Dairy farmer Korie Massey at book launch brings of fantasy book

Korie Massey signs his book, Berserker, in his parents' shop last Saturday.

As a reader of fantasy fiction himself and having "cut his teeth on Lord of the Rings", Korie Massey, dairy farmer of Dannevirke, said he had always wanted to write one himself.

His short bio reads: "Forever day dreaming, he has been creating stories his entire life. From poetry to songs for his heavy metal band as a teenager, writing has been his lifelong passion."

Now his passion is a reality, having launched his first fantasy novel called Berserker printed by Xlibris in Dannevirke at his parents' shop, Derek's Electrical, on Saturday, November 18.

For Korie, just the satisfaction of having "my own book in my own library" is reward for all the hard work that goes into self-publishing.

He said writing the book was the easy part - getting it published and marketed was far more demanding.

Proof that writing is the easy part lies in the fact he has two more books in the Forsaken World Series ready for printing.

How the first book sells will determine if or when the other two get published.

Since leaving school, Korie has worked in the dairy industry as a contract milker, farm manager and share-milker.

With ideas buzzing around in his head while he milked, he took to carrying a notebook to record them.

Determined to see his dream come true, he returned to contract milking to give himself more time to write.

"Hopefully my books will be a pathway to owning my own farm. It's a different way to do it from the normal process," he said.

Korie's book can be obtained from Derek's Electrical for $30 soft cover and $40 hard cover, or bought on Amazon Books - search either Berserker or Korie Massey.