Well Harbouring is out in the wide world now and I am feeling pleased. Not only is it a beautiful day in my beloved Wellington, but the book has been Number One for three consecutive weeks on the NZ Fiction Bestseller list. Phew!
For a writer, when your book hits the bookshops (and these days the e-book trade) it feels a bit like the day your child leaves home and goes flatting. Only more so. There’s nothing more you can do. Can’t change a word or phrase. It’s both exciting and nerve-racking to think of total strangers reading your words and entering the life you have imagined. What will they think? Unlike an actor or a musician who feels the audience with them and enjoys the applause, a writer gets little feedback except from family and friends who are, thankfully, partisan.
So I am grateful for all you readers who are buying Harbouring. It’s almost enough to give me courage to keep writing at this grand old age.
Jenny Pattrick 
I am a big fan of your writing Jenny.
Have just finished Harbouring and I loved it. Must be in my top five reads of all time. I loved it because as you said it’s from the point of view of the Maori and labouring class. Most stories are about the entitled settlers.
I live on the Kapiti coast so many references and places in the story felt so close to home.
There was so many interesting reflections pre aEuropean settlement, such as lovely healthy gardens, not using waterways as toilets etc.
So thank you for this treasure of a book. It must have taken many hours of research to get it right.
Keep writing and I will keep reading them.
Kind Regards
Kath Chambers.