Message from the Past

Marty Ellis has been haunted most of her life by a recurring dream about a pioneer woman who lives in a distinctive stone house. She sets out on a quest to find the house in her dreams, which she believes is a real place.

Quite by chance Marty finds The House in a backcountry settlement on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, buys it and moves in, determined to find out the history of The House. She learns there was a mystery about the wife of the original owner of her house, but no one seems to know what this mystery is. She makes friends and becomes a part of a thriving back-blocks community, and also meets Giorgio, a teacher from Wellington who spends his holidays researching the nearby site of an old Mission House. He helps with her quest for information about the builders of The House, and their friendship develops into something more …

This story is a reflection of life in many remote New Zealand communities, and is filled with memorable characters. I grew up in places similar to the setting for this novel, and know firsthand how people are always there for each other through good times and bad.