Your
real name and pen name?
Faye
Whittaker
Please
share some of the best memories of your childhood
Wonderful
holidays at my Grandparents house in the Bay of Islands, Northland, New Zealand
each summer from the time I was six until the age of twelve.
My
older brother and I were free to do, and to come and go, as we pleased each day
from after breakfast until dinner time…no questions asked about where we’d been
or what we did in between. That was the best bit!
We
spent our days swimming, sailing in our wee boat, fishing and scrambling around
the rocks on the tiny islands dotted around the harbour. It felt like every day
was a huge adventure.
When
we weren’t mucking about in the water, my brother doubled me on my
grandfather’s old two-wheeler bike so we could discover all manner of exciting
places around the district. We’d spy on lovers parked in cars down lonely
lanes, eat our picnic lunch under trees in farmers’ paddocks, and cool off
inside the stone church on our way home
We
travelled with our mum overnight by train (23 hours in all) to get from our
home to the sunny north. That was the hugest adventure in itself. And what’s
more we had bought breakfast from a railway station on the way. That just had
to be the best treat of each year!
About
your education
I
attended New Plymouth Girls’ High School – Taranaki – New Zealand
I
gained a Degree in Social and Community Work from Massey University –
Palmerston North – New Zealand
I
qualified as an Adult Tutor – Taranaki Polytechnic – New Zealand
What
career did you plan during your education days
Social
Work – Initially I wanted to become a Child Welfare Officer. Later I decided to
focus on ‘first choice tertiary education’ for students who hadn’t succeeded at
secondary level.
What
languages you can speak and write?
English
only
What
is your biggest source of inspiration in life
The
fact that I have realised I have been given the opportunity to experience the
Life-force in human form; and that in truth, this great privilege has nothing
to do with the religious, political, societal, time in history or even the family
I was born into.
What
hurts you most in this world
That
the majority of individuals don’t now, or ever have, thought for her/himself.
Instead each acts out opinion according to what we are introduced to. We
generally form our beliefs, our codes of conduct, and construct our morals in
line with those who have authority over us.
What
is the biggest challenge you have faced? Were you able to overcome it? How?
Rheumatoid
Arthritis—I was diagnosed with this disease after being admitted to hospital on
my deathbed from mercury poisoning. The challenge was two-fold. First: the
crippling debilitating pain in joints and chest, and the closing down of my
bodily organs. Second: The taking up of responsibility for my return to health
against the advice of the doctors, who, even before making a diagnosis prescribed
life-long medications of steroids and chemotherapy, which I refused. I did
agree to a sulphur based drug which, unbeknown to doctors at the time, saved my
life. It did not however, reduce the rheumatoid factor in my blood.
Yes!
I have overcome the doom and gloom of the medicos predictions by becoming
strong in following my innate instincts—taking advice that felt right and
looking to natural therapies. I changed my lifestyle—had a mouthful of amalgam
fillings removed, examined my past, and reduced my day-to-day stress.
Twenty
years ago, one doctor after another, based on my original blood tests and my
physical state, decreed at best I would be living life in a wheel-chair within
3 years. They were entirely wrong! And although I still live with the aftermath
of rheumatoid arthritis, and I am not physically as able as I once was, it has
been the impetus I needed to get on and write
If
you had to live a day of your life as one of the living or dead personality,
who would it be and why?
My
mother—a renowned artist
Since her death I have realized just how
multi-talented she really was. During her living years I was inclined to take
the ‘all’ of her for granted.
What
is your favorite genre and why?
I
don’t have a particular favorite genre. I like reading writings I find
inspirational—that encourage me to live MY
life without the requirement of approval from those around me.
When
did you start writing?What is the purpose of your writing?
I
have always enjoyed writing—essays were my forte from early school days, and I
aspired to write a full length novel from the age of 16 or so. However, my
first published works included 2 books on Rheumatoid Arthritis—‘The Rheumatoid
Triangle: the complaint, the cause, the cure’ and then ‘Rheumatoid Remedies:
Natural Remedies to Heal’
A
five year project followed to produce ‘Intricious: inspiring, nutritious, delicious.
This is a food philosophy book chock full of information and over 80 of my
recipes that contain only healthy ingredients.
I
finally got to publish my first novel ‘For a Fee of Two Shillings’ in 2011 and
recently my second ‘Powder Blue Tweed and Rye’ in October this year.
From
reader feedback, I am happy that my non-fiction has encouraged others to pick
up responsibility for their own health and well-being—to sift through the
advice given by professionals and make informed decisions of what is right for
them.
I
hope my novels, besides having a good storyline, inspire readers to be curious
and to self-observe. Also, that they begin to recognise what they so easily
take on as fact, most often is only opinion, casually adopted by the receiver
without any examination as to its truth.
Which
of your work published so far? Would you like to share a synopsis of your work?
‘Powder
Blue Tweed & Rye’
When, several years after the heart-rending
tragedy Kelly Templeton inadvertently finds herself at the scene of her
parents’ murder, she totally understands why the one person who could have
revealed the mystery surrounding the deaths chose not to tell—police or family.
Kelly herself bears the humiliation
and shame engendered from harmless teen-juiced sexual exploits being
highhandedly exposed by a supercilious busy-body. And worse, the subsequent
prejudicial judgement—the consequence of misconstructions created within
the fabrication of cultural and religious bigotry.
She suffers condemnation without
trial, and there doesn’t seem to be any justice or truth in any of it, or
anywhere for her to be.
Yes!
Kelly Templeton knows all too well, the hurtful scandal that comes from
revealing someone else’s secrets.
What
are your forthcoming writings?
I
am in the initial stages of writing my life memoir… I’m not sure if it will be
published. I would have loved to have read the life stories of the generations
of women in my family who preceded me …So in light of that, this will be left
for my descendants.
What
are your future plans?
I
prefer not to plan—rather, I like to allow my life to unfold as it occurs to be
the next right thing.
What
four top most things you take care of while writing a book?
I
try to make sure:
·
Somebody
somewhere will want to read it
·
If
it’s a novel, it has a plot that moves along and is not predictable
·
It
has a good storyline that is also inspiring
·
That
it leaves the reader satisfied…or better still, wishing they hadn’t come to the
end.
Your
dream destination on Earth?
Right
here—where I live in the far north of New Zealand. My log-cabin (and writing
nook) over-look a beautiful harbour with less than a 100 metre walk down to a
beach of white silica sand.
Your
origin of birth and other countries you have visited/ stayed. What best things
you liked in these countries around the globe?
I
was born and have lived most of my life in New Zealand.
I
have been privileged to enjoy extensive travel around the world, taking in the
differences and the similarities of human endeavour, rituals, morals and
circumstances of a wide range of cultures and belief systems.
The
traditions I have experienced include those practiced in 10 different European
countries as well as Australia, Canada, Argentina, Peru, Turkey and
Morocco—Pacific Islands, including Niue, Rarotonga and Tahiti—Asian countries
including India,
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and the
Philippines.
Travel
has unequivocally brought the realization of how each individual in this world
is thoroughly moulded through the place of birth, the time in history, the
dominating religion and associated politics—cultural and societal values; even
family doctrines and dogma—All of which is indoctrinated as a truth during
one’s childhood.
It
occurs to me whether we are born in the west or the east we are not encouraged
to believe in ‘one’s self’ or to claim one’s right to ‘Be’ and/or live outside
of a given norm.
It
also seems those who have less laugh more.
Your
favorite time of the day?
Evening—the
world and all of its busy-ness gives way to peace as the sun goes down
Your
zodiac/ sunsign?
My
sun sign is Leo and my Chinese sign
is Monkey
Your favorite color and why? This seems to depend on the object: I like a particular shade of red car I like to wear blue I like the look and feel of sunny yellow and gold
Your favorite book and why? Nelson Mandela’s—Walk to Freedom He is the epitome of what I admire in a human being. Mandela found and lived his passion without fear of the consequence. He knew and followed his right to ‘Be’ no matter the indoctrination he received within a culture that practiced apartheid and treated his people as second class citizens. Your favorite celebrity and why? Dawn French—she is not afraid to portray who she is, and she is a natural comedian. Just the thought of her makes me laugh in pure joy. Your favorite food? Pear, Walnut, Lettuce & Feta Salad Some quickies: Sun or Moon, Laughter or Smile, Morning or Evening, Coffee or Tea, Mountain or Sea, Long Drive or Short Drive, Silence or Conversation, Water or Fire, Air or Earth, Mars or Jupiter, Moon or Sun, Tulip or Rose, Red or Blue, Left or Right, Glance or Stare (I’ve colored my choices blue) State your signature line/ tagline/ best quote Keep the Magic—‘Tis the essence of you before anyone or anything made something else of you The last line of your autobiography would be… This story is the ‘makings’ of my life. By the telling of it, I hope I have also honoured the privilege of it.
(Oops! That’s nearly 2 lines!) J
