Guest Posts

Running with Words
Guest post on Buzz Books USA for Writer Wellness

I am an insomniac, coffee-addicted writer who hates the cold and craves the sun.
I really do see ghosts and my loved ones believe ghosts and extreme weather phenomenon follow me around. I grew up spending holidays and weekends at my grandparents’ large old farm homestead which had a hidden wing that was haunted. These early experiences with haunted homes ignited my imagination and started a spark that made me question what else is out there that we couldn’t see, what is around us observing us? Why could I see these ghosts/spirits and many others couldn’t? The spark was lit and the stories started coming as fast as I could write them down and they still keep coming.

Survival can be achieved in the face of seemingly impossible odds, hope found in the most unexpected places, and new futures slide into view where once was nothing. Tales for Canterbury was an opportunity for readers everywhere to give support to the people of Christchurch, who have shown resilience and bravery as they work to rebuild their lives and city. This charity anthology features tales by more than two dozen writers from New Zealand and beyond who have generously donated their works. Whilst most of the real writing about the earthquake is still to come, and best undertaken by Cantabrian writers themselves (some of whom we are very pleased to include herein), you will find some apposite themes in these pages. Worlds are shattered and rebuilt. Families determined to stay together. Pieces of the past given new meaning. And the future brings with it things never anticipated. Tales for Canterbury brings you a variety of stories set in past, present, and future times, worlds touched by disaster, magic, and the otherworldly; where everyday truths are explored, and you never know what shape the future might hold. Explore the depths of what it means to be human, escape the real world, and find hope in these pages. All profits* were donated to the NZ Red Cross Earthquake Appeal. See talesforcanterbury.wordpress.com for more details. (* ie after we've paid any applicable transaction fees, printing, and shipping costs - neither Random Static nor the authors are keeping a cent) Tales for Canterbury was released as both a paperback and an e-book, but is now permanently out of print. If you have one, it's a collector's item!