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Works by two local authors have been nominated for a prestigious Ngaio Marsh Award.
Kelly Lyndon of Stanmore Bay and Andrea Jacka of Orewa are finalists in the Best First Novel category, making two out of three finalists from the Hibiscus Coast.
Kelly’s book Crystal Reign, about meth addiction, was published last year (HM March 1, 2018), and took her three years to write.
Andrea’s novel One for Another had a much longer gestation, taking her around 11 years to complete.
She describes her book, which was self-published as an e-book last year, as “a crossover mystery Western, set in 1880s Idaho”.
The book features a female lead character who prefers a knife to a gun.
“I have always loved cowboys and Indians, and was a horsey kid,” Andrea says.
Having always been a keen reader, Andrea decided to write a book but says that googling “how to write a novel” was not helpful.
“I just decided to go down my own path and see where it took me,” she says. That process included getting up at 4am so she could write before work, and carrying a notebook in case something came up that she could use.
Since Kelly and Andrea met recently, they have become friends, drawn together by a love of writing.
Kelly is currently working on a coffee table book with local animal rescue charity Gutter Kitties, and Andrea has begun researching the second book in her Western series.
Both authors are excited to be finalists in the Ngaio Marsh awards, and will attend the award ceremony at the Word Christchurch Book Festival later this month.
