Author explores different end to legend

Keryn Powell has written a Young Adult novel titled Before the Rising. Photo / Supplied

When is a myth not a myth? When you find out it's real.

That's what happens in Keryn Powell's young adult fantasy novel Before the Rising.

Her story focuses on the legend of Pania of the Reef. There's a secret that has been kept by a group of people for centuries.

But now it's time for the secret to come out - before catastrophe strikes.

Rebecca is 18 and her life is about to change.

Set in Napier where the author lives, this Young Adult novel takes readers beneath the sea and into another world.

It's fast moving with a plot that twists and turns, great characters and is thoroughly enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Powell describes herself as a part-time GP in Taradale and part-time writer, who belongs to the local New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) branch.

I asked her some questions.

This is your first novel. What made you decide you were ready to write it?

It was more about being ready to finish it than write it! When I set out to write Before the Rising I did two things that helped keep me on track - I joined NZSA and I deliberately let slip to a couple of close friends that I was writing a novel. This kept me accountable and helped me begin to think of myself as a writer.

Why did you choose the legend of Pania of the Reef to base it on?

I love mythology, I love the ocean and we live in Napier! Legends about merpeople exist in so many cultures. Why? What are the similarities? The differences? I became fascinated with Pania's sea ancestry and its implications. What if there were still sea people? What would they be like? And then, because I'm a sucker for a happy ending, I began to wonder what would have happened if Pania's poignant story had had a different ending: What if she'd secretly made it back to shore and lived happily ever after with Karitoki instead of being trapped on the reef for eternity? Which then led to: What if there were descendants of Pania – people with sea DNA – secretly living amongst us?

What are your experiences with the ocean?

Like many Kiwis, the ocean for me means sun, surf, salt, sand and summer holidays. I love being on or in the ocean; I love its sounds and marine life. I've always had a healthy respect for the power and mystery and 'otherness' of the ocean, but I'm also increasingly aware that it's extremely vulnerable.

Do you think enough is being done to prevent more damage to the environment and if not, what do you think we could do better?

I think there is always more we can do, both as individuals and as a nation. The recent IPCC report makes it very clear that we must. Our oceans absorb huge quantities of carbon which mitigates some of the environmental damage we visit on our planet, but at great cost to itself and its inhabitants – acidification, warming water, endangered marine species. Drastically reducing fossil fuel use and rapidly phasing out plastics are my pick for both personal and political focus.

How did you celebrate finishing your book?

Before the Rising by Keryn Powell

I sent off the finished final draft to my fabulous editor, Sue Copsey, with lots of questions, and then started the sequel!

How does it feel to see it in bookstores?

Great, but also a little scary. It's like your child leaving home. You know they're ready to go, but you're still going to worry about them.

Tell us something quirky about yourself?

If I wasn't a GP and author, I'd be an archaeologist or a herpetologist. Perhaps both.

Are you planning another book?

Yes! I'm juggling three writing projects; all at different stages. There is a sequel to Before the Rising that I am desperately trying not to call After the Rising although that is the subject matter! I've turned Napier Hill into Napier Island while a new Napier is being built in the hills above the Mission, overlooking the old, drowned cityscape. The sequel gives a bigger role to Rebecca's friend Polly and introduces a community of outcasts/climate refugees.

I'm also editing a completed manuscript about an imaginary country in the not-too-distant future where euthanasia is compulsory at 65.

Lastly, I am in the early stages of writing about a teen who is forced to go to extreme lengths to have his views heard after a Family Court decision uplifts him from his home and sends him to live with an estranged parent.