New Zealand Writers
BELCHER, Angie
Belcher's stories feature many of the dare-devil activities she has enjoyed, including white-water rafting, bungy jumping, scuba diving and caving.
BELCHER, Angie (1956 - ) is a mother, writer and full time drama teacher. She describes herself as a self-confessed adrenaline addict who feels the fear but does it anyway. An ex-skydiver, 'mad keen scuba diver, cave crawler and general try-anything-oncer', she draws on these spine tingling, hair raising, prematurely aging experiences to enrich her literary career, which involves writing for both New Zealand and overseas magazines, as well as children's books. Her New Zealand adventure pursuits are frequently her theme.Angie rates her scariest moments as hanging upside down 3000 ft above the earth when her parachute harness got caught in the doorway of a plane, and being eyed as a tasty shish-ka-bob by a marlin in Papua New Guinea.
Angie lives with her husband, well known underwater photographer, Andy Belcher and has two children, Ben and Ocean.
In the past few years she has begun experimenting more with her writing and now has three children’s fiction picture books published by Reed Publications and is currently working on a travel guide to Fiji.
Publications:
Reed Publications:
2006, Girls in the Kapahaka
2005, To Our Shores (Anthology)
2004, The Woven Flax Kete
2004, Te Kete Harakeke (Shortlisted for the LIANZA Pounamu Awards)
Harper Collins:
2006, Oceans Alive
2006, Rally Challenge
2006, Baby Turtle
2005, Spikes Stings and Teeth
2005, Swimming with Dolphins
2005, Pacific Scrapbook
Orbit/Skyrider Series: Publisher: Learning Media
2003, Walk Tall
2001, Diver’s Dream-NF
2000, Wreck Trek-NF
2000, Creatures of the Reef-NF
2000, Our Changing Earth-NF
1999, River Rats-NF
1999, Skyrider-NF
1999, Bungy 70528-NF
1999, The Sky’s the Limit-NF
1999, Wild Bird and Other Stories-NF
Shortland Publications Ltd (McGraw Hill)
2001, Survival in Cyberspace
2001, Samantha’s Sea-NF
1999, Mountain Bike Mania
1998, The Hole in the Hill
1997, River Runners
Rainbow Readers Ltd Pty
2002, Dragon Flop
1997, Marine Encounters
School Journal Story Library: Publisher-Learning Media
1996, The Pink Gumboot Adventure (Tape and book)
1997, White Knuckle Territory
1997, Skyrider
1998, Mirror Image (Tape and book)
1999, Beach Watch (Maori Translation: Tutei Tiro Moana)
2001, BreakOut-Breakdancing
Journal Stories published by Learning Media
(All Non-Fiction)
Mr Trask’s Trash Pt4.No2.98
Operation Skatebowl Pt4.No1.98
Stefan Merriman Trial Rider Pt4. No3.98
Scott McKenzie Skydiver- Maori Translation: Nga Korero 27
Ride on Rastus Pt1.No1.98
Wild Bird Pt3.No1.98
The Mantis Munchers of Munda Pt3. No1.98
Sub Pilot Pt3.No3.96
Underground adventure Pt2.No3.96
Goat Girl Pt2.No2.99
Breakdancing Te Tautoko 42 (photos)
Individual stories as part of anthologies:
1999, Explorers of the Underworld (Shortland Publications)-NF
1999, Fast Forward FM Dash for Cash (Shortland Publications)-F
2000 A change of Face (Shortland Publications)-NF
2001 High Riser (On the Job- Learning Media)
2001 Ingrid and the Orca (Against the Odds- Learning Media)
2001 A Change of Face (Wear your Art- Shortland Publications)
2001 My White Water Rafting Trip (River Wild- Shortland Publications) Photos Only
2001 Mystery at Hayden’s Peak (Animal Mysteries- Shortland Publications) Photos only
New Holland Publishers:
Dive Sites of the World- (Melanesian Section)2005
World’s Best Reef Dives (Melanesian Section)2006
World’s Best Wreck Dives (Melanesia Section) 2007
Work In Progress:
2006, Berltitz Pocket Guide to Fiji
2006, Trouble at the Pond (Illustrated Picture Book)
Angie Belcher is available to talk to primary and intermediate students. She will discuss her experiences as a writer of non-fiction and teach students how to use their own experiences to write stories. She is prepared to travel out of town for Writers in Schools visits.
KIDS AUTHORS PICTURES AND INFORMATION
Some Questions for Angie Belcher
Where do you live?
I live in a tiny seaside settlement called Maketu. It is one of the oldest settlements in New Zealand and was the landing place for the Arawa Canoe, one of the first great migratory canoes to reach New Zealand.
What kinds of books do like to read?
I love to ready anything and everything but I especially love reading teenage fiction by New Zealand writers. This helps me to understand what my own teenage children are thinking. I also enjoy biographies about people who have had great adventures in their lives.
Do you have a favourite author?
This is a hard question to answer! Perhaps my favourite adult writer is the South American writer Isabelle Allende. She uses beautiful language. I love to read her work aloud and listen to the sound of the words as they roll around my tongue. My favourite children’s author would have to be Margaret Mahy. She has such a wonderful and bizarre imagination.
How do you think up your ideas?
I watch things that are going on around me. They usually spark off an idea. I like to write about things that I know.
What is the best thing about being an author?
The best thing about being an author is seeing children reading and enjoying the books I have written.
Questions for Primary Schools
Do you have any pets?
We have a very friendly, fluffy camel-coloured cat called Mango. He follows us everywhere and if we are not careful, he even tries to sneak into the car when we go out.
Do you have a favourite colour?
I love love LOVE purple and every shade of purple. When I wear purple it makes me feel really good about myself.
Do you have a favourite food?
My favourite food is vegetarian lasagne with lots of pesto.
How about a favourite movie?
My favourite movie would have to be Romeo and Juliet. (The modern version with Leonardo de Caprio in it.) I love the colour, the action and the music. Of course…Leonardo is pretty cute as well!
What is the most fun thing about being an author?
Experiencing lots of things so that I can then go away and write about them. It’s also lots of fun visiting schools and talking to children.
How do you make books?
I don’t really make them. I just write the words that go in them. The publisher makes them.
Where do you go like to go for your holidays?
I will go anywhere that is exciting, fun and has lots of outdoor activities.
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I drank some of the priest’s wine in the chapel attached to our school!
Questions for Secondary School
How did you get started as a writer?
My husband Andy and I used to love to go on adventures. We used to skydive, scuba dive, go caving and kayaking. The children I taught loved to hear about our adventures. I thought that if they liked to hear about them, they might also enjoy reading about them, so I started writing about our adventure sports. Before too long, we began taking children away with us and writing and photographing their adventures.
Who inspired you when you were getting started?
I was inspired by the children themselves. The way they reacted to certain situations, their excitement and enthusiasm and the language they used, made me want to capture the spirit of their adventures.
What advice would you give an aspiring writer?
I would advise them to just keep on writing. Write a daily journal, write letters, write poems, write everywhere and on everything, every time the feeling arises. Keep all those little pieces of paper and thoughts. One day they will come in very useful. Send your writing off to competitions, send letters to the newspapers, look for every opportunity to get work published. Seeing your work in print is a great reward.
Is it difficult to make a living writing in New Zealand?
Don’t expect to get rich quick. In fact, probably not at all!
However, you can make a living off writing in New Zealand. The secret, I think, is to be versatile. Write articles, reviews, editorials, and brochures. Take every writing job that is offered. In your heart you might only want to really write children’s books or a great novel but all of the smaller jobs make money and hone up your skills for writing that one great novel that we all have inside us.
What were you like as a child?
I was the perfect goody good. I must have been really boring. All I ever wanted to do was to please other people. It was not until I had quite a few knock backs that I realised that it is impossible to keep everyone happy all of the time.
Do you have any stories you’d like to tell us?
If I had to describe myself I would have to say that I am adventurous. I have had some wonderful adventures in my life. Some were really scary and frightening, others were exciting and adrenalin pumping. When I look back on some of the things I have done, I can’t quite believe that I actually did them!
I’ve had two really scary but memorable experiences. (Perhaps they are memorable because they were so scary.)
One time when I was skydiving, the instructor told me to wriggle out towards the door of the plane. Unbeknown to me, my harness hooked on a raised screw. Instead of rolling out of the plane I was left hanging out of the door by my bottom. I was caught hard and fast. It took ages for the instructor to unhook the harness and leave me to fall free.
Another time, when I was scuba diving a marlin circled me three times then stopped right in front of me with its long sharp bill pointing right at my heart. I thought it was going to shiskabob me! After a few moments it swam off, leaving me a blubbering speechless wreck!
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