About Lyndsay-Jean Campbell
Introduction
Hi, I’m Lyndsay-Jean
I am a writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, a fourth generation New Zealander with a wonderfully mixed Celtic heritage.
I count myself fortunate to call Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty home. My partner and I enjoy hiking in the forest and on various walkways around the lakes. We never tire of the stunning view over Lake Rotorua from our lounge window, yet the beach is only an hour’s drive away.
For me, writing began with reading in childhood which morphed into writing poetry and short stories. It was not until I had tried various jobs and found myself in one of life’s tangle’s, that I completed a journalism course. From then on, I knew what I wanted to do. I got a job as a reporter on a small newspaper, then a radio station and loved it. But life doesn’t always go to plan and when I was made redundant with three children to support, I got work first as a health promotor, then a probation officer. Hearing offenders fascinating and sad stories then writing up Court reports, was a privilege. I also trained as a counsellor and worked in this role for twelve years. These positions, it turns out, were contributors to the main event; writing books.
It had not occurred to me to attempt a novel until a friend introduced me to the Romance Writers of New Zealand where I met an amazing group of women who write. Most are romance authors and romance is always part of my stories.
My fictional characters are set in times past, often inspired by places I have been and events I have heard about, but they change into something else entirely. My characters live in my head like a weird alternative family until I decide they are ready to be set loose in the world, They are more real in my mind than most real people I know, and face the inevitable struggles life brings.
The Women’s Fiction genre, spiced with romance is a good fit for me. My first novel, The Aro Street Girls, was inspired by my grandmother’s stories of her family and particularly a great aunt, who died in the influenza epidemic which followed World War One.
Historical fiction is a way of bringing the past to life. While my tales are invented, the times and worlds they live in are not and my heroine’s stories are common ones. In this young country, the past is not far away, just beyond reach. The colonisation of New Zealand, including the struggles Maori, the tangata whenua, of Aotearoa/New Zealand are relatively recent events. This country is rich with stories.