New publisher, new New Zealand author

An appealing looking novel arrived in the mail last week from Hachette NZ published under the Two Roads imprint. I had not heard of the Two Roads imprint before, it just said inside the book, a Hodder & Stoughton imprint, so I wrote and enquired about it. Two Roads Publisher Lisa Highton has now replied:

When I started Two Roads books just a year ago I found whatI wanted in a book, either to read or to publish, came down to just four words:stories voices places lives.  Like many readers I wanted a strongpage-turning story, told in an original voice, transporting readers toother places and telling us about other people's lives and, thereby, ourown. 

People often ask me 'how do I know I want to publish a book - fiction ornon-fiction?'  It's actually a kind of magic, almost a physicalreaction...I knew I wanted to publish TheSea on Our Skin from the moment I set foot on theisland's beach, I could hear the waves, smell the sea  and the firstwords seemed to say... let me tell you a story...and this is avery beguiling story from a new and talented writer. It seemed a perfectfit for a new fiction list.

On themorning of the wedding of Ioane Matete and Amalia Hoko, it rained. The cloudsthat had been waiting, dark and swollen for days, gave in to their impatienceand a torrent of water pounded the island. The damp between Ioane’s toes madehis feet itch and the itch in his feet made him desperate to move on. He was anexplorer, not used to staying still. As soon as the wedding – by which he meantthe wedding night – was over, he would leave his new bride and set out oncemore on his travels.

 Surprisinglyfew books are set in the South Seas and maybe it took a travelling Scottishgirl to write one (after all there is precedent, with Robert Louis Stevensonaka Tusitala).  Madeleine's writing has a kind of island rhythm as wefollow the story of Amalia, her marriage to Ioane and their four unusualchildren.  

About the author:

Madeleine Tobert
Originally from Scotland, Madeleine spent several years in the Pacific islands. She tried to leave but found she just couldn’t. She now lives in Auckland with her Fijian husband. The Sea on Our Skin is her first book.
Madeleine’s website here

Footnote:

Thanks Lisa, The Sea on Our Skin looks most appealing, and is now in my reading pile.Best wishes with your new imprint.