David White
A bookseller for forty years beginning in Whitcomb and Tombs, Lambton Quay Wellington in 1962, a few years with publisher Hodder and Stoughton, and ending my career owning the Highland Park Bookshop. I wrote my first book as an expansion on building our family tree, and wrote the life of my great great grandmother in ‘My Name is Matilda’ we had a great promotion tour in England and returned to New Zealand in September 2009. Two weeks later our daughter was murdered by her husband, and as consequence I wrote ‘Helen. The Helen meads tragedy’
The last 14 years I have been advocating for the prevention of family and sexual violence in this country, and must have been more successful than I felt I had been, as I received the MNZM on the Kings Birthday Honours List.
‘Dear Aunt and Cousins’ is the sequel to ‘Matilda’ and completes my story to the present day.
What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?
Jo Nesbo. Anne Perry historical detective stories.
Do you try more to be original, or to deliver to readers what they want?
Give them facts, whether they want them or not! The family violence stuff is for real, accept it or stay in ignorance, your choice.
My family history is much the same, it happened. I’m here because of it. Nearly all that I have written is recorded somewhere, and like all families, some of it isn’t flash.
How do you select the names of your characters?
Didn’t need to. They are real in the vast majority of cases. The very few fictional characters that I have introduced have been taken from real people who fit the nature of my character, and I have portrayed them, warts and all. nobody has sued me yet!!
What was the first book that made you cry?
I think as a little boy, an Enid Blyton and Toby Twirl.
If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
I would have to learn to write fiction, as all that I have written has been based on fact. That has taken a lot of time researching. I’ve been told I already do that as both Matilda and Dear Aunt and Cousins can be read as fiction. I don’t know, and I leave that to the reader.
Have you Googled yourself? Did you find out anything interesting?
Yes, I used to google myself back when I was doing a lot of media on family violence. I checked on accuracy, but gave up because by then it was too late and I couldn’t change anything. In fact made it worse. So i haven’t in many years.
Are there any secrets in your books that only a few people will find? Can you tell us one? Or give us any hints?
Yes there are secrets. Getting Maggie out in this one is letting the cat out of the bag as a method I have used to help someone escape. Those who know me from my booktrade Hodder days will recognise a name given to me by a visiting author, but that is another story altogether.
Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym? Why?
No. I have had something to say in each book, why hide who was saying It? It weakens the message in my view.
I treat it the same as the threats I get from abusers where I have got the victim out, if you use a fake name to threaten me, then your threat is equally fake. Be real, or bugger off!
How did publishing your first book change your writing process?
It didn’t. i just sit and words keep appearing on the page. Not entirely sure how they get there, sometimes.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Only one. Completed and set locally around a scandal in horse racing. based on fact, probably libellous.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters of the opposite sex?
No difficulty with that. just think of real life. However! Chapter six in ‘My Name is Matilda’ is entirely the words from Madeline taken from her letters she wrote to herself after her lover died. I watered them down, and i never could have come up with them myself. Only a woman could have written in that detail.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
Yes, I read them. With the bad ones, I felt relieved that the critic had not had to live the life that they criticised me on. Their innocence on such matters is a blessing for them, and I hope they stay as innocent.