The scent of warm cheese and freshly baked scones drifted down the main street of Middlemarch, sneaking through open windows, and luring locals toward the heart of town—Emily Mitchell's café, Storm in a Teacup. Inside, the counter gleamed, the old timber floor creaked comfortingly, and sunlight slanted through sheer curtains. Locals packed the tables, sipping tea and coffee, chatting,...
Much of Stewart Island is uninhabited and still covered with native bush, making it a haven for many of our native birds. Ulva Island is a bird sanctuary where some of our most endangered birds have been released and are thriving. It was a thrill and a privilege to...
Stewart Island is the third-largest island in New Zealand, and it sits around thirty kilometers south of the South Island. Mr. Munro and I visited in 2020 and enjoyed our visit so much that I decided to set a book on the island. After percolating the idea for a few...
Last weekend, Mr. Munro and I visited Cape Reinga, a place I'd never gone to before. Cape Reinga is at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand, and from here it's possible to see where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide with currents going in...
The southernmost town in the South Island of New Zealand is Bluff. Bluff is also the place to catch a ferry to Stewart Island. Before COVID struck, I'd hadn't had a chance to visit this far south. Since we couldn't travel overseas, we decided to explore some of the...
These days there are many tools available to help in the writing of a book. Here are a few that I use and recommend. Some of the tools overlap, and I don't always use everything in the intended way. I adapt my usage to suit my needs and writing habits. 1. 4 The Words...
Icebergs are chunks of ice that have calved off glaciers and ice shelves. They vary in size from small to large enough to sink a ship. The Titanic, for example. New icebergs are white while the older ones are blue or sometimes green. An iceberg comprises fresh snow...
