Meet David Hill
David Hill is the author of Coastwatcher, published by Penguin Random House New Zealand
It's busy to be a father and to be a writer, on top of all the other things we are in life. Tell us how you fit writing into your day. How does parenthood play a role in your work?
I don’t have to worry about being a father and fitting in my writing. Why? I’m a GRANDfather. My two grandsons are aged 20 and 22, and both taller than me. But I still make sure we have coffee regularly, that we talk about what they’re reading and why. Partly it’s the pleasure of keeping in touch; partly it’s to keep affirming that books and reading matter; partly it’s because I still get ideas from them. It was the same with our kids – when I went fulltime writing, they were 6 and 11. It just seemed natural to spend time reading to them, talking about books, etc. I was the parent at home; I valued the break from work; I also knew that they were material as well as being people I loved.
Do you have an enduring memory of your father and books?
My Dad left school when he was 14, as people often did back in the day. But he could recite kilometres of poetry, always supported my reading, loved reading to his grandson Pete when he reached Planet Earth. I recall this deep, careful voice from Pete’s bedroom, working through a picture book called Otto: A Fish Out of Water. I’m delighted to have the memory.
If you could recommend one book for your kids to read now (or in the future) what would it be?
I wouldn’t dare to prescribe specific books for a father to read to his children, as long as they do read to them, and then read with them later. There used to be a grand poster in our New Plymouth Library, of a huge, bearded, tattooed bikie in leathers, lying on a couch with his little son on his stomach, both of them looking at a picture book. Wonderful. No better way for a Dad to bond emotionally / mentally / physically with his child than to read to them. The choice of book is secondary to the habit of doing so. Choose almost anything you want. Or ask kids’ librarians; they’re wonderful sources of eager information.
