I am a New Zealand fiction writer, with an interest in writing for children and young adults, as well as for adults. PERSONAL INFORMATION I was born on 26th July 1960 in Levin, New Zealand. My father, Kurt, was born in Vienna, Austria. My mother, Barbara, was born on Zanzibar Island, East Africa. They met in Otaki, and spent most of their married life in Levin, where my father established a clothing factory. I am the third child of four - with two sisters and one brother. We were brought up with a strong sense of social justice – something my brother Nicky Hager has built on to become an internationally renowned peace/defence researcher, writer, and commentator. I am the mother of two teenage children – Tom (born 1985), and Rose (born 1988). We live in self-designed, junk-filled house overlooking sea and mountains on one side, and the Zoo on the other (lions roar at our door!) Our family also includes two evil Burmese cats called Mozzie and Martie; a small, yappy dog called Reg; a guinea pig called Betty; and a rabbit called Bob. I wrote my first book at Primary school, and have been hooked on writing ever since – despite my fourth form English teacher losing the first novel I ever wrote. There are times when I think that writing should be listed right up there with alcohol and tobacco. Warning: writing is addictive and will consume your life. But then my sub-conscious serves me up something unexpected and new, and I feel totally alive – a leap-up, dancing kind of joy. And to write one good line, or two, or three … well, nothing else can beat the ‘buzz’ of that. My mind is always ticking over. I notice weird little things that hope to share through my writing, and also through my work in schools. You can find my answers people say or do, and am always tearing strange headlines out of the paper and writing new stories to match them. I love asking “what would happen if…” questions, and I spend a lot of time worrying about the stupid things that people do to our world and to each other. I have a huge love of writing for kids, and for the kids themselves. Big ones, small ones, naughty or sad – I strongly believe in the potential of young people to shape a better world. Creativity, compassion, hope and joy – these are the messages that I hope to share through my writing, and also through my work in schools. You can link through to a range of children’s questions and my answers to those questions at: http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Childrens/ChildrensAuthors/ Additional author information and interviews can be found at: http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mhager http://wings-press.com/ and also at: http://www.vuw.ac.nz/nzbookcouncil/ This strong desire to ‘say something’ through my writing permeates through to everything I write and do. As Margaret Mead once said: "Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. I second that – and urge you all to do your bit towards a more peaceful, healthy, and equitable world." But mostly I just write for the joy of it – for my own pleasure. As Edward de Bono puts it – "A self which only exists in the approval of others, is not a real self." My most favourite saying is by Gandhi – “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” My second most favourite saying is “Irony is just hypocrisy with style!”

Writing and General
Curriculum Vitae

I am a fiction writer, with an interest in writing for children and young adults. I am involved in the NZ Book Council’s Writer In Schools scheme, and have been involved in the Nestle Write Around New Zealand competition.
My first book, “Toms Story” (pub. Mallinson Rendel Ltd) is a picture book dealing with the topic of grief, and won an Honour Award in the 1996 New Zealand Aim Children’s Book Awards. It has also been produced for National Radio.
Since then I have published three novels for the 11+ age group.
The fast-paced, high action thriller/adventure, “Run For The Trees” 1999 (Steele Roberts Ltd) was adapted for audiotape in 2000, and short-listed for CanRead 2000. It is due for worldwide release from Wings Press in March 2003.
“Double Danger” and “Stumpy’s Secret” (Learning Media 2000) are currently released in USA, Australia, and parts of Asia. I also have a number of shorter stories and books published through Learning Media. More on these, and other Learning Media titles can be found at (NZ) www.learningmedia.co.nz or (US) www.learningmedia.com
I have also had several adult short stories published, and most recently have had my contemporary adult novel “Juno Lucina” published by Wings Press.
Over the past few years, I have also worked on proposals for Short Film, TV Comedy, TV Children’s Drama, and have collaborated on a collection of children’s songs.

A trained teacher (who later specialised in teaching children and adults with learning disabilities), and parent of two teenage children, I understand the importance of fast-paced, high-interest stories with an authentic teenage voice.
I completed an Advanced Certificate in Writing at Whitireia Community Polytechnic in 1998, and an Advanced Diploma in Applied Arts (Writing) in 2001. I have also completed Avalon Education Centre’s “Scriptwriting for Film” 1996; Wellington Polytechnic’s “Writing for the Print Media”; Wellington Community Institute’s “Short Story Writing” 1993; NZ Book Council’s Novel Writing Seminar (with Fiona Kidman and Norman Bilbrough) 1995.
As well as writing, I currently work for Whitireia Community Polytechnic as a writing mentor within their Writing Programme. I also do freelance editing and writing.

personal website
A consolidation of all my personal details and books

Wings Press site
Excerpts and buying advice for books