I haven’t posted much on this blog of late. Time presses, and the reality of blogging is that time put into it is time taken away from work I have to do to pay the bills. I can’t realistically sustain a weekly schedule just now. Just to put that into perspective, right now I have … More Podcasting instead of blogging
Last week’s attack on Salman Rushdie underscored, for me, one of the harder realities of being a writer. You get hated by total strangers. And sometimes they go berserk. Its sad that authors get targeted, physically or otherwise. One might argue that Rushdie was a special case; but on my experience it’s a risk all … More Salman Rushdie and author danger: a cautionary tale
I have a new book out next week. The battlecruiser New Zealand – a gift to Empire is being published in Britain by Seaforth, and in the United States by USNI Press. A little later this year it’s also being published in New Zealand by Oratia Books. It’s a very special book to me because … More The battlecruiser New Zealand – a gift to Empire
It is almost 93 years since Erich Maria Remarque’s memoir of the First World War appeared in the pages of the newspaper Vossische Zeitung. It emerged in book form a few months later – January 1929 – and was made into a movie the following year. An English translation was published by Putnam in March … More All quiet on the blogging front
WordPress reminded me that I’ve been blogging for ten years this week. I don’t know where the time has gone. It’s been a tumultous decade. In that time I have made some wonderful blogging friends, some of whom have been around since early in my blogging career, and who I’m still in contact with, including … More Ten years of blogging – and a big thank you to my readers
By late 2003 my publications list included three books on the adventures of the Second New Zealand Division in the First World War: Battle for Crete, Desert Duel and Italian Odyssey. They sold well individually and by 2006 had gone out of print. The question then was what to do next with them; there was … More Book of the week: ‘The Division’ – putting it all together with another oxymoron
Back in 2001 my publishers of the day, Reed New Zealand, offered me an unheard-of deal: a multi-book contract. This was an absolute rarity in New Zealand, and I jumped at the chance. It involved writing three military histories in a series. I’ve covered the first two in earlier posts. The third was on New … More Book of the week: ‘Pacific War’ – sneaking an oxymoron into the title
I often envisage the difference between non-fiction and fiction writing as similar to the distinction between a photographer and a representational artist. Both have to produce something well-structured and appealing. The difference is that the photographer has to work with what is there, whereas the artist can, if needed, use license to achieve the same … More Book of the week: ‘Italian Odyssey’ – a drama in three acts
Back in 2001 my publishers of the day, Reed New Zealand, offered me something unheard of in local publishing – a multi-book contract. Of course I was keen. The contract involved three books: two follow-ups to A Near Run Affair, telling the story of the Second New Zealand Division through its North African and Italian … More Book of the week: ‘Desert Duel’ – a PUNishing title
Twenty years ago my publishers, Reed New Zealand, approached me with the suggestion that I might like to write a book on the battle for Crete, which was approaching its sixtieth anniversary at the time. The battle for Crete played out during late May 1941. Part of the defences were held by New Zealand forces … More Book of the week: ‘Battle for Crete’ – the 20th anniversary reissue
Matthew Wright 
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