I was welcomed with tremendous kindness by Helen and Mary at the Dorothy Butler Bookshop. They put on a great afternoon tea, had stacks of my books on display and spoke with great warmth and generosity about my work. It was such a lovely turnout of locals, including 7 authors!!! I am constantly blown away by the support of fellow children’s and Young Adult authors.

My 6 days in Auckland were jam-packed with visits, meetings and events. I visited 6 schools, delivered 8 talks, lunched with booksellers, attended the New Zealand Book Industry Awards and had a lovely catch up with some author friends.

I am sooooo overdue to post news. Sorry, team. I can’t think back over all the details I’ve missed this year but here are the recent highlights: Stray is a finalist in the Children’s Choice category of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

Oh boy I’ve been so slack updating my news page lately, mostly because I am in the thick of rewriting Shield, book 3 of the Spark trilogy. But I’m here now and it’s been a busy time with a Teen Book Club visit, NZ Book Week AND NZ Bookshop Day shenanigans! All three of these events involved my favourite local indie bookstore Page & Blackmore.