Descending Fire is a powerful and moving glimpse into the writing journey of the late Sherryl Jordan, one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most beloved YA and children's authors.
Author of The Raging Quiet, Winter of Fire and Rocco, among others, Sherryl's writing journey was both fraught and awe-inspiring.
Her story is one of resilience, faith, dogged determination and divine inspiration. She would embark on journeys with her characters who often came to her fully formed, with desires and opinions of their own. This story behind her stories is Sherryl's treasured legacy for anyone passionate about writing and the creative process, and the perils, pains and boundless joys of living a life dedicated to your craft.
'Sherryl Jordan has left an astonishing gift to the writers who follow in her path: lessons in craft and in the belief that you can always try and try again.' - Claire Mabey, The Spinoff
'I feel privileged to have read this. It captivated me from the start, because I could relate to so much of what the author was saying. It was like she was giving the reader her ohaki, her last words, that's what the old chiefs used to do when they knew that they were nearing their end.' - Monty Soutar, author of the Kawai series
'By turns joyful, despairing, resolute, heart-breaking - Sherryl's memoir is a revelation.' - Tessa Duder, author of Night Race to Kawau
Sherryl Jordan was an award-winning author who began her writing career with picture books, but soon moved to novels for older readers. Her breakthrough came with Rocco, published in the USA as A Time of Darkness, and she went on to pen many more titles, such as The Raging Quiet and Winter of Fire, that have been published in both New Zealand and throughout the world. She was the recipient of a fellowship to the prestigious writing programme at University of Iowa in 1993. She died in 2023.
Hardback, 184 pages
H: 198mm W: 128mm