A very occasional peek at five works of fiction from boutique publishers coming your way. Photos / Supplied
A very occasional peek at five works of fiction from boutique publishers coming your way. Photos / Supplied
Queen King Ace
by Olivia Hayfield
(Treehouse Books)
Queen King Ace by Olivia Hayfield. Photo / Supplied
Olivia Hayfield is the nom de guerre of Sue Copsey, author of Wife After Wife, Sister to Sister and Notorious, all modern-day versions of ancient stories. The new novel is a Tudor-Arthurian mash-up, set in post-Brexit, post-Covid Britain. Sample text: “Arthur Penhalagon,known to the British public as Ace, had come out of nowhere to win Wimbledon – no grunting, no arguing with the umpire, no fistipumps, no petulance over questionable line calls. He was gracious in victory, smiley and warm, and from the frenzied media coverage, it would appear that not only was he an exceptionally pretty face, he also cared deeply about racism, inequality, climate change and holding to account the current government which, in recent times, had pinged like a pinball between disasters, sleaze, scandals and shortages.”
Not Swinging, Swooning
by Stevan Eldred-Grigg
(Piwaiwaka Press)
Not Swinging, Swooning by Stevan Eldred-Grigg. Photo / Supplied
Eldred-Grigg has written a shelf of books, including the well-received Oracles and Miracles and Diggers, Hatters and Whores, but this “autofiction” (his third) “about a boy’s dreams, dreads, hopes, fears and adventures” in 1960s Christchurch is from a private publisher. Sample text: “It’s early in the morning on the first day of the first year of the most modern decade in the whole of human history. Get in the groove! I’ll be 17 years old at the end of the decade. Like, crazy! I’m only 7 years old now. Seven and standing inside a brand new bedroom looking out at the world on the other side of a brand new window.”
The Secrets They Kept by Jenny Lynch. Photo / Supplied
The debut novel by the 85-year-old former editor of the NZ Woman’s Weekly came about because she said she had been haunted by an old story about the “tragic death of a distant cousin”. Sample text: “Nan was intensely protective toward my father. She worshipped him in much the same way as my aunt worshipped the nasty Dougie. After Mother died, when I was 3 years old, Nan offered to give up her part-time job at a chartered accounting company, sell her house and come live with us.”
Max Gunn’s Pay Book.
by Graham Lindsay
(99% Press)
Max Gunn’s Pay Book. by Graham Lindsay. Photo / Supplied
Part-memoir, part-historical novel, this is creative non-fiction in memory of the author’s father, William Lindsay, a WWII soldier and prisoner of war who died in 1989. Sample text: “He was tuckered out, boy was he tuckered out: he was dog tucker, reeling in the wake of a flock of sparrows corkscrewing through the garden, hanging on to the shovel for dear life, a roar in his ears like the Huka Falls, his face white as a ghost.”
Hemingway’s Goblet
by Dermot Ross
(Mary Egan, out on April 19)
Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross. Photo / Supplied
The debut novel by a Kiwi lawyer that promises to challenge your perceptions of Ernest Hemingway and modern relationships in the #MeToo era. Sample text: “‘Fancy that. It seemed a bit far-fetched, but he is a level-headed fellow and he gave no indication that he was making it up.’ Adrienne stopped. ‘You’ve got to be joking! That’s amazing.’ Nick was stunned. Could this be true? Hemingway was a renowned boxer, often picking fights with friends and strangers alike. But with his grandfather? How on Earth did they meet?”
