Michael King Writers Centre

It's 8:15am and I'm sitting at my desk at the Michael King Writers Centre in Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand looking at the boats coming in and out of Waitemata Harbour. It's a little bit cloudy today, but when I arrived yesterday the sun was shining and the birds were singing. Rosellas and tuis entertained me yesteday evening, but now it's time to get down to the real reason for me being here. The Centre, which is dedicated to the memory of New Zealand author Michael King, is for writers. For a very reasonable price authors can get away from it all and the whole ambience encourages visiting writers to get on with their work in progress. No phones interrupt the muse, traffic is minimal (it's halfway up Mt Victoria which is a pretty steep climb) and I personally find it very difficult to stop writing once I get started. Hopefully while I'm here I'll finish the first draft of a Young Adult fantasy novel and the final copy of an adult fantasy. For anyone who's interested, either New Zealanders or overseas writers, visit the website www.writerscentre.org.nz Must away now, bottom up - head down and on with the muse.