Secrets of the Land

Secrets of the Land draws parallels between the domination of Ireland by the English in the 19th century and colonialism in Taranaki, New Zealand. The stories range from 1864 to 2018 through characters who fight over farming rights, past hurts and secrets, and those who try to make peace with the present. Kate Mahony is a skilled writer and blends well-researched historical facts with vibrant, believable fiction to create an engrossing novel.

- Sandra Arnold, author of Soul Etchings, The Ash the Well and the Bluebell, The Bones of the Story

What seems to be a novel about generations of a family swiftly becomes much deeper and more intriguing. Kate Mahony deftly weaves past and present, reality and the supernatural into a richly textured story of the effect of colonisation and war on communities, families and individual identity. An engrossing, wonderful read.

Catherine Robertson

- Author of What You Wish For, Gabriel’s Bay, Spellbound, The Hiding Places and others

Kate Mahony is a writer of short stories and flash fiction with an MA in Creative writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington. Her work has been published in anthologies and literary journals internationally and in New Zealand. Her short fiction has been shortlisted and longlisted in international and national competitions. She has previously worked as a journalist in both London and New Zealand, and in communications roles. She grew up in Taranaki where her novel Secrets of the Land is set. She lives in Wellington.