They always say ‘write what you know’, right? Well, authors Gareth and Louise Ward (two British ex-cops who moved to New Zealand and opened a bookshop) fully leaned into it with The Bookshop Detectives series – all about, you guessed it, British ex-cops who move to New Zealand and open a bookshop! The murders are fiction though – and they join the podcast to share their experience writing book 2 in the series.
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Links mentioned in this episode
- June Sale
- WIN Whisky Valley by Joan Sauers
- Buy So You Want to be a Writer – the book!
- Facebook group for So You Want to be a Writer
Writer in residence: Gareth and Louise Ward
Gareth and Louise Ward are the real-life owners of independent bookshop Wardini Books, with stores in Havelock North and Napier, New Zealand.
Louise is known among the staff as Fearless Leader and Gareth as a bit of a dick; he is, however, the author of the Tarquin the Honest and The Rise of the Remarkables book series, as well as being the bestselling and award-winning author of The Traitor and the Thief and The Clockill and the Thief.
Gareth and Louise met at police training college in the UK and are both ex-coppers. Louise has one murder arrest to her name, is an English Literature Graduate and as an ex-teacher inflicted Shakespeare on inner-city twelve-year-olds. She regularly reviews books on RNZ.
Both are obsessed with their rescue dog Stevie, avoid housework and gardening, and live in the cultural centre of the universe that is Hawke’s Bay, Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Bookshop Detectives is Gareth and Louise’s first book together.
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This podcast is brought to you by the Australian Writers' Centre and our course Crime and Thriller Writing.
Find out more about your host, Valerie Khoo (@valeriekhoo on Twitter and @valeriekhoo on Instagram).
