-
Coming Soon: A Lady’s Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852-53
At the age of 22, and in the middle trimester of unmarried pregnancy, a genteel young woman sailed with her older brother from England to Australia, where they hoped to make their fortune… or at least have an adventure. Although their father was a well-off clergyman, he was consistently in debt, and his six children
-
Lady Barker in New Zealand Audiobook
I’m very pleased to release this audio book–a New Zealand classic. Find it for sale in all the usual places. ***NEW ZEALAND’S LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE*** Two New Zealand Classics—now available with an introduction by Amberley Ember. The year is 1865. 34-year-old Annie, freshly married, sets sail for New Zealand where she will serve
-
Wheat in the Ear by Alien
I considered recording this New Zealand classic as an audiobook, and set about simplifying the text for a contemporary listening audience–and also, to help myself concentrate on it. But I gave up the idea. I’m not sufficiently in love with it. However, it’s still interesting to read some 1800s Aotearoa melodrama. Below you’ll find the
-
The Castaways of Disappointment Island
In the 1970s and 80s, Ōtautahi Christchurch was home to a small publishing company called Capper Press. They reprinted significant cultural New Zealand works, and The Castaways of Disappointment Island was one of them. My pop, himself a Southlander born in the 1920s, had grown up with this story, and was very pleased to get
-
The Symbolism of Tea in Literature
COLONISATION AND IMPERIALISM Get Out (2017), a film by Jordan Peele An Australian example: “We were slaves to white families,” she said. Aunty Lorraine worked as a servant in rural New South Wales, from age 15. “The final part of your training was how to serve high tea to white families that you going to
-
Disgust
Why would a storyteller or artist want to elicit disgust in their work? And if they want to do it, how do they typically do it?
-
Writing Consumer Book Reviews
What is the function of consumer reviews? Should we feel bad for posting negative takes on other people’s books? Do consumer reviews have a real impact on sales? To what extent? Is a review a work of art in its own right?
-
Getting Lost And Storytelling
Stories that scare me the most often involve getting lost. The scariest Australian stories are, to me, the ones where a little boy goes out into the wilderness and dies in the heat, unable to find his house.
-
The Happy Lion by Fatio and Duvoisin
The Happy Lion picture books were written by Swiss author Louise Fatio (1904-1993) and illustrated by Swiss-born American artist Roger Duvoisin (1900-1980).
-
Overcoming Perfectionism
Perfectionism can be a superpower but can hinder us in getting things done. Framing perfectionism as fear is one way to harness it.
-
Evangelical Christianity: Non-mainstream concepts
Aotearoa New Zealand elected an Evangelical Christian Prime Minister. Relying on stats a decade old, in 2013, there were only 15,000 evangelical Christians in a population of 4.4 million (~0.34%).
-
Material by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
“Material” is a short story by Canadian author Alice Munro. Find it in Something I’ve Been Meaning To Tell You (1974
-
Petunia’s Christmas by Roger Duvoisin
The first of Duvoisin’s Petunia series was published in 1951. Petunia’s Christmas came along the following year.
-
What happens at the end of Triangle of Sadness (2022)?
Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness is a disturbing mash-up of Lord of the Flies, reality TV series Below Deck and Alex Garland’s The Beach.
-
I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen Short Story Analysis
“I Stand Here Ironing” is a 1950s short story by American feminist and activist author Tillie Olsen (1912 – 2007). This is one of those stories which will likely hit differently if you’re a parent, especially a mother.