Time to reevaluate the prominence trauma has in our stories

There’s an excellent article on the prevalence of the trauma plot in contemporary literature in the January 3-10 issue of The New Yorker, which grabbed my attention for two reasons: first, as a writer wanting to understand more about the craft (and which types of stories are currently popular and why) but secondly, as someone …

Python: new short fiction

I’ve been developing a series of science fiction novels for the past few years and hope to finish the first by the end of the year. In the meantime, I’ve also worked on some short stories that predate the events of the novels, but take place in the same universe. This is the first, introducing a character who will feature prominently in the short stories and at least the first novel.

New fiction: A sneak peek at RECOIL

For the past few months I've been working on a movie treatment and script with director Amarbir Singh. We've written two versions of the treatment and we're now preparing the screenplay. It's a revenge movie, of sorts, that takes place following an assault in an Auckland dairy. The context of the story is the clash …

When God took Job’s teeth: Tommy Tiernan tells a Bible story

No one — NO ONE — tells Bible stories like Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan. That he tells Bible stories at all says something. Something about his Catholic upbringing, perhaps, and definitely something about where his faith is now. As he said in a recent interview on Irish television, ‘It feels to me that we're born with an …

Wildwood: The tunnel

I lost myself today, which happens when the day is spent with people rather than words. Some people do double duty — rich connection AND words ... but in their absence I need to find myself again in my writing. So, here's a chapter from the novel Wildwood, which crawls inexorably towards its completion in the …

On writing: Wild Wood and the Babadook

It was just one small comment, but it made a world of difference. 'I love that process of being told by the work what it is, but it also requires faith and trust and that can be hard.' Just a flash of understanding that acts like a key, a key that unlocks ... me. I …