About 'To The White Gate'

People have been asking me about my new book To The White Gate (c105,500 words) so here is a brief synopsis.

To The White Gate is a fictional memoir of a ninety-year-old man, Tommy, approaching the end of his life. As he is a kind, gentle, patient and philosophical old man — a lover of life, people and nature — he tells his story in a gentle fable-like way. It is a plain and simple story told by a plain and simple old man gifted with an uncommon insight which is spiritual but not religious. His story should appeal to sensitive readers interested in but not obsessed by the meaning of life.

Tommy spends most of his life as a simple hard-working gardener/labourer in a public park in a country called Aotearoa, the traditional Maori name for New Zealand

Although To The White Gate is set in Aotearoa Tommy and his wife travel to England to visit friends and in November 2013 I travelled to Manchester to research the sites I wanted to use in the book. Although the story is fiction I did not want it to conflict with reality. You can see a few photos from that trip in the photo gallery here.

Dreamers is my funny new musical comedy for the stage. And it's available FREE to amateur theatre groups and high-schools

I wrote Dreamers to be infinitely flexible and adjustable to maximise the involvement of all a group's available talent. That's what makes it ideal for amateur theatre groups, community players, light opera societies and high-schools.

The script makes suggestions but the content of the entertainment largely depends on the talents of the cast. That means there is no limit to what may be performed by way of entertainment. From opera and classical music to rock and rap; from Shakespeare to humorous poetry; from Maori and Pacifika culture to ballet; even acrobats and jugglers could have a role. Indeed, any talent should be encouraged. This flexibility gives the company freedom to include many back-stage supporters and enthusiastic members who may not otherwise or usually find themselves on the stage.

Furthermore, Dreamers is written to be fun, light-hearted, entertaining and amusing, funny in parts. The cast should feel free to ‘ham it up’ when appropriate. Indeed, hammy acting and flawed performances can be hugely entertaining to an appreciative audience when they are delivered with sincerity by enthusiastic amateurs.

Interested theatre groups should email me to receive the synopsis of Dreamers together with the complete cast list and the script for all of ACT 1. If he are interested they can then apply to receive a free copy of the entire script providing they include their planned performance date(s) and a formal undertaking to credit me in their programme, advertising and promotions.

Dreamers is FUN. I hope some group or groups take me up on this offer.

Coming soon: 'To The White Gate'

To The White Gate is my new 106,000-word novel which I began in July 2012 but was unable to finish until I could visit Manchester (England), where part of the novel is set, to complete some research there. I was able to get to Manchester in November 2013 and so was able to finish the book in January 2014.

To The White Gate is a fictional memoir of a ninety-year-old New Zealand man, Tommy Fyfe, approaching the end of his life. As Tommy is a kind, gentle and patient man he tells his story in a gentle fable-like way.
Tommy Fyfe leads a sheltered life working as a gardener in a park, in a myth-like land called Aotearoa,  where he spends his entire working life. Even when he is made to retire (at seventy) by the park management the park remains central to his life as he lives on its borders.
His work in the park, over more than fifty years, not only brings him close to nature but also into contact with a wide variety of people, some of whom become his lifelong friends. Each of the people he meets and befriends adds something to his understanding of the human condition which helps shape his personal outlook and provides the material for his homely philosophical observations and recollections which form an essential part of the book.
The story is divided into four sections — spring, summer, autumn and winter — each season being a loose metaphor for the stages of Tommy’s journey through life, from adolescence to old age.

I am now actively seeking an agent in England where I think To The White Gate will best be received. However the reality is that I have never been able to break through to publishers -- here or anywhere -- despite the fact that my writing is widely admired and my books and short stories are so popular. If no publisher will accept it then I will publish myself and make it available on my website and in New Zealand libraries.

Look out for it in 2014.

For Viktor. 'Pictures' performed wonderfully in a home recital

Last week I had an amazing experience. I was invited to an intimate home recital of Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Ludwig Treviranus, New Zealand's most up-and-coming young concert pianist. When last year I learned that Ludwig loves the original piano version of Pictures, which he has absolutely mastered, I sent him a copy of my book For Viktor which I based on Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

He loved the book, we met and have become friends. And so he invited me to his recital. To hear Mussorgsky's amazing suite played on a beautiful old (1904) grand piano in a private living room is an amazing experience. Thank you, Ludwig.

Listen to a Radio New Zealand Concert Programme interview with Ludwig Treviranus.

You can read more about For Viktor here including reviews and a personal endorsement from Vladimir Ashkenazy. You can also download a free PDF preview.

See Ludwig's own website here.

Nice to meet a keen reader

I was in the kitchen one Saturday morning last month, about to make a cup of tea, when I saw a man and a woman coming down the path. I didn't know them, I wasn't expecting anyone, and they looked suspiciously like they were selling something, probably a fringe or cult religion.

'What do you want?' I asked, somewhat impatiently I suppose, through the open window, not yet willing to go to the door.

'Are you Robert Bolton?' asked the man.

'Yes. What do you want?' A bit rude I suppose.

'Did you write the book My Marian Year?'

Now I was intrigued. I went to the  door and opened it.

It turns out this very nice man had read a copy of My Marian Year taken from the library in Whangarei, where he lives, and he liked it so much that he wanted to buy his own new copy.

'He absolutely loved that book,' said his wife. 'He really did.'

Of course he could have bought a copy online, or ordered a copy from any book shop, but he chose instead to track me down in Auckland all the way from Whangarei. Evidently it wasn't easy: we're in the phone book as 'Bob and Kath', and he didn't know the address, but eventually he found me in the electoral roll.

I signed his book and gave him a hefty discount for his trouble.

It was nice to meet such a keen reader.

My Marian Year is available online for $NZ22.00. 

Why don't all schools know this about music?

Last week Scots College’s director of music Andrew Stopps warned that a focus on maths and science — at schools and universities — is sapping talent from the humanities. He said that music was always put up against a second science subject and he had a hard time convincing parents that music wouldn't harm their kids' chances at university. 

Evidently he received support from professors at the country’s medical schools and law schools including Auckland University’s Professor John Fraser who said that some of the most successful and skilled doctors he knew had continued their musical interests. They all spoke passionately about how arts helped with the constant pressures of practising medicine.

‘To be able to tell your interviewers when applying for medical entry that you are a skilled musician does no harm at all,’ he said. 

He didn't go far enough 

In my opinion he should have gone further: being a musician — skilled or otherwise — should actually help you in your interview. Here’s why:

It is acknowledged by educationalists around the world that learning a musical instrument, and learning the musical theory that goes with it, dramatically enhances a student’s ability to learn in all subjects. No one knows  exactly why but the guess is that musical theory is unique enough to open new neural pathways in the brain while learning an instrument involves linking music on paper with physical coordination and dexterity: no other subject combines mind and body in the same way. 

The fact is learning music and an instrument (but not just listening to music) actually reshapes the brain.  

For example see this and this.  

Personal experience   

The only reason I’m writing about this now is that I have some personal experience. As well as being a  writer I am also a musician and a music lover. As a music lover I wrote a short book based on Modest Mussorgsky’s suite, Pictures at  an Exhibition (see For Viktor.)  
Writing For Viktor led to my meeting  and friendship with Maestro Ashkenazy
This little book came to the attention of the famous Russian pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy — incidentally a famous interpreter and arranger of Mussorgsky’s original music — who wrote a wonderful letter endorsing my book as a powerful educational tool.

His letter includes the following and quite remarkable paragraph (bold emphasis is mine):  

‘I know of numerous examples of how children react being exposed to well presented lessons based on this kind of music and the results are absolutely astounding; apart from the fact that as they grow up they almost never abandon their affection for the serious music, they perform much better in all other subjects of their curriculum than those children who were not exposed to the same musical appreciation program. I know first hand of these examples in many countries - from the U.K. to Russia - having been a part of such programs.

 

(You can read the whole letter on my website here.) 

Now why don't all schools know this about music? 

My Name

Bit of stink last week because the minister of education, Hekia Parata, accused school teachers of mispronouncing the names of their Maori and Polynesian students. And the teachers didn't like it.

Fancy that: teachers didn't like being told off by someone in authority. Thought they were being patronized.

Interesting that I met a Maori man, long ago, who told me how he had to change his name in primary school because his teacher said she couldn't pronounce it. I turned that into a short story and included it in my book Nana's Special day and other stories.

Email me and I'll send you a PDF copy of that story.