Paddy Richardson has announced that her new book, By the Green of the Spring is due in bookshops in mid-August.  Paddy was Randell Cottage’s Creative New Zealand writing fellow for 2019, while she worked on this new novel.

Paddy writes: “This is the sequel to Through the Lonesome Dark and carries on with the story of Pansy Williams, Clem Bright and Otto Bader,  children of mine workers, who grew up in Blackball just before WWI and whose lives were irrevocably changed by the war. This novel focuses on Bright family members as they try to heal from the damage to their lives after Clem returns from war and to create new lives but primarily on Otto Bader who is incarcerated in a prison camp on Somes Island for the duration of the war because of his German heritage.

“Having the residency was invaluable for researching this part of the novel. Being able to spend days in the libraries, to visit and stay on Somes Island,  to become familiar with Wellington and to write in the cottage was such a gift. I feel instant happiness and nostalgia when I think of that sunny room with the desk and my computer, the garden with the daphne in flower. Thank you so much for the residency and your support and interest.”