Style: October 04, 2019

30 STYLE | special feature
RUSSIAN-BORN AUTHOR’S
INVERCARGILL CREATION
When it comes to settings for romance novels, Invercargill does not immediately
spring to mind. But if anyone could make the southern city sound wild and
steamy, it would be international bestselling author Paullina Simons.
Words John Lewis
T
he Russian-born American writer of Tully, Red
Leaves, Eleven Hours and The Bronze Horseman
recently toured New Zealand to talk about her
latest series of books – a trilogy called End
of Forever.
In a departure from traditional publishing, the
trilogy is being released in quick succession – within
six months – so fans do not have to wait with bated
breath for the closure her books demand.
The first in the trilogy, The Tiger Catcher, was
released in May; the second, A Beggar’s Kingdom, was
released recently; and the third, Inexpressible Island,
will be released in November.
A Beggar’s Kingdom is set in Invercargill, much to
the surprise of locals.
“Invercargill may not be romantic for you, but for
a Soviet girl from Leningrad who only imagined what
it’s like to be in the Southern Ocean, what it’s like to
be near Antarctica, it is romance,’’ Simons said.
The novel follows a man who, despite grave
danger and impossible odds, is determined to save
the woman he loves.
“I imagined a man, who is not from Invercargill,
walking through its flat lands into the town, and the
town people being very perturbed, troubled and
distressed by his arrival.’’
When asked if she thought the book would make
the city a tourist attraction for those who did not
know the city, she said “probably not’’, because the
book was not set in the present.
“I think everyone’s going to want to go and stand
on the bluffs and to take one of those whale ships
out south,’’ she joked.
As for what happens to the lovers in the third and
final book, she kept the cards close to her chest.