12:11 pm today
A Samoan-Chinese-Pākēhā author says his new fantasy book provides a type of character he didn't have as a 10-year-old in love with reading.
Kenneth Chapman said growing up, he loved series like Harry Potter, Lemony Snickets, and His Dark Materials but those fantasy worlds were different to the mixed-race Polynesian family he came from.
Lonasei and the Mystery of Origin Grove is about an 11-year old and her older sister who move into their mother's childhood home - a mansion full of mysterious paintings created by their estranged aunt.
He said it places a Polynesian character in a fantasy world.
