New Tales of the South Pacific

Graeme Kennedy’s New Tales of the South Pacific,  Volumes One and Two,
have been selected to be included in the display of 40 books featured in the
New Zealand Society of Authors’ stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, 2012.

This is the world’s biggest book expo, an event that attracts around 7500 exhibitors
from 110 countries and includes the global publishing industry’s most influential players.

Frankfurt has chosen New Zealand as its Guest of Honour nation for 2012,
an accolade which will generate enormous publicity for this country, its authors,
and their books.

NZSA chief executive Maggie Tarver said a “staggering” number of New Zealand
books had been submitted to the association selection panel for consideration for
the 40 positions in Frankfurt.

We are delighted to be included!

         

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 New Tales of the South Pacific, Volumes One and Two, are five- and six-story collections of tales which, rather than focus on the popular conception of the fabled region as “Paradise“, take a grittier and sometimes harsher view of the islands peopled with characters to match.

The first volume appeared on amazon.com in June 2011 in both Kindle e-book and paperback formats. Volume Two followed in the same formats in December the same year. They are also available for download for Barnes and Noble’s e-reader Nook and are listed on iTunes for download to Apple iPods and iPads.

The books gained 5-star reader reviews that praise their writing style, thought-provoking stories and vivid descriptions and evoke a strong sense of “being there,”  and quickly became Amazon ‘Best Sellers.’

Volume One, Paradise NOT, begins with a wide-ranging commentary on the South Pacific – from a completely different point of view – and then moves on to Wallis Island (named for the Englishman who discovered Tahiti) to meet a man who hides in his little air-conditioned office although he lives in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

On Niue, a New Zealand city dweller finds a truth which changes his life, while in Pago Pago, we spend a riotous afternoon in an hilarious and noisy old bar. Then, on to Samoa and the dignity of an aged Frenchman who chose to spend his life in the Pacific in the name of God.

Volume Two, No Place for Dreamers, features the life story of the Queen of the South Seas, the legendary Aggie Grey who battled personal hardship, grief and a stubborn colonial bureaucracy to develop her splendid, world-famous, Apia waterfront hotel.

Populated by real island people, and places and experiences that run the gamut from sublime to tragic, Volume Two concludes with a bittersweet tale of the end of life for two New Zealanders who, like the classic Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, choose to go to Samoa to die.

Please feel free to let me know what you think of these stories . . .

 

Tonga, named the Friendly Islands by their discoverer Captain Cook,
did not live up to their name on my first visit to Nuku’alofa 25 years ago.
Then, I found the place grubby and the people surly and unwelcoming to
strangers, but this time around – a rushed three-day research trip to get 
background for a story in Volume Two of New Tales of the South Pacific –
I found Cook was right after all.

Nuku’alofa, Tonga’s capital, is still pretty much a dump - although a lot of
new building has gone on downtown after the 2006 anti-Royalty riots when
commoners rose against the Royals and burned offices and homes along
Taufa’ahau Road.

But the Tongan people now evince a new confidence and vitality. I found them
out-going, helpful, happy to engage visitors in conversation, and laugh and joke
like other Polynesians – and that can’t be bad for a country with a subsistence
economy such as Tonga’s.

The visit followed my 27^th trip to Samoa where I spent a wonderful five days
renewing old friendships while completing research for a piece on the legendary
Aggie Grey that will be a highlight of the new book.

New Tales of the South Pacific – Volume 2 will be available on Amazon for
download to your Kindle or PC before the end of November – and in paperback
from Amazon by the end of the year.

Talofa, Kia Orana, Bonjour, Aloha.

Thanks for dropping in.

We’re happily continuing our residency on Amazon’s best-seller listings as we work toward completion of New Tales of the South Pacific Volume 2 which is scheduled for a pre-Christmas launch.

A trip to Samoa — my 27^th visit to that lovely island group — last month to see old friends and gather material to flesh out Volume 2 of New Tales was extremely successful, and away from the New Zealand winter, highly enjoyable. We stayed at the wonderful Aggie Grey’s (where else?) on Beach Road in Apia, feasted on island delicacies such as pork and palusami and drank Vailima beer.

Vailima is named for Scottish classic novelist Robert Louis Stevenson’s mansion on the slopes of Mt Vaea. He lies in a tomb at its peak, forever gazing across the Pacific.

Everyone seemed excited about the launch of the book; it was even featured on the front page of the national Sunday newspaper (see Clippings).

New Tales Volume 1 is now available from Amazon in paperback as well as the initial e-book format and can be downloaded to Kindle or many other mobile devices — or even to your PC (All you have to do is download the free Kindle Reader app from Amazon’s website — just click this link and then click on the book cover). In both formats, the book continues to receive high praise for its outside-the-square stories and style.

In early August it’s on to our next excursion; this time we head to Tonga to do some research for a wonderful story planned for Volume 2 – it features an islander with high aspiration for him asnd his family but whose dreams are torn apart by conflicting cultures.

Tonga is an island I visited briefly on two occasions many years ago, and while it produced some very good stories that I want to share with my readers, I don’t know the area well enough to write about it with the authority I feel is vital for credibility.

So now it’s off to Nuku’alofa for a few days’ fact-finding, atmosphere-soaking and lagoon-paddling, in hopefully, more South Pacific sunshine.

While it may not be “Paradise”, it’s pretty nice, eh!?!

Then back to Auckland and the publishing deadline for the next book – check back soon for more updates.   

Faa

Graeme

  Greetings Friends ! Exercising my bragging rights as a newly published author, I’m using this website to share my excitement with a new phase of my life and career as I “tell all” and expose a lifetime love affair with the islands of the South Pacific and their people.  Hope you will enjoy reading the tales…