Gareth Ward
Gareth Ward, a.k.a. The Great Wardini is a magician, hypnotist, storyteller, bookseller and author. He has worked as a Royal Marine Commando, Police Officer, Evil Magician and Zombie. He basically likes jobs where you get to wear really cool hats – as writer and compere of Napier City’s inaugural Steampunk murder mystery evening he wore a rather splendid bowler. He currently resides in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand where he runs two independent bookshops, Wardini Books and Wardini Books Napier with his wife Louise and son Max. With his daughter Alex he has developed a zombie apocalypse survival plan and is regularly disappointed when powercuts prove not to foreshadow the end of the world. He has a goldfish called Luna, a dog called Tonks and is certain his letter from Hogwarts has been lost in the post. His first novel ,The Traitor and the Thief, a rip-roaring young adult Steampunk adventure, won the 2016 Storylines Tessa Duder Award, the 2018 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Youth Novel, a 2018 Storylines Notable Book Award and was a finalist in two categories at The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Genre:
- Young Adult
Skills:
- Workshops (children/schools)
Branch:
Central Districts
Location:
Havelock North
Publications:
The Traitor and the Thief
Discovered thieving at Coxford’s Corn Market, fourteen year old Sin is hunted across the city. Caught by the enigmatic Eldritch Moons, Sin is offered a way out of his life of crime: join the Covert Operations Group (COG) and train to become a spy. At Lenheim Palace, Sin learns spy craft while trying not to break the school’s Cast-Iron Rules. Befriended by eccentric Zonda Chubb, together they endeavour to unmask a traitor causing havoc within the palace. After an assassination attempt on the founder of COG, Sin realises that someone closest to him could be the traitor. With no other option, Sin is forced into an uneasy alliance with the school bully, Velvet Von Darque. But can he trust her? And will COG try to bury him with the secrets he discovers?
The Clockill and the Thief
Sin is dying, poisoned by his blue blood. His troubles deepen when the traitor who poisoned him escapes from the custody of the Covert Operations Group and sets out for revenge. COG tasks Sin, his friend Zonda Chubb and their frenemy Velvet Von Darque with recapturing the traitor, whatever the cost. Taking to the air in pursuit, they must battle skypirates and the terrifying Clockill to complete their mission. But with his condition worsening, can Sin survive long enough to save himself, his friends and the day.
Brasswitch and Bot
Screams surge along York's narrow Victorian streets as a run-away crackle-tram races towards disaster.
Fearing an accident like the one that killed her parents, Brasswitch Wrench is forced to reveal her powers - a decision that will change her life forever.
Recruited to the sinister department of Regulators who hunt down others like her, Wrench teams up with their maverick mechanical leader Bot as they are tasked with halting the aberration threat.
Drawn into a world of predjudice, deceit and danger, Wrench must master her powers, knowing they offer her only hope for survival...
if they don't destroy the world first.