In
2012, Winston Cowie published the epic New Zealand Land Wars
historical fiction novel ‘A Flame Flickers in the Darkness.’ It brings to life
the key people and events of the New Zealand Land Wars of the 1860s, and spans
the First Taranaki War, Invasion of Waikato, Second Taranaki War, and East Cape
and Chatham Island Uprising. The novel received spine
tingling reviews from some descendants of those key New Zealanders involved
in the wars - including a direct descendant of Titokowaru, the chief who
led the uprising in the Second Taranaki War; and also of Captain John
Roberts, a New Zealand Cross Recipient, who also was a key figure of
the wars. Captain Roberts great great grandson, Sam Priest, has
compared Winston Cowie to a young Wilbur Smith.
Cowie
states in respect of his New Zealand historical fiction novel:
"Out
of 500 copies printed, I probably sold 470ish; the book was available in
Whitcoulls, other independent bookstores, and online at Fishpond. There may
still be some hard copies available in these market-places. I was happyish –
around 470 out of 4,471,000 million New Zealanders read the book and had a
better understanding of what unfolded in the 1860s in New Zealand. But I wasn’t
convinced that I had achieved my goal set back in 2006 when I first started
writing, to make accessible and bring to life the New Zealand Land Wars to New
Zealanders and all – 470 people is, after all, only circa 0.01% of the
population. As a one-bloke marketing machine, there is only so much you can do.
Determined,
I pushed on, and to make the book accessible, decided to relaunch it as two
ebooks, the first, entitled “Greenstone Trail” covering the first half of the
book, was launched in 2014, and the second, entitled “Flames
Flicker” which has launched this week!"
Find
out about it below:
Have
a read about these courageous New Zealanders, Maori and Pakeha, who helped
shape New Zealand in the 1860s. You would be proud to read and learn about
these New Zealanders, of their courage and determination, of their mana and
selflessness. Get to know these Ghosts from the past…
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