Surfing, adventure, fantasy, theology and romance will all be on the table at a triple-whammy book launch by Raglan authors later this month.
The special triple book launch will be held at the Raglan Old School Arts Centre on Friday 24 April at 7pm, and everyone is welcome. With three new books by three authors to hear about, there’ll be something for all reading tastes!
Well-known local author Merren Tait will be launching her latest novel, Romance is Dead, at the event, the second title in her popular Britlandia Series. Inspired by the wartime correspondence of her grandparents, Merren’s novel is a romantic comedy about the lost art of crafting love letters and the power of the handwritten word.
Merren says, “The three of us are friends and writing colleagues, and we all happened to have new books coming out around the same time. Launching them together makes it three times the celebration, and really showcases the amount of fabulous new writing that is happening here in Whāingaroa. Writing can be a pretty solitary business, but there are loads of great authors living locally, and it would be wonderful if more people knew about and could enjoy their books.”
Sarah Johnson will also be launching her latest book, Not A Babe, at the event; hot off the press earlier this month. Based in Raglan, Not A Babe is Sarah’s first novel for young adults, and is about friendship, facing up to a challenge and surfing. Ngarunui Beach, Manu Bay and Raglan Area School all feature in the story, along with many other local landmarks, and Sarah says she is thrilled to be launching the book just before Raglan takes centre stage as part of the World Surfing League Championship Tour next month.
Local singer-songwriter, artist and playwright Matt Kambic is the third string of the trio with his second novel, A Small Bite Out of Eternity ~ the Square Miracles. Matt’s book is set in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In his story, a couple wanders into a local wooded park, finds a young apple tree in a hidden alcove, and each takes a bite of the fruit. As it happens, the tree is a direct descendant of the Garden of Eden’s apple tree. The narrative takes off from there, tracking disturbing metaphysical, transformative spiritual, and harrowing preternatural threads. Reflective, enchanting, gripping, with a dash of Shakespeareanesque jiggery-pokery, it’s a book for those pondering the existence of God, and some such.
Merren, Sarah and Matt each already have several books to their name. They are also all founding members of the Raglan Inkspillers Writers’ Collective – a collective of eight Raglan authors that come together to support and promote their own and other Raglan writers’ work. The collective produces the annual Backlit literary magazine, which is distributed free around town and last year showcased work by sixteen writers from the Whāingaroa rohe.
This year, Backlit is looking for a sponsor to help cover printing costs. If that sounds like something you may be interested in, come along to the launch and find out more.
Or come because you enjoy a good book, are interested in writing or, like most of us, love to hear a story read out loud – there’ll be three choose from!
Books will be on sale on the night, or can be bought from Made, Zinnia and iHub.
Triple book launch
Raglan Old School Arts Centre
7pm, Friday 24 April
Everyone welcome and free to attend.
