Elizabeth Knox is one of the country’s most esteemed authors, known best for her novels ‘Vintner’s Luck’ and ‘The Absolute Book’.

She’s also a dab hand at essay collections and young adult stories, though it had been over a decade since she last wrote for a younger audience.

That changed with the release of ‘Kings of this World’, a young adult novel focused on the sole survivor of a cult massacre.

The book is a long time coming, Knox having written it over the span of several years.

“I had the bad habit of writing several books at the same time,” she told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame.

“I developed the strategy when I had a lot of distractions in my life, and I decided to distract myself, so I had some power over that.”

“And then I came out of it and thought I'd solved the problem and could always keep doing that, but no,” she told Tame.

“Bad habit.”

Writing young adult fiction is not dissimilar to writing for adults, but there is one central principle Knox abides by when writing for younger audiences.

“You can’t deprive the readers of hope,” she explained.

“With that in mind, I was able to write a, you know, pretty scary thriller, and I don’t think that young readers need to be defended from suspense and fear and things like that.”

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Ed Sheeran has released his eighth studio album: ‘Play’. It’s the first of a new series of themed albums, with titles based on electronic media buttons – ‘Pause’, ‘Fast Forward’, ‘Rewind’, and ‘Stop’ set to follow.

Although there’s plenty of new influences and stylistic changes, with traditional Indian percussion, Hindi and Punjabi vocals, and a guest appearance from Bengali singer Arijit Singh, the core of Ed Sheeran’s musical style is clear.

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the album.

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Having arrived home from holiday a short few weeks ago, Kevin Milne's recent travel experiences are still fresh in his mind.

Every time you travel, you learn something new, and this time around he learned that there’s a better way to book your flights.

He joined Jack Tame to pass on the tips and tricks he learned.

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"Magical, golden, and steeped in mystique, “The City of a Hundred Spires’ is one of my favourite European capitals. Prague lays on a smorgasbord of stunning architecture, from Gothic, Renaissance and baroque to neoclassical and cubist. Unshackled from the claws of Communism, the capital of the Czech Republic’s rock-solid status as a powerhouse tourist destination continues to shine."

Read Mike's full article here.

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The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin

A child who ran from the forest.
A woman who must return to it

Growing up with her younger siblings in the unforgiving New Zealand bush, Effie believed their parents had cut them off from civilization because they loved Nature. She never suspected that their reasons might be more menacing. After witnessing a terrifying episode of violence, she escaped the wilderness to forge a life for herself halfway across the globe.

Now, when she learns the only witness to a murder is a little girl who looks just like her, Effie is compelled to return to the scene of her troubled childhood, where the secrets of her upbringing and the terrors of her past come rushing back to the surface. In order to find out once and for all what became of her family—and possibly help this mysterious girl who could be her younger self—Effie must face her greatest fears once more.

Become Unstoppable by Gilbert Enoka

In a career spanning almost three decades, visionary psychological coach, Gilbert Enoka, changed the way the All Blacks played their game. With a 77% winning record in test match rugby, the highest of any professional sports team, they are the only international team to have a winning record against every opponent. That is only possible because they leave no part of their preparation to chance. Their winning mindset and resilience are as important as the physical training and Gilbert Enoka was their secret weapon.

For the first time, Gilbert distils his essential lessons to building unshakeable staying power – particularly at times of high pressure where others would crumble – creating a winning team mentality – and leaving things better than how you found them so that we can all learn the All Blacks way. Discover how to build a winning culture, hone your leadership to inspire your team in times of need and establish iconic rules for performance that will become your competitive advantage for years to come.

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Ever wondered why you can’t stick to an exercise routine or why you hate the gym when everyone else seems to love it? You could be doing the wrong type of exercise for your personality type.

A recent UK study looked at how personality types could predict how enjoyable people find different exercise routines and who can stick to them.

Dr Dougal Sutherland joined Jack Tame to discuss the research.

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Typical time of the year – we need to get on with Gardening in many different parts of the garden!

My tunnel house has to be prepared for spring and summer: the plastic cover is absolutely dirty and covered with algae and grime. That means that the sunlight is reduced, and plants will struggle to get into photosynthesis.

I usually grab my Wet-and-Forget Rapid to weaken the winter load of moss, mould, and grime so everything will brighten up and grow some decent crops, plants, and flowers.

The next step – equally important!

Order the seeds, bulbs, or cuttings you are wanting to plant. Not just in the glass house or tunnel house, but anywhere in the borders, along the paths, in raised beds, or simply in indoor pots, terracotta, or ceramic beauties.

Everything will now develop to a great, young plant, ready for trans-location to your garden. Remember, the best growth is between now and Christmas!

While you’re organising the new plants from your favourite supplier, it pays to consider getting some useful Seed Raising Mix.

I reckon that stuff is important to get the seeds growing marvellously. Not just quicker but also providing the right fertilisers to produce strong plants that utilise the N, P, and K for the future months.

When the plants are a lot bigger, you can always start playing with the phosphorus (root growth) and Potash (to stimulate flowering and fruiting) and Nitrogen (to get healthy leaves).

One of the things I often forget is the hedges: pruning them is generally a pain in the proverbial, but to be honest, the more you prune the hedges, the denser they’ll become!

We are now already a week or so too late for the first pruning (late August is great!), with a second one in October and the third in December. Every trim creates lots of new buds – hence the density in the long run.

And then there is the last opportunity to prune some trees. While some of the “late-comers” are still without leaves, it allows you to prune them efficiently; you can see where all the branches are, so you can shape them the way you want. A decent pruning job will also create new buds lower down the tree – you can then decide how high you want that tree to grow and how dense it will be in your garden.

The more you prune, the more “end-buds” you create – and that means that you can shape the tree exactly the way you like it.

To be honest: this part of September is ridiculously busy, which means that I have spent far too much time writing all these notes...

Gotta get on with it NOW.

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 13 September 2025, legendary Kiwi author Elizabeth Knox joins Jack to discuss how to approach complex subjects with young readers and what drew her back to young adult fiction after 12 years away.

Waste not, want not... Nici Wickes has two recipe ideas for those leek tops that seem to sit around before being thrown away.

Francesca Rudkin dishes on the final ever instalment of the Downton Abbey franchise.

And Estelle Clifford discusses Ed Sheeran's super stardom and chameleon adaptability.

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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