Novel follows family history after WWI
massey-university
Thu Jun 18 2015 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Novel follows family history after WWI
Thursday, 18 June 2015, 3:55 pm
Press Release: Massey University
Novel follows family history after WWI
A Massey University information technology academic has published his first novel – set in New Zealand after World War I and based on his own family history.
Originally from the UK, Dr David Parsons is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology (SEAT) at the Auckland campus, where he is usually found lecturing and researching information technology. His background in IT proved an added bonus when it came to researching and self-publishing the book.
Kinross Flat is largely set in Otago, and follows the experiences of the protagonist, Marty Pawson, who uncovers family secrets and a tragic and unknown past
“The book is based loosely on the story of my great aunt, who married a New Zealand soldier in England in 1919 and came back with him to Otago,” Dr Parsons says.
“A couple of summers ago I went down to South Island to find my great aunt’s grave. While on my journey I began to feel that I wanted to record the experience somehow, and started doing some background research. Over time my notes and recollections began to turn into a novel,” he says.
“I learned a great deal while writing the book, and it was also very enjoyable. Once I started researching New Zealand history I got totally absorbed in the process. There is so much material online, from army records to death registries, passenger listings on troop ships and family histories on the web, not to mention the huge resources at Archives New Zealand and the Wellington Central Library.”
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
Dr Parsons also found the process of self-publishing a fascinating experience.
“Although I’ve published several text books with traditional publishers, I’d not previously looked at print-on-demand and Kindle. It was a very interesting process to create a book entirely independently using software tools that Amazon CreateSpace provides for free. As an academic in IT, it was a useful reminder of the amazing power and reach of the web,” he says.
Kinross Flat is published under the pen name “David Roy” and he has set up an info page on the book’s background and where to buy it here: https://sites.google.com/site/kinrossflat/home
He will also be selling copies of the book at the New Zealand Independent Book Festival at the North Shore Events Centre in early October.
ENDS
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual Find out more
Find more from Massey University on InfoPages.