Talking to Paparoa Travel group
I was cooking directors’ lunches in London when I first missed working with words, but the yearning soon sank under a sea of garlic and wine – although I did pen a yarn about flinging together feasts for holidaymakers in a ski resort.
After being editorial assistant for newspaper and magazine cook Tui Flower, then working for a magazine publisher and advertising agencies, a p.r. job got me writing.
Countless creative writing courses, conferences and critique groups let to Graduate Diploma in Journalism at AUT. As newpaper journo and while living at ‘the end of the road’, I wrote the columns that led to Love at the End of the Road.
Speaking at the launch
If you’d like me to speak at your event, email me at rae at farmside dot co dot nz
At Batley we’ve hosted many groups including almost 200 visitors from Ship ‘n’ Shore – on four consecutive days.
I spoke at a Mairangi Bay Writers’ seminar (with author Graeme Lay and playwright Roger Hall) and joined other authors at Mangawhai Books & Gifts.
Auckland Art Gallery – Writers Lounge: The Mentorship Process with Rae McGregor, moderator Siobhan Harvey; Pecha Kucha in the Old Library, Whangarei. At the Auckland Library, I joined other authors whose books were taken to the Frankfurt Book Fair by the NZ Society of Authors. And in Whangarei, I was involved with Northwrite, a writing festival, along with authors Joe Bennett, Paula Green, David Hill, Fifi Colston, Zana Bell, Diana Menefy and Deborah Challinor. Publicist Lorraine Steele and I talked about promotion. Check out the blog here!
There’s been Jo’s Home Cookery – Dargaville; Paparoa Bus & Travel Club (twice); A Day Away – Whangarei (twice); the Whangarei Camera Club; Rural Women NZ – Aoroa and Forrest Reserve; Probus – Wellsford, Paihia and Kerikeri; NorthTec for NZ Book Month; Warkworth – U3A ; Whangarei – U3A, ; 60’s Up – Bream Bay; Paperplus – a great night!
Resources I like:
- Lawson Writing Academy – online with Margie Lawson, plus expert tutors on websites, social media and more
- The Kara School of Writing – authors turn tutor – Daphne Clair and Robyn Donald
- NZ Society of Authors (PEN)– everything you need to know about writing in NZ
Book signing at The Kauri Museum, Matakohe
- Romance Writers of New Zealand – bursting with brilliant and sharing writers
- NorthTec – Applied Writing – study online – I tutor non-fiction and feature writing
- The Kauri Museum – helpful staff, huge library and endless archives
- Papers Past – National Library of NZ’s treasure trove of searchable news clippings
- Thornton Communications – Sarah Thornton – star book publicist
- Tessa Chrisp – whose fab photos grace Love at the End of the Road
- AM Publishing – Adrienne Morris managed the reprint
