Ann Chapman

The Push

The Push, a sequel to A Kind of Catharsis introduces Sarah, a film maker who along with her policewoman friend, Barbara, work together to expose the underbelly of the cocaine trade in Invercargill. The mood is set when Sarah watches drug smuggling in the bleak early morning from the Bluff cemetery as she films the boat fighting with the elements in Foveaux Strait.

Along the way Sarah and Barbara encounter two former members of Rob’s gang, fighting each other for supremacy. And Barbara faces a devastating revelation about her boyfriend.

As the tension increases, Sarah re-kindles her love affair with Ben, a paramedic involved in the mysterious deaths of Rob and Topaz in A Kind of Catharsis. He worries about her safety when she continues, with steely determination, to record the activities of the villains in spite of danger to herself. Will she find out Ben’s secret?

As Ben predicts Barbara and Sarah’s lives are both in danger, as they work together to solve the mystery of a crooked cop and the activities of a brutal gang. Will they escape? And will Brendon, Simon or Tom become dominant in the battle within their own little gang.

You can order The Push for $30+pp by contacting Ann

A Kind of Catharsis

If you thought Invercargill was only home to Tim Shadbolt, Bluff oysters and New Zealand’s iconic motor cycle legends, Burt Munroe and John Britten, think again. Otaki-based writer, and Otaki Mail editor, Ann Chapman, sets out to show that New Zealand’s southernmost city has a dark and grimy underbelly (brutality, murder and mayhem) with her debut novel A Kind of Catharsis.

The story features a myriad of characters, many with twisted goals, and almost all with a creepy, sleazy side, particularly the villainous Rob. In writing A Kind of Catharsis Ann has given readers a bleak, plot-driven crime thriller of Biblical revenge, almost an “an eye for an eye” narrative.

As we despair for the unfortunate Topaz, we sympathise, even as we’re repulsed, by flawed heroes, Georgia, Niall and Ben who are brought together by a horrific act, the unexplained death of a sister and mother. The three embark on a sombre journey of vengeance, the story twisting and turning through a multi-layered drug culture, police corruption and brutal gang life.

Ann evokes the Southland setting of Invercargill with clarity, using a strong sense of Kiwi place, vernacular and attitude (and a fair amount of cheese rolls). The numerous inner musings of her characters are frequently disturbing, and her detailed knowledge and eye for police, medical and forensic procedure appears chillingly accurate, revealing the evil lurking in us all – the bad deeds even good men and women do.

This is not a nice “fairies at the bottom of the garden” read. People die, sometimes in a gruesome manner, but for those who aren’t squeamish, and who like their murder mysteries laced with evil, touched with Old Testament morality, and heavy on the dark side, this is a perfect pick.

You can order A Kind of Catharsis at Amazon or for $30+pp by contacting Ann

Roses of Myths, Legends and Literature

From the beginning of time myths and legends were created to help mankind manage their world. Gods and goddesses inhabit stories of Rome, Greece and Egypt, with tales of love, deceit, temptation, lust and magic.

We honour those goddesses today not only in their legends but also in roses created in their likeness.

In 2012, Ann’s first book was published in four languages. Entitled Women in my Rose Garden, it tells the stories of historical women who have had classic roses named after them.

This little book follows the same format and relates the stories of mythical women and their roses and attempts to explain why the breeder chose to name their creation. The roses from literature are slightly different. This has been an educated guess: a stretch of the imagination as I grew to know the breeder better.

Since leaving Trinity Farm where we grew over 1600 of these treasures I have concentrated on making the stories of these roses come alive to gardeners and readers. The majority of the roses discussed in this book come from the Hybrid Musk family bred by the Reverend Joseph Pemberton at the beginning of the twentieth century.

These classical roses are special, their namesakes intriguing. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into their lives.

You can order Roses of Myths, Legends and Literature for $20+pp by contacting Ann

Missionaries, Wives and Roses

When the Reverend Samuel Marsden, under the mantle of the Chief Ruatara, sent his missionaries to the far north of New Zealand, they were unprepared for the hardships that followed. This book is a double celebration, of New Zealander Ken Nobbs: missionary, nurseryman, rose breeder and writer, and of the early missionary wives who are honoured in his roses.

Nobbs, in writing about his roses stated, “I am offering a number of new rambler roses which are summer flowering followed by a display of hips which add colour in the late summer to late autumn and provide a useful source of food to our bird population. Instead of identifying them by numbers I have distinguished them by names, taking the opportunity to honour the memory of pioneer women who might otherwise be forgotten.”

It could be argued that women shouldered a greater burden in the name of the Lord than their husbands as they coped with home, childbearing, and educating their children and others, nursing as well as ministering when they could. That they did all that in a strange land with strange language, climate, flora and fauna and the people of the first nation is a wondrous achievement.

Small wonder that Nobbs wanted to honour them.

The missionary wives coped with outbreaks of disease, which carried off many of their children; wars between tribes as well as warfare between missionaries. They were often alone, missionary ‘widows’, as their husbands travelled widely attending to their work. Duty to the wives was paramount and the phrase ‘firmed the will and straightened the back’ has been frequently used to describe their response to their many travails.

New Zealand has been served well by these women’s stoicism, determination, and faith.

Out of Print

Women in My Rose Garden

Since the dawn of time, the rose has been a symbol of love, its beauty celebrated by poets, its essential oil prized for its unique fragrance and healing balm. It has also been the tradition for rose breeders to name their roses after extraordinary women.

Many of our best-loved heritage roses are named after women and in this charming volume, Ann explores the lives and stories behind 35 of the evocative names.

Among the women in Ann’s book are serene queens, duchesses and aristocrats, courageous heroines and pioneers, as well as the passionate gardeners who contributed much to the cultivation and preservation of the roses named for each one.

“The women who made it into my book are not only worthy of a place in any garden but they all have fascinating, important and world-changing stories to tell.”

“This is a different kind of history which comes alive in our gardens.”

For over 20 years, while Ann worked in the garden at Trinity Farm, Otaki she wondered about the men and women named in those roses. When Lloyd, her husband, finally called her bluff Ann set out researching and this proved to be an amazing adventure, over many years, which we will read about.

You can order Women in my Rose Garden for $30+pp by contacting Ann

The Barbiers and their Roses

Lloyd Chapman inherited his love of roses from his mother Joy, one of the pioneers of New Zealand rose conservation.

Born at the end of the second world war, Lloyd embarked on a late career as a rose nurseryman in his forties. Defying convention, he successfully grew roses on their own roots in a no-spray regime.

In time, he and his wife Ann developed a collection of over 1,500 roses in their 4 acre Otaki garden.

Lloyd’s fascination with rambling roses lead him to collect all the roses produced by the French Barbier family in Orleans. He made several trips to France, the traditional home of ‘heritage’ roses.

With the help of generous French rosarians, Lloyd’s book charts the production by Albert Barbier and his family of over 60 roses, from 1900 to 1930.

Read a review of The Barbiers and their Roses by Vivienne Bailey.

You can order The Barbiers and their Roses for $30+pp by contacting Ann

Lloyd has offered Heritage Roses New Zealand a $5 donation on all purchases of his book The Barbiers and Their Roses. Please advise if you are a member when you order.