Shelley Burne-Field’s latest novel, Kimi the Kekeno’s Big Adventure, is a funny and exciting ocean adventure with heaps of heart. Read on for a Q&A.
What inspired you to write a story about Kimi the Kekeno?
I read a newspaper article about a kekeno (NZ fur seal) who broke into a house through the cat flap door! I’m sure it started eating cat biscuits … Then my family visited Cape Palliser and there was a colony of kekeno – and they reminded me of puppy-dogs! They barked and galumphed around. Story born.
This is a heartfelt ocean adventure. What’s your personal connection to the ocean?
I’ve always wanted to live by the sea. I love the sea life and all the feels, sand, surf, beach, sky, rock-pools etc. the whole thing! There’s also a danger to the ocean / moana! A sense of mystery. I want the ocean and all its animals to be healthy and looked after – I want Kimi and all his whānau to be able to go on adventures in the ocean that isn’t polluted or full of fishing nets etc … that’s my wish.
Some of the characters Kimi meets along the way include a giant squid and stingray. Do you have a favourite character or one that you enjoyed crafting the most?
I love Mutu the giant squid or ngū. I loved the dynamic of a non-scary taniwha or sea monster! Lol she cries and wails and tries to be very very scary – but she’s a big softy.
What can you tell us about the Stone Circle moon ceremony?
The Stone Circle is an important gathering place for the kekeno. It’s almost a coming of age tale and the Hina moon ceremony is the culmination of that. Like all coming of age times, there are ups and downs and lots of questions of why and how and what now? I felt it was important to include a goddess Hina in the story to make it even more special – we rely on the maramataka (moon calendar) in Te Ao Māori as does nature. In fact, the ocean tides are connected to the moon!
What do you hope readers take away from your story?
To make your life your very best adventure and your dreams will always be with you!
Describe this book in three words.
FANTASTIC! FUN! FAST!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shelley Burne-Field (Sāmoa, Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Rārua, Pākehā) is a kaituhituhi from Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay. She writes articles and creative non-fiction as well as fiction of all sorts, including short stories. This is her second children’s story. It follows the epic middle-grade adventure story, Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie, published in 2024. She is an alumni of the Master of Creative Writing from Auckland University 2020 and also Te Papa Tupu mentoring programme. Her story ‘Speaking in Tongues’ was the only New Zealand Finalist in the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her work is now in print in anthologies around the world, and has appeared in Newsroom and on RNZ. Her story ‘Pinching out Dahlias’ is the most read short story published in Reading Room. Shelley is a proud member of the NZSA.
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