“I am reminded of what Harold Nicholson wrote about London during the Blitz: the same uncertainty as to what horror was going to happen next…” – Michael Palin Always an acute observer of people and the environment, in this new book Rosie Belton once again uses her diarist style to capture with intimacy and immediacy the events as they happened around her, in this case the earthquakes experienced by the people of Canterbury. Nothing could have prepared her, she says, for the severity of the quakes, starting with the first one in 2010, and then the ongoing disruption over the next six years: the grinding reality of living through so many months of shaking and the after-effects. Like many creative individuals, Rosie found that writing about those terrible events as they unfolded developed into a coping mechanism. And now, the result of her careful record-keeping and reflections can be read and appreciated by so many others whose lives have been affected by similarly large- scale natural disasters. It also makes excellent reading for anyone with an interest in knowing more about what it can be like to live in a seismically active country. Dedicated to all who face and survive unwanted change, Living with Earthquakes helps us, as well-known author and actor Michael Palin said after reading Rosie’s writings, ‘to comprehend the incomprehensible, conveying the mixture of bewilderment, hope and desperation very effectively’.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 156

Dimensions: 150 x 208 mm

Publication Date: 06-03-2019

If one considers what happened in war-time Greece in 1941 to have been the curtain-raiser, then the subsequent battle in Crete can best be described as the main event. This sequel to the well-received The Rabbit Hunter again focuses on Second Lieutenant Neil Rankin and his platoon of fictional soldiers from the New Zealand Division as they are pitched headlong into the real events of the Battle of Crete. A largely New Zealand affair under the command of a New Zealand general with the key sector held by New Zealand troops, it could even be seen as Hitler’s first defeat. When the battle opens, it is man against man, individuals pitting their wits against an implacable enemy, resulting in the New Zealand soldiers suffering the kind of reaction that is now internationally recognised as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both thrilling and tragic, The Battle of Crete sets the bar for realism in war fiction.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 456

Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm

Publication Date: 18-03-2024

Athens, April 1941. Adolf Hitler has conquered most of Europe, and he's now turning his attention to the Balkans. The unstoppable Wehrmacht is unleashed on Greece. Standing in its way, on the imposing slopes of Mount Olympus, sacred home of the ancient Greek gods, are soldiers of the New Zealand Division, including a sharp shooter in the person of Second Lieutenant Neil Rankin. This fictional story places Rankin and his platoon at the heart of these actual events. The Greek nation’s unfolding disaster, and the humour, farce, personal hurt and tragedy experienced by men at war are detailed in the well written debut novel. While ultimately the Battle of Greece was a military failure, it was the curtain-raiser for the campaigns to come, in which New Zealand would play a prominent part. Just 26 years after the name “Gallipoli” was seared into the national psyche, like their fathers before then, many of those involved in this battle would never see their homeland again.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 359

Dimensions: 152 x 230 mm

Publication Date: 14-02-2023