I’ve always had a major battle with where I’ve wanted to live in life. Make no mistake, it’s always been New Zealand, despite having lived in a few different countries, though my dilemma has always been water or snow? I’ve been snow-boarding for quite a few years, love the white stuff, love Ruapehu, Queenstown, Wanaka and all they have to offer. That feeling of the fresh air, the vistas, the apres-ski sessions with mates. Though prior to all of that, my dad helped me get my Scuba Diving license at the tender age of fifteen. I loved it. Had a flare for it. The water feels like a second skin to me. Who isn’t happy floating around a water world, checking out underwater landscapes and the fish that go with it? Finding crayfish and scollops on the seabed? I was lucky enough to buy a boat from a friend over the break. I just wish I could say my boating skills were decent, though they’re not. I managed to launch the boat last week only to find that we couldn’t start it. We floated in front of a gallery of people at Matiatia Warf on Waiheke instead, before being forced to reload and leave the water somewhat deflated. I followed that up a few days later by being towed home by the Coastguard. As much I love Winter, it’s nice to be able to dip in and out of the colder climes, so I chose to live near water.
I’m not sure 2016 is going to go down as a record year for most. I’ve heard it was a mixed bag from a few people I speak too. A plethora of big names dying, the biggest for me being Bowie and Prince. It was a little up and down, though on the whole I can’t complain. I’ve missed a couple of blogs so apologies for that. The good news is that the first draft of my new novel is done, so I’ve been busy. There’s a few things to go through to get it up to a publishing standard, which I’m going to try and do traditionally this time, so it’ll be awhile away, though it’s exciting.
I read ‘Gone Girl’ before Christmas and I’ve got to admit that Gillian Flynn is my new favourite author. I’d read Sharp Objects and had seen Gone Girl in film, though was really pleased I read it. I liked it so much I had to google Gillian to see what she looked like. She’s an attractive, normal looking American woman. Though her eyes speak volumes. They look intelligent, like if they were weapons they could do quite a bit of damage. She writes in the basement of her house. She says it’s pretty basic with not much around her in order to remain focused and she does it in silence. Me, I like plenty of light during the day, low lights at night and music. I’m into the second draft, though hope to have something to you soon, fingers crossed on that all important publishers note, stay tuned.