In 1994, when my partner Inez told me about her faerie folk experience as a child travelling through the Te Urewera Forest in, I was encapsulated and enchanted by the recall of her ordeal. Inez was Tuhoe, the Iwi, or Maori custodians of this area of the country and her grandmother who was travelling with …
Over the last few months, I have perceived and been subject to behaviours, deeds, words, and actions that originate far from the heart. The foundation for all these has been the need for control. Controlling the narrative of a conversation, being gaslit as someone projects their reactionary traumas onto me to be right in justifying their actions …
Taking the Oho Ake universe into Amazon KDP exclusively wasn’t a move that I had strategised. With Draft2Digital, I would have had a wide distribution for the ebooks, across the world, including with Amazon, as well as dozens of other digital book retail stores. Due to their censorship of some of the content in the books (which was taken completely …
In 2008 I was told by spirit to make book trailers when such forms of media and marketing were non-existent, or in their fledgling status. The concept of visualising a book synopsis felt more like creating a showreel for feature films or television series. With the help of Preston McNeil at Executive Beige and sound engineer James Jackson, I conceptualised, created, produced, directed, …
For such a young man Pablo Wairua’s voice carried much gravitas. Wizened beyond his years, the way he spoke had a purpose, strength, and poise. I would come to know that he understood the nature of the creation, from thought to word and then manifestation, so I used language carefully, intentionally, and courageously. Born to …