This is the story of two islands, one of which I call home. They were named without much thought or imagination, the South Island, and yes, you guessed it, the North Island. Two elongated land masses separated by a moody stretch of water christened the Cook Straight.
New Zealand hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2011. We are a relatively new country and our shores sit firmly on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Volcano’s dot our landscape and a jigsaw of tectonic plates grate and rub together in their efforts to tear our country to pieces and join us with our neighbour, Australia. Christchurch was brought to its knee’s by the massive earthquakes that rumbled through the city centre. Numerous lives were lost, historic, irreplaceable buildings fell and a mass of putrid liquefaction ran in rivers down the streets and through the crumpled landscape of ruined homes.
Our men may also be familiar. Dressed in black and wearing a silver fern they advance, tongues flicking and eyes flashing at their opponents. The All Blacks, the “Haka” and rugby form an integral part of our culture as does anything equestrian or aquatic.
Mountains reach for crystal blue skies, snow-capped peaks form tooth-shaped silhouettes and small, almost deformed, creatures inhabit a semi-alien landscape in recent blockbuster movies The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Welcome to the life of Rochelle Carlton.
I entered the world of self-publishing with my novel The Quilt, Unravelled. It is a saga that follows the dramatic life of a pioneering family and their high country farm, Twin Pine Station. The youngest member of the family, Paul Clarke, is stifled by small town New Zealand. He intends to break away from tradition but his unpredictable girlfriend will stop at nothing to keep him from leaving.
Attorney Joanne Kyle is beautiful, ambitious and damaged by the conditioning of her rigid upbringing. When her life unravels she turns to her eccentric friend, Sandy, for support. What unfolds is a story of loss, hope and ultimately the chance to find love.
http://www.amazon.com/Quilt-Unravelled-Rochelle-Carlton-ebook/dp/B00MCV1BO4.
Most of the book is set in the central North Island, although in the later chapters the reader is taken to Waiheke, an undulating island covered in a tapestry of vineyards, sandy bays and olive groves.
The North Island is home to the majority of Kiwi’s. We are a people nicknamed after the small, flightless bird that is native to our country. We boast Rotorua, a city of bubbling, sulphur-smelling mud pools, steeped in the history of our indigenous people, the Maori. In the middle of our island Taupo snuggly nestles on the shores of a large body of moody water that is the largest lake in the Southern Hemisphere. At the southern end is our capital Wellington, location of the Beehive - home to our Government. Cone-shaped, snow-capped mountains, deserts supporting herds of wild Kaimanawa ponies and the picturesque Bay of Islands and Coromandel Peninsular with their beach-fringed islands and azure-coloured waters are also situated in the North Island.
In contrast the South Island is more sparsely populated. It is a land of spectacular mountains, dense, unspoilt bush and tranquil inlets that finger their way in to reflective bays, often only accessible by walkers. I invite you to follow my blog and enjoy photography of this special area and regular updates of my writing
https://rochellecarlton.wordpress.com/
My story is a little less dramatic than the scenery of the country I live in. I have two children that have reached an age where I provide hot meals but am otherwise considered little more than a hindrance as they fight for independence and I struggle to ensure they do not injure themselves while making that journey. Our farm is nestled on the edge of a pine forest and only a short drive or ferry trip from the modern city of Auckland.
I believe fiction is essentially an escape, a method to transport the reader to another place and time. It must have a good story line, the pages must leave me thinking, and it must contain believable characters and an interesting structure. I do not enjoy writing or reading candyfloss, sweet in the mouth but disappearing before the last page is turned.