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I am passionate about teaching and writing and employ an eclectic approach to both. I have taught in New Zealand and overseas in a variety of contexts and subjects: English, ESOL, Academic Skills, Business Communication, and Curriculum Development. My novels cover a range of genres and all have been internationally published. In non-fiction, I write for both academic and general audiences. My research interests include: History and fiction Colonialism and postcolonialism: New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Australia ‘Women’s’ fiction Remarkable women in history Oral histories Qualifications PhD in Creative Writing, Auckland University of Technology Masters: Second Language Teaching, Massey University Diploma in Teaching, Auckland College of Education Bachelor of Arts: English Major, University of Cape Town Publications: Novels: Bell, Z (2014). Fools’ Gold. Choclit: UK, USA, Canada, Australia, NZ Bell, Z (2013). Close to the Wind. Choclit: UK, USA, Canada, Australia, NZ Bell, Z (2011). A Risk Worth Taking. Harlequin Super: USA, Canada, Aus, NZ, France, Netherlands Bell, Z (2010). Tempting the Negotiator. Harlequin, Super: USA, Canada, France, Australia, NZ Bell, Z (2008). Forbidden Frontier. Mira, Australia: Australia and NZ Bell, Z (1996). Tides of Time. Scholastic: New Zealand and Australia Short Stories: (Selected) Bell, Z (2019). Unravelling in Horizons 4: New Zealand Society of Authors. Bell, Z. (2000) Stairway to Paradise. National Radio: January. Bell, Z. (1999) Genesis to Revelation. Takahe: September Bell, Z. (1998) Class Act. National Radio: January & April Bell, Z. (1996). The Pool. Landfall: November Articles (Selected) Bell, Z. (2016) Embossed in the Land: psychogeographical history of Whangarei Heads. Refereed conference papers of the 20th Annual Australasian Academic Writing Programmes Conference http://www.aawp.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bell2-1.pdf Bell, Z (2016) Biding with ghosts: listening to silences: Settler women in Rhodesia: Refereed conference papers of the 20th Annual Australasian Academic Writing Programmes https://www.aawp.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bell-2.pdf Bell, Z. (2015) A Personal Take on the PhD in NZSA Author: June Bell, Z. (2012) Time Travel in Ephesus in M2Woman (NZ, Australia): May Bell, Z. (2012) History of NZ Cuisine in Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe): May Bell, Z. (2010) The Firebrand Minister of Waipu in History Scotland, (Scotland): September Conferences (Selected and Recent) Bell, Z. (2019) Can White Write Black? Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (ACLALS) The Uncommon Commonwealth Conference 15-19 July Bell, Z. (2019). The joy of writing: going with Flow: Romance Writers of New Zealand (RWNZ) Love and Other Journeys: 22-25 August Bell, Z. (2019). Pursuing the Craft: New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Northwrite: Expanding Horizons: 30 Aug-1Sept. Bell, Z. (2019) That bloody plague: living the horror of the 1918 influenza epidemic. Australian and New Zealand Society for the History of Medicine (ANZSHM) Beyond Borders: health and medicine in historical context:3-7 December Awards: 2015 RWNZ Koru Award for Long Fiction 2014 Vice Chancellor Scholarship 2010 Teacher of Excellence Award, NorthTec 2010 Cataromance Reviewers Award 2008 Single Titles 10 Best Books of 2008 2006 NZ Society of Authors (PEN) Mentor Scheme 2002 Oral History Award, Australian Sesquicentennial Gift Trust 2000 Creative New Zealand Grant for Writing
In my last year of the course I was offered a place in Level 7 which requires students to complete a major project...
“Professional writing was the easy part for me when I enrolled in this course. My big challenge was attempting to break into fiction in my late sixties. Papers like Myths, Legends and Folk Tales, Short Story, and Novel opened up a whole range of possibilities for me and I revelled in the chance to write creatively.”
“The fact that the course was online was ideal for me because I’m a retiree, and there was the added bonus of several local tutors who I could meet with personally. They kept me motivated.”
“However, I wasn’t an easy student. Because my background is in education, and in curriculum and professional development writing in particular, I was critical of some of the content and structure of the course. The great thing was that the tutors embraced my input, so it was a real win-win situation.”
“In my last year of the course I was offered a place in Level 7 which requires students to complete a major project. It was a perfect opportunity for me to write my 82,000 word novel. It is the story of a young woman being sent to a remote community to teach, who finds that she herself gets an education. We had expert online tutor input plus we were matched with professional mentors and assessors relevant to our genre. I was delighted with the assessment and feel I’ve gone from being a professional writer to a writer of fiction.”
“I’m a lot more secure in my understanding of how to write fiction now, and my confidence in my own creativity has grown enormously as a result of this learning journey. I’m keen to carry on writing creatively, and my dream is to see my novel published.”