Chilly Bins and Jandals.

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I had a call from my sister yesterday. She is an avid reader of Christian fiction, far more than I am, and she knows what she likes. I had recommended one of my recent reads to her—Close to You by Kara Isaac—and she had rung to tell me how much she enjoyed this entertaining book. We went on to have a conversation about New Zealand.

Neither one of us has visited the ‘land of the long white cloud’ and we both decided Kara’s book had piqued our interest in travelling there one day.

Kara’s novel is so full of visual pictures of her country that even I (who hates the cold) am excited to visit. My newfound desire to trek the wilds of Kiwiland was cemented by watching the movie, Hunt for the Wilderpeople. If you are looking for a great movie to see, this is it. The spectacular New Zealand bushland is a major feature in this movie, not to mention the wicked Kiwi sense of humour that tickled my Aussie funny bone. But what also struck me was the truly talented work that is coming out of this small country.

This is not to say that truly talented work hasn’t always come out of New Zealand. It’s just that, for me, I’ve been impressed with the recent offerings. So impressed that it has sold this tropical ‘princess’ on chilly NZ adventure—though, I don’t know if my jandal collection will suffice. I might need some proper closed-in shoes for the journey.

I would like to dedicate this post to my talented and superb friends from ‘across the ditch.’ And I want to recommend the creative work coming out of this country, after all, they are most certainly a vibrant and vital part of our Down Under body.

Apart from Kara Isaac’s novel, Close to You, and the new movie, Hunt for the Wilderpeople (in cinemas now), please find below some NZ work on my ‘to read’ pile. Please check out these titles for yourself.

The Pounamu Prophesy by Cindy Williams

Where Lions Roar at Night by Rosie Boom

Where Arrows Fly by Rosie Boom

Where Crickets Sing by Rosie Boom

Where the River Rises by Rosie Boom

Broken Shells by Debbie Roome

Fragrant Hope by Debbie Roome

Rose, who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, was born in North Queensland, Australia. Her childhood experiences growing up in a small beach community would later provide inspiration for her first novel, Back to Resolution. Beyond Resolution and A New Resolution are the second and third books in the Resolution series.

Back to Resolution won the Bookseller’s Choice award at the 2012 CALEB Awards, while A New Resolution won the 2013 CALEB Prize for Fiction. She has also released The Greenfield Legacy, a collaborative novel, written in conjunction with three other outstanding Australian authors, and has recently released the standalone novel, Ehvah After.

Her novels are inspired by the love of her coastal home and desire to produce exciting and contemporary stories of faith for women. Rose resides in Mackay, North Queensland with her husband and son.

Visit Rose at: https://rosedee.com/