'To The White Gate' and 'The Boltons of The Little Boltons' now available from Amazon

It took a bit of effort but both To The White Gate and The Boltons of The Little Boltons are available direct from Amazon for sale and shipping anywhere in the world.

To The White Gate introductory offer

To The White Gate is available now for the special introductory price of just $18.00 for a limited time. After a month or so the price will return to its standard of $23.00.

Meanwhile I am also getting it published in America where it will be on sale at Amazon as well as a few other places.

More information when I have the details.

What publishers said about 'To The White Gate'

After fifty rejections -- from New Zealand publishers and agents in England, Australia and America -- I have decided to self-publish my new novel, To The White Gate. Anyone who read it loved it, and I got some very flattering comments from publishers, but no one was willing to take it on.

One publisher said:  

How can one make a well-written and interesting book such as yours a success in a marketplace where people are seduced by the glitzy, shocking, chocolate box 'pick me' factor alongside so much to read for free on the web. I can't say we have the answer, and fiction has always been an incredibly uphill struggle in New Zelaand where only cooking, sports and celebrity biographies sell consistently well.  

Another said:

The pace is like sitting in a garden in the sun, but that is the point. The writing is lovely. It is an effective, well-written novel. However, although it definitely succeeds on its own terms, the market for such a quiet, gentle book is relatively limited. As the book market is currently going through such a rough patch, we have to be particularly selective about what we take on and sadly we just don’t think your novel would be viable for us to publish.

About To the White Gate (the blurb):

In a park in an antipodean city in the 1930s a teenaged boy starts work as an apprentice nurseryman.

It's an idyllic world. Patient and unhurried, with a pace as predictable as the seasons. A miniature version of the pre-war colonial empire lying just beyond the park gates. But as secure as the park may seem it can't protect anyone, least of all Tommy, from the changing world outside.

There's a war coming. An unwanted baby and heartbreaking changes at home.

Through it all the park is a constant. A companion, a teacher, a home and a friend.

With it he grows, learning wisdom and patience, as the park brings him friendship, love, knowledge and family. Friendships that will take him far away from home; family that will nurture him throughout his life; and the knowledge to finally understand the park's mysterious white gate.

To The White Gate will be available from my website soon and from Amazon later.

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.