PUBLISHED FEMINIST WRITER. BEST SELLER. WOMAN.
The Godmothers was written because of my study of feminist thought. That focus made me
realise that our whole educational syllabus was based on what men thought was important: there
was no female point of view. However, women carry on "forging our truth from the lie", as
singer/songwriter Jess Oakenstar wrote. This book can be found in all New Zealand Libraries.
Publishing House Spinsters Ink
Cosmic Botanists Trilogy, which has, as yet, only had Book One (Wings of Hera) published, is soon
to be launched on Wattpad. I wanted to illustrate a civilisation developed from a sentient species
with no males in them. Our human males cannot reproduce alone, but a human female is able to
n become pregnant - there are documented cases of such pregnancies, called parthenogenesis.
In the Cosmic Botanists Trilogy, the life arc of the Wings is shown, from the play of the younglings in
Book one (Wings of Hera) to Aura's life-altering journey to the Dreaming Isles in Book Three (Globes of
Ulso).
Publishing House Spinster's Ink, San Fransisco
Wings of Hera: Buy Here from Amazon. Pricing on site is currently extremely inflated, further queries
to Aylwyn Books at aylwyn44@gmail.com
Rumours of Dreams was inspired by wanting to challenge the legend of one of humanity's powerful
religions. If the Christian religion is based on actual people, what are other possibilities of Mary's
truth? I could see several, so delighted in exploring them, framed by a story set in modern times.
This book can be found in all New Zealand libraries.
Publishing House Spinifex
Buy Here from Spinifex
Our ancient heritage of women's experiences inspired the story in Days of Blood and Gold. Set in
Minoan Crete at the time of the bull leapers, Praxinoa is a young woman curious about life on the
other side of the sea while her partner, Sophia of twisted feet, is curious about why some women
"Swell" and eventually give birth, and why some don't.
Publishing Houses Grosvenor Press, Guilford England
Buy Here from The Women's Bookshop
Paekakariki Mischief, with its great cover created by Mel Church, takes its inspiration from the village's
fountain of creative people. In among them I plop a charming, good-looking art forger who rather
urgently needs work. New arrival Marla Rivelli is knitted into the village by throwing herself into the
battle for traffic lights, and along the way, acquiring Pommie a youthful dog.
Publishing House Aylwyn Books, New Zealand
Buy Here from The Women's Bookshop
Public Sex in Paekakariki was inspired by one person's reaction to the publicity for the play. On a
triangle board outside St Peter's Hall, I had deliberately written in large letters "Public Sex Here
Tonight". The person immediately thought the event was connected to brothel keeping and
expressed outrage, which made me laugh. The story was born by wondering what the village would
do if a mute, extremely pregnant and obviously poverty stricken young woman was found sleeping
in St Peter's church. This novel, and the one that follows are my Paekakariki novels, where I
delightedly lived for over three years.
Publishing House Aylwyn Books, New Zealand
Buy Here from The Women's Bookshop
My latest book, To the Fire, uses sci-fantasy to explore the possibilities of parallel existences to other
Earth-times. The inspiration here came from crop circles and other artworks which can only be seen
from high above.
Publishing House Aylwyn Books, New Zealand
Buy Here from The Women's Bookshop,
Buy Here from Unity Books Wellington and all good bookstores.
STAGE PLAYS, POETRY & OTHER EXCITING ACCOLADES
In the Fresh Lap of the Crimson Rose, a phrase Shakespeare wrote in A Midsummer Night's Dream, was my answer to the challenge set by the editors of Erotic Writing. I decided to use the power of language to write a sexual, arousing story about a garden on a hot afternoon. I've written quite a few short stories, all published in various anthologies.
Writing poetry is a curious thing for me. I've been doing it since I was a teen but didn't really grasp the
fullness of the craft until twenty years after that. I was very pleased when my long poem
Turangawaewae (Māori: place to stand) won a Poetry Slam at one of Wellington's more literary
drinking establishments.
A feeling of belonging in this culture followed some time later when my poem In Her Own Words,
about the Māori vote activist Meri Te Tai Mangakahia, was selected to appear in the Manifesto
Aotearoa, published by Otago University Press, 2017.
My one-hour drama for television Just Passing Through began as a commission from Eloise McAllister
(Texas & Aotearoa). What Eloise wanted was a story that shows love through time. I chose to tell that
story through the lens of my lesbian experiences, which added extra zest to writing it!
The racist Springbok Tour was the inspiration for my first stage play Change of Heart, trying to make
bigotry visible. The main characters work in the media and their erupting relationship, from which a
lesbian relationship emerges, is a mirror for the eruptions of racism around the infamous Tour.
Public Sex, my second play, had a ten night season over two weeks, performed at St Peter's Hall in the
extraordinary village of Paekakariki. What inspired this story was thinking about the power of worldwide
technology. In my light-hearted story, friends Ruth and Carol are enjoying a glass of wine when an
otherworld being nips in to tell Carol she's been chose to die to save the world. Naturally, Carol
thinks she is not worthy. My description of this genre is 'future fiction'.
My latest play which took place late 2020, Magic Afoot, was inspired by wanting to show the positive
side of our current pandemic. Titania's speech from Midsummer Night's Dream was part of my toolkit here. Tickets were paid for by a generous grant from the Waitemata Local Board, meaning all performances were well attended and there is a possibility of another season in February 2021.
