"Son, take a good look around"

Me and Miss M joining some locals for the second-ever
Motueka Beach Reserve parkrun to kickstart Saturday morning

Craig every second Tuesday

Kia ora and gidday everyone,

Greetings from New Zealand! For the first time in far too long (a shade over three years), I'm back in the home country, sending you all best wishes and bookish goodness from the Tasman District in the Top of the South Island. 

I've lived and travelled around many places in the world, but for me this place will always be 'home'. 

I wasn't born here, but moved to Richmond in the Tasman District as a four-year-old, and did all of my schooling locally before moving away for university. My love for books and mystery fiction began here, at my primary school and local public library, along with the bookshelves full of fascinating tales at our home. Since then (yikes, coming towards 30 years ago), I've returned almost every year, often multiple times a year, and sometimes for weeks or months at a time, until fairly recently when things got disrupted by COVID then other life events. 

Without meaning to, I've only been back three times in the past six plus years; that's after having never in memory (since I was pre-4) had any calendar year without some time in the Top of the South, until 2020. 

So, yeah, it's great to be back. Miss M and I have been loving catching up with family and old friends and enjoying autumn weather that's been far sunnier/warmer than London's Spring. In a a few days we've managed to visit parts of the Abel Tasman, Nelson Lakes, and Kahurangi National Parks, along with The Brook Waimarama Sanctuary, the famous 'Pupu Springs' (for much of my life considered the clearest waters in the world),  artisans and creatives like the world-famous Höglund Art Glass and Jens Hansen jewellers (creators of 'the One Ring' from the Lord of the Rings films), and much more, without feeling like we're tearing around or trying to pack too much into our days. 

Here's a wee bit of a photo essay, for those who aren't so familiar with the Top of the South: 

Miss M holding one of the oversized 'One Ring
to Rule them All' crafted for the LOTR films

The sacred Te Waikoropupū Springs (Pupu Springs) in Golden Bay, the largest 
freshwater spring in the Southern Hemisphere, among clearest waters in the world

A tuatara at Brook Sanctuary: an ancient reptile that predates
dinosaurs, and has been around for 200 million years

The shipwreck of the Janie Seddon, which served during both 
world wars, before being abandoned in the Motueka mudflats 

The underside of the Kaponga plant, aka 'Silver Fern', on an Abel Tasman
National Park track - rather familiar for many sports-lovers out there... 

Enjoying an autumnal swim at Tata Beach in Golden Bay

Rainbows and waterfalls (Wainui Falls)
in Abel Tasman National Park

Witnessing the expert artisans craft beautiful
pieces at world-famous Höglund Art Glass 

No Nelson visit would be complete without some medal-winning
Penguino gelato; since 1996, a rotating array of 350+ flavours

Riuwaka Resurgence, or 'source of the Riwaka' where a river emerges from 
a clear spring, filtered for years through marble/limestone of Takaka Hill

That's just a wee snapshot, and we only had a few days in the Top of the South so far. 

Tomorrow we'll visit Mapua, and I've also got a crime fiction author event at the renovated Motueka Library; for the first time since the very first Mystery in the Library event in Takapuna in 2015, I'll be involved onstage for part of our annual series, which now numbers more than 125 events at 50 different libraries in New Zealand (as well as a few overseas). I'm chairing a panel with past Ngaios Best Firast Novel winner Chris Stuart, actor, writer, and director Douglas Brooks (who went to Waimea College with me back in the day), and Motueka policeman, filmmaker, and thriller writer Stef Harris, for a discussion on how they craft or perform gripping tales full of memorable characters and events.

It should be lots of fun, and it's a cool treat for me to be involved in person, after having organised more than 125 free/koha library events in New Zealand over the past decade without getting to attend them. It was really nice too to spy a fair bit of in-library publicity for tomorrow night's panel, when Miss M and I popped in on Saturday after completing the second-ever Motueka Beach Reserve parkrun nearby. 

As much as I appreciate all we can do nowadays from afar, for work or leisure, thanks to technological advances, there's still something special about in-person events and tangible media, I believe. For instance, I've seen plenty of pics or online comments from people about our Dark Deeds Down Under anthologies, but it was still pretty cool to see the first edition in the Motueka Library the other day, part of the same regional library system (Tasman District Libraries) where I did lots of my early crime and thriller reading/borrowing, from Agatha Christie's Poirot tales to the thrillers of Alistair Maclean, etc. 

Full circle moment? Not sure, but fun and feels cool, nonetheless. I'm grateful for this weird and wonderful life, despite all its tough times, twists, and challenges. 

Until next time. Ka kite anō.

Whakataukī of the fortnight: 

Inspired by Zoe and her 'word of the week', I'm ending all my MIE posts by sharing a whakataukī (Māori proverb), a pithy and poetic thought to mull on as we go through life.

"Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini"

(My success should not be bestowed onto me alone, as it was not individual success but success of a collective)

Our 2026 Mystery in the Library season kicked off on Thursday night in Karori,
with 2x Ngaios winner Jennifer Lane, NZ Booklovers Awards shortlistee Rodney Strong,
2025 Ngaios winner James Hollings, and past finalist Helen Vivienne Fletcher

Writers Who Cook

Annamaria on Monday

Some of my friends and I have joined together in a group we have labeled WWC.  We meet up for long-standing, intermittently scheduled gatherings of authors and sometimes their spouses.  In a couple of cases, both are authors.  We are twelve in number, but because of busy lives we are hardly ever all together at once.  This past Saturday, we were just six, including five writers.

WWC began after a conversation at an MWA-NY event when my friend Gary Cahill and I were chatting about cooking and began wondering why so many writers like to cook. The best answers we came up with then, and since over the years, concern the fact that both writing and cooking are nourishing - in one case of the body and another of the soul or the intellect.  Or perhaps it's because writing is done alone and the result is shared but only after much time has passed and  when the author is not present.  Whereas with cooking, consumption often follows quickly and the cook is there to share in and see the satisfaction.  My contribution to this discussion, which gets laughs, but I maintain is not entirely silly, is that you do it standing up.

Our meetings always begin with a first course we call the amuse bouche: pizza prepared by Gary, who according my very picky tastebuds, is the best pizzaiolo on this planet.  Here is the first pizza for this recent event as it was going into the oven.

And before we took the first bites.

There are always at least two pizzas, but, as usual, once we started munching, we were too distracted by deliciousness to take many pictures.   

When it comes to writing, Gary is also a splendid short story author of literary merit. 

Our next course was an appetizer of gravlax, perfectly prepared by Jeff Markowitz.  Exquisite! 

Jeff's mystery stories are equally great. Some that are hilarious.  Man others deep and moving. His latest is a historical, with a look at societal issues that resonate today, 

Jeff's Wife Carol Markowitz also writes historical fiction, with a backdrop of WWII.  Just now, she has a story in the 2025 anthology of The Military Writers Society of America.

For the main course, I made sea scallops in a brandy sauce served over rice, with asparagus. 

The last writer this time was Richie Narvaez, who writes wonderful New York , both novels and short stories.  His latest is in an anthology of crime fiction having to do with climate change.

Lucky us, Richie's wife Denise is a pastry chef, who this time brought us cookies of her own making, designed in a mystery theme!  Yum!!
 

 Happy Reading and Buon Appetito!

A Bit of Greek Humor to Help Us Get By.

 

 

Jeff—Saturday

There really isn’t much uplifting news to report these days, aside of course from this Weekend's Sweet Sixteen NCAA Basketball games. But there remains humor to be found ... at least for Greeks. 

So, rather than droning on about what confronts us on so many fronts, permit me to share with you a bit of uniquely Greek humor. Unique I say, because it brings Greek gods into play in jokes I lifted directly from jokes4us.com.

What game did the Greek Gods play?

Hydra and go seek.

What did the Ancient Greeks wear on their feet?

Tennis Zeus.

How do Greek women get ready for a toga party?

With A Hera appointment.

Have you seen the movies about Greek Mythology?

No? Well you odyssey them.

                                                                                                                 

What do you call a musician petrified by Medusa?

A rockstar.

Why doesn't Aphrodite date tennis players?

Because love means nothing to them.

What did Poseidon say to the sea monster?

What's Kraken?

Why does Ares only have a Sony Playstation?

Because he is the "God Of War."

Who did Artemis invite to her birthday party?

Her nearest and deer-est friends.

What breed of horse was the Trojan horse?

A nightmare.

What do you call the Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie about the Greek Bailouts?

The Last Action Gyro.

And punny you should ask, but yes, now you know why I have such an affinity for Greece. :)

—Jeff

The Little Five

 Michael - Alternate Thursdays

Most people know about South Africa’s Big Five. These are the iconic Bushveld animals that people come halfway around the world to see in their natural environment. They are the Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhinoceros, and Buffalo. So then what are the Little Five? They are also fascinating creatures, just a lot smaller. And their namesakes are the Big Five. Let’s take a look at them (in reverse order):

The Red-billed Buffalo Weaver

Red-billed Buffalo Weaver

Masked weaver putting the finishing touches to his beautifully woven nest

Although these birds are part of the Weaver group, they are not at all in the class of the charming masked weavers that build intricately woven nests. With masked weavers, the males will offer the females several options, and she may reject them all. If she does, the male will completely demolish the nests and start again.

Thorny dead acacia branches seem a favorite construction material

Buffalo weavers, on the other hand, build large communal nest that are anything but elegantly woven. They are built from twigs and sticks arranged in an apparently haphazard fashion but producing “lodges” containing several nest chambers. The males persuade as many females as they can to take up residence and then they defend them from other males. They flap around noisily announcing their sovereignty. Probably they aspire to having their likenesses on gold coins. Occasionally, the whole construction becomes so unstable that it collapses. Then the whole flock will move on to another location and repeat the whole chaotic process.

Very proud of himself

They are large (for weavers) and quite handsome in their way, but not very bright. I once saw a predatory hawk make its way around the communal nest reaching in and grabbing chicks while the weavers carried on no end but did very little. Eventually, some (much smaller) birds took matters into their own hands (so to speak) and chased the hawk away with aerial acrobatics and dive bombing. Afterwards, the buffalo weavers went on with their business as though nothing had happened.

The name Buffalo Weaver comes from their habit of following buffalo herds to feed on the insects the large beasts disturb as the move through the bush.

The African Rhinoceros Beetle

Okay, so no prizes for guessing how they got their name.

They are appealing creatures, and don’t sting or bite, but unfortunately can do damage to groves of palm trees. Still, nobody’s perfect. They are large for beetles and popular pets in some parts of the world. The horn seems to be for arguments with other males.

The Elephant Shrew

Eastern Rock Elephant Shrew

Elephants shrews are almost ridiculously cute. They use their long noses to search around for insects, which they then flick into their mouths. In fact, they are not actually shrews or even rodents, but have their own order.

We had the pleasure of seeing several living on a large rock outside our cabin at the Mountain Zebra National Park. Their antics were much more entertaining than those of most of the larger animals.

The Leopard Tortoise

Leopard tortoise. No rush...

The Leopard can’t change its spots and neither can the leopard tortoise, although the pattern may fade as they get older. They are the fourth largest species of tortoise and may reach two feet in length. In common with other large tortoise species they are long lived and my reach 100 years old.

I once had a (nearly) crushing experience with a large one. Driving a Land Rover, looking for larger animals, I suddenly realized there was one in the road in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and the vehicle stopped, but the road was downhill and it slid forward some way. When we examined the situation, we realized that the front wheel was actually jammed on the tortoise's shell. The animal had followed Tortoise 101 and disappeared into its shell. The shell wasn't cracked or damaged, but it was firmly held with the tire pressing on one side of the shell. I wanted to reverse the vehicle, but feared that the Land Rover might roll another few inches forward when I released the break before the reverse gear took. That could be disastrous. So we spent some time jamming and hammering large stones in front of the other wheels first. The operation was a success, and in due course the tortoise emerged, took a good look around, and then moved sedately into the bush. Apparently hyenas sometimes get through those shells, but nothing else has much of a chance, not even Land Rovers.

The AntLion

One is grateful that these are very small...

Each hole has a minimonster hiding at the bottom

Alone of all the Little Five, Antlions aren’t restricted to Africa. Uncommon among insects, it’s the larval stage that is the more interesting with their neat sand traps to catch ants and other small insects. Burying themselves in loose sand, the wait at the bottom of their conical pit traps for something to slip in. Then they'll grab it with their fearsome (for ants) jaws and enjoy a good meal. They have a slow metabolism so can take their time between meals. It may take a year to reach the stage where they pupate and change into adults.

  

The adults are rather lovely creatures, making one think of diaphanous dragon flies, but they live only a few weeks. Finding a mate and laying eggs is about it.

One of the remarkable and enjoyable things about the African bush is the enormous variety of life. Maybe one isn’t always blown away by sightings of the Big Five, but there are always other creatures with interesting lives, behaviors, and pedigrees to enjoy. It is truly a gift.

Notes from the Saggy Middle

Ovidia--every other Tuesday

I suspect all writers (and too many readers) are aware of the 'saggy middle' stretch where nothing much seems to be happening.

It kind of feels like that's where we're at in Singapore right now. Everyone's recovering from the crush of major festivals: Christmas- Chinese New Year- Hari Raya Aidilfitri and there's just a little time to breathe now that it's Lent and Easter doesn't come till April 5 this year.

I was thinking that I had nothing to write about this week--not because nothing has happened, but because so many small but good things have.

The best of these is, I have a new office assistant:

I can't believe we didn't realise how smart Sophia is--she just didn't understand our expectations. Now she not only walks on a leash, as soon as she sees me unhooking her harness she lies on her tummy and lifts her two front paws to slide them into the correct loops.
I might be biased, but isn't that dog level genius? She also responds to 'Sit' and 'Stay' even when other dogs are around and holds the current record for digging out treats hidden in egg cartons or wedged into toilet rolls.
Best of all maybe, she's come to understand the yoga mat in my exercise room isn't a second toilet!

Now she sleeps in the corner while I put my daily time in.

But I'm glad I'll be going to yoga and pilates classes again soon. We'll be having the sea burial ceremony (ashes in an approved sea burial pot) for my dad in law this coming Saturday and then the official mourning period will be over.

I've also really enjoyed the first German class we attended. It's been a long time since I've got to study something according to schedule and I realise I've always approached things by plunging in and going full immersion. But I'm seeing how my fellow students work in structured systems, making vocabulary lists and so on.

So I'm taking this as a chance to learn about learning instead of relying on excitement and momentum!

I've also got to a point where I feel like I know (for now at least) where the next book is going. I can feel it taking shape, bones and organs forming and I'm hoping to get a rough draft down by the end of next month.

And through all this I'm very aware how lucky we are to have quiet moments and safe spaces here, with eveything that's going on in the rest of the world.

Solace

Annamaria on Monday

From my 1970 Webster's Unbridged

I am tempted to explain why I need solace right now.  Such complaining would very likely elicit sympathy from the kind people who make up the partners and the fans of Murder is Everywhere.  But I will not force my misery-loves-company on you.

As is always the case in my life, it is music that I find most helpful at a time like this.  So rather than describing my difficulties, I give you my road to a more hopeful and positive outlook: three songs.  Perhaps they will do for you what they are doing for me.

The first one - the beginning of Shostakovich's Piano concerto #2 - starts out a bit sad and quiet, but when the piano comes in the sheer beauty of melody  begins to turn me around.

Shostakovich Piano Concerto #2

And now some more gorgeous Shostakovich

And now SOLACE by Scott Joplin

I have proof that this works for me: The tribulations of creating this blog would ordinarily make me want to scream.  And I have hardly uttered a groan.