Rose Stanley
Rose Stanley lives on the Hibiscus Coast in Tamaki Makaurau, Aotearoa, New Zealand. A favorite pastime for Rose is scouring op-shops for cheerful teapots and mugs. Rose is also committed to discovering the perfect scone – cheese or date, she isn’t fussy.
Rose has written a non-fiction book for women and 5 children’s picture books on emotional literacy and problem-solving. She loves to unpack big ideas in creative and quirky ways.
Rose also co-facilitates creative retreats for small groups of women at the rambling and beautiful Peacemakers lodge in Parakai, Helensville.
Do you try more to be original, or to deliver to readers what they want?
I had very wise advice from my book coach, that keeping your voice at the center of your writing is important, and that’s what I have worked very hard on doing. Hopefully the outcome feels genuine to the reader.
What is it about your chosen genre that you love?
I haven’t always been, but I am an avid reader of non-fiction books now – I love to read about people’s real lives, their experiences, their opinions, and I especially love to get a sense of how the author takes all of their information and presents it so that it’s interesting and inspires a response or an action.
What was the first book that made you cry?
Watership Down. I read it as a child and loved the cover – little did I know what tragedy was about to unfold!
If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
Spend way more time messing around and experimenting with writing. I would have got some journals and filled them, not worrying about whether any of it was good or not.
Have you Googled yourself? Did you find out anything interesting?
Yes I have. I have more than once found a review I was not aware of which is nice, and sometimes it’s even a kind one!
Are there any secrets in your books that only a few people will find? Can you tell us one? Or give us any hints?
As I write non-fiction mostly, the secrets are a little hard to incorporate. But I like the idea of writing fiction one day.
How did publishing your first book change your writing process?
My first book was a children’s picture book. I started off writing the story long-hand, and then realized that it was much better to do everything from the beginning on my laptop, so that the often crappy first draft could be deleted much more quickly! And I don’t like crossing stuff out and then trying to make sense of what is left.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Quite a few children’s stories, maybe 6 or so. And one non-fiction just started.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
Yes I do. And thanks to the book ‘Big Magic’ by Elizabeth Gilbert I have developed a thicker skin when reading a review which hits a soft spot. I recommend it highly. Shaking it off is always good – with a good friend or a fast rage-walk.