Hi there!
It’s been awhile since I have been here. While the northern hemisphere enjoys their summer we are in the midst of winter. It’s been wet and woolly, with slippery roads and road works, power cuts, and with the odd beautiful sunny day thrown in, we have also experienced down south, two earthquakes. The second only a couple of days ago. It was good to hear drivers picking up stranded commuter passengers, when 
all public transport had been closed while aftershocks continued. It’s true kiwis do have big hearts. Spring however, is not far away as you can see by these lovely flowers in my garden, so hopefully the weather will pick up and everything else will stay calm.
During my absence from here I have been busy, having written drafts of two new picture book stories and they have been critiqued and reworked and also attended the NZ SCBWI held a few weeks ago when our guest was Jocelyn Watkin of The Storybridge, talking about successfully promoting your book on social media. There was a good turn out and I am looking forward to the next meeting in September. A very interesting afternoon. The Storylines Children’s Literature Foundation held it’s 20th Annual week-long festival this past week ending with a family day in the city centre. It is a day for the kids to show their talent entering drawing and writing competitions and reading aloud their work. There is a poetry corner and workshops for writers. Fun for all the family.
Music and entertainment has played a part in these past few months as 
you know. Including a Food Show, I also enjoyed an unusual evening at Slava’s Snowshow which was totally like nothing I had seen before. Entirely unconventional, one is taken on a journey that was frightening, exhilarating and touching. There is no one defining story but many skits by a main character, a yellow clown often the butt of jokes by the other green clowns in painted sad faces. It 
consists of intense feeling, excitement, and exquisitely subtle humour. Slava’s is a world in which the tiniest tilt of a head or wrinkle of a nose can have a theatre erupting with laughter. Expect the unexpected could not be more true. In a snow scene one is truly blown away… literally. The powerful opening and the ability to magnify the smallest detail I expected young ones to be terrified, but I heard no crying. Even 
sitting near the back as we were the clowns drew us in to this strange world. The ending, had the audience on their feet, not clapping but joining in gentle play and drawing the kids young and old from the balconies. Not one I would go again to. But I was glad I had been.
Well that has brought you up to-date with what I have been up to, and now back to some more revision…. See ya soon!
Writer and Dreamer at work 
So glad to see your face. Hadn’t really heard from you and was about to send you a note. So glad you have spent the time writing and revising and attending SCBWI NZ. That’s great. The Storylines Children’s Literature Foundation sounds very unique and interesting. What fun for families!
I hoped you escaped the eathquakes — certainly has been a lot of activity this year in NZ. So you are at the end of what would be March here and have another month before spring arrives. We’re at the end of summer, which has been wet and cooler than most for Ohio. We’ll have another month of warm and begin to feel the autumn.
So good to read your post and hear about what you’re up to!
Hi Pat, It is soooo good to hear from you. I am sorry I have been away from here, but life and work especially, has been very busy and taken a lot out of me. But I haven’t been slacking off with my writing. My critique group keeps me on my toes and that is good. Having a deadline to meet is always good. Yes it’s true we are nearing the end of our winter but it is still the wild season at present. Hoping you are making the most of your summer. I will looking forward to hearing from you again soon. Thank you for thinking of me. We are all fine here.
Happy that you’re back – here! Glad to hear you are okay after all the quakes, and hope things calm down soon. What a fantastic thing, this week-long festival. Lucky you!
Hi Julie, thank you for your kind words. Yes I am back and we are all fine. We felt a little rumble but not much. Yes Storylines Foundation holds a wonderful program up and down the country round this time every year for all the family. Nice to hear from you, Julie.
Glad to hear from you and to know you are OK. My grandson-in-law is in New Zealand working right now. He is loving it. Sounds like you have been keeping very busy. Good luck with the picture books.
Hi Darlene. Thank you for your kind thoughts and yes we are fine. How wonderful a member of your family is here in New Zealand. Whereabouts in New Zealand is he? How long is he here for? Pop me a message on facebook, would love to know. Thank you, hope your writing of your novel is going well. Looking forward to reading the next instalment. 🙂
He was near Auckland and has returned home. He will however be returning as his company is working on a project there. I will try to get more detals from him. Thanks for the encouraging words for my writing.
The Food Show sounds like I should’ve been there! I LOVE food! 😀
LOL… So do I Erik! I love trying out all different kinds of food. We should go to one together….that would be fun! 😉