fuelled a passion for the great outdoors. In the Buchanan family home from the Summit Road atop the Port Hills, a cherished outline sketch adorned the wall – a visual guide to 133 peaks visible from this lofty perch. Inspired by this panoramic masterpiece, Andy Buchanan hatched a retirement plan: to conquer each and every one of those peaks. What ensued was a journey of rediscovery and renewed enthusiasm, as he scaled familiar summits and ventured into uncharted territories. This beautifully illustrated narrative is more than a recounting of mountaineering triumphs; it is a testament to a lifetime’s fascination with nature’s grandeur. Through vivid words and breath-taking full-colour images, Buchanan frames the peaks within a contemporary context, weaving in Māori lore, geographic insights, historical details, and engaging anecdotes. Each page resonates with the author’s deep reverence for the alpine landscape, inviting readers to join him on a visual and literary odyssey through the soaring beauty that is the glorious backdrop beloved by all Cantabrians.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 184

Dimensions: 230 x 280 mm

Publication Date: 25-03-2024