Flying Free Stories and Where they come from by Adrienne M Frater.

Flying Free Stories and Where they come from by Adrienne M Frater. Atawhai Press, 2015.

This book of just over 200 pages is not just a good collection of short stories it is an insight into how one writer goes about getting her ideas to write about. Before each short story Adrienne Frater addresses the reader with how the story grew from her own experience with the world.

Often she proffers very good advice to a budding writer such as ” stories are rather like a patchwork quilt – a little from here a little from there. Some of it is true and some of it not” and in each new story I live in my character’s skin for a while….and “when I read other people’s stories I become their main character too”.

The 25 short stories are very good too. I read the book in one sitting it was such compelling reading with  a strong New Zealand flavour. The characters and the circumstances they get into are as Kiwi as Richie McCaw.

There are stories about sailing, a soap box derby, Opo the friendly dolphin, a whale stranding in Golden Bay, getting pierced ears and my favourite about Lulu a confident girl who goes to a new school.

Many of these stories have been road tested  on Radio NZ and in the old School Journal. Well worth a read for 7-14 year olds.

A self published work. Adrienne can be contacted at  amgk.frater@xtra.co.nz