Autobiographies
Showing front cover and sample pages
The restoration of people and property
This autobiography has had 4-5 reprints and has readers all round the world. 176 pages, A5. The story of an adventurous South Island kiwi couple who invested everything they had into a former TB Sanitorium in Central Otago and have spent years restoring it and turning it into a rehabilitation, retreat and conference centre. BriarsBooks came across this author during an unexpected stop on the Otago Rail Trail. The book needed heavy editing to remove jargon. Photos were also in a bad way. The cover shows the superintendent's house in the 1920s compared with the house after they had restored it. It was meant to convey the heart of their project- the rehabilitation of buildings and people. Thousands of copies of this book have been printed and sold or given away to the hundreds of people who visit the sanitorium each year privately or in groups.
Memoir of an active life
The author of this book was awarded an OBE for a busy and productive career in the Army and in civilian life. Now in his 80s he was wanting to leave a memoir for his family and friends. This 150-page book of anecdotes, photos, and accounts of hard work, achievement, leadership and overseas travel, fits well into the self-publishing niche. The author got a book that exceeded his expectations and will look good on any bookshelf, a worthy heirloom for the children and grandchildren and a gift for friends.
Highways and Byways
This author decided at 91 that it was time write up the short version of a long life lived well - for her children, numerous grandchildren, friends and wider family. For a woman raised in a children's home in Palmerston North from the age of five years, she went on to find and reconcile with her mother 44 years later, reunite with her siblings, raise a family of 5, find God, traipse round the country in a convoy of trucks, tents and caravans for 10 years preaching the gospel in remote Maori villages; marry a man she loved to the end, survive illness and accident and learn the keyboard in her 80s. "The view from the top is terrific," she says. Just 50 copies to test the waters and further print runs to meet demand. 100 pages with photographs, printed by CopyPress, Nelson.
Pearl of Great Price
This book came out of several personal tragedies in which the author came to the growing realisation that that she was a pearl of great price. She also called her book Pearl of Great Price because Jesus Christ referred to himself as such a pearl, and because the fabulous blue pearl is cultured through processes painful to the marine shellfish. The life-history of the blue pearl runs alongside the author's own story. The author printed 200 copies for distribution to friends, family and interested networks. Books are available both from RealNZ Books online and from the author by email. The book is reflective, with plenty of breathing space for illustrations and photos. 100 pages. Layout and cover design by Briar's Books, working from basic sketches by the author, designer art by BriarsBooks and author's photos which needed restoration and editing.100 pages.
Daughters of the Tea Planter
This first-time author - in her sixties - wanted to write up her family's Anglo-Indian history in a book for the wider family. The book is based on her grandmother's first-hand accounts of her life as a mixed-race child growing up on an Assam tea plantation in the time of the British Raj, until her father - the plantation manager - sent her out to New Zealand with a number of other children of mixed parentage. Daughters of the Tea Planter both informs and entertains. The author found she had good sketching skills and some delightful illustrations are scattered throughout. She also designed her own cover.
Journey to Wholeness
From a first time author who wanted to write up her personal story so it might help others. 82 pages with colour photos. Cover designed from provided photos. This was a short print run of 50 for distribution to family and friends.
This is your inheritance
A 24 page A5 booklet written for the author's children and grandchildren. The prose and all photos needed editing. Only 20 copies. The author will come back for more if she needs them.