A sunny day in Devonport...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of catching up in person with another fascinating Kiwi crime writer, Roy Vaughan, author of THE MERELEIGH RECORD CLUB TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND, and guest contributor to Crime Watch recently with his excellent, must-read recollection of meeting Dame Ngaio Marsh, "Memories of a Dame" (read here).

Eating fish'n'chips in the park (a very Kiwi thing to do on a late spring/early summer day) we chatted about all sort of things related to writing, publishing, books and crime fiction, as well as travel and the wider world.

Roy is a fascinating guy - a former officer in the British and New Zealand Merchant Navies, and journalist for the New Zealand Herald, he started an Expo Association and did a stint in Fiji setting up a PR and information section for the South Pacific Forum, he now runs a travel tour company and has started writing thrillers - THE MERELEIGH RECORD CLUB TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND is the first in a planned series, and he is just finishing the edits on the second book, THE MERELEIGH RECORD CLUB TOUR OF JAPAN, which will be launched in 2011.

It was interesting talking to Roy about writing for a small New York publisher, and doing some low-key publicity but effective publicity here in New Zealand and in the UK. The hardcover book has received some good reviews, but is a little hard to find on bookstore shelves here in New Zealand - although it has sold very well to libraries, and is quite popular there (in terms of readers getting the book out on loan). Roy says he is just very happy that people seem to be enjoying the story, and isn't too worried about big sales. I am very much looking forward to reading the book, as the story sounds intriguing, and Roy is certainly passionate about the different aspects of the book (the 'older' group involved, the travel and music aspects, the New Zealand scenery, and his Customs Officer hero who will continue into further books).

A paperback version of the book will be available later this year, which will hopefully see even more people give the book a go (as the cost will be significantly reduced). The hardcover is currently available on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Book Depository - keep an eye out for a paperback release in the coming weeks.