Geoff Parkes is making his debut as a fiction author - but his CV highlights a long and varied career across multiple areas.

He's worked in abattoirs and wool sheds in New Zealand, he’s been a hay contractor, sold insurance and has been an executive of a Fortune 500 company in the medical industry.

He's also made a name for himself as a rugby writer - and he's written his debut novel set in rural New Zealand, When the Deep Dark Bush Swallows You Whole.

"There's certainly elements of my experience - people, events, even little snatches of dialogue, things like that. They're dotted in the book, but by far, the majority of it is fictional...and that's really the process."

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Famed British-Australian actress Miriam Margolyes has been spending the last few months in New Zealand to prepare for her latest film role - but she took the time to explore the nation as well.

To learn more about the Kiwi way of life, she embarked on a road trip across New Zealand's North and South Islands, with a camera crew following her along the way.

Miriam Margolyes in New Zealand is set to be available for Kiwi fans on Neon and Sky Go this week - but she felt the need to talk about the highlights from the trip ahead of February 9.

"If I'd come to New Zealand first, I would have definitely settled here - definitely. I've gone off Australia, and that's the truth."

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The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S.Berry. Like the books of David McCloskey of which I’m so fond (Damascus Station, Moscow X) – the author I.S.Berry also worked for the CIA, which gives this book a real sense of authenticity and knowing what she’s writing about. Shane Collins is a CIA operative based in Bahrain. He’s jaded, nearing compulsory retirement age and has no illusions about his own shortcomings. His job in Bahrain is to feed intel back to America about Iran’s involvement in an Arab spring type uprising but this is a really murky world where things might not be as they seem and everyone’s expendable. Throw in the 2011 implosion of Bahrain and it’s dynamite. If you like a top shelf spy thriller, look no further. This is the real deal.

Jackie Public, Private, Secret by J. Randy Taraborelli. Much has been written about Jackie Kennedy Onassis, but this book expertly goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the woman who once said that she had three lives – public, private and secret. The author delves into them all, after decades of interviews with family members, friends, lovers and colleagues and the result is a very personal insight into the woman who married a serial philanderer who went on to become President; who suffered lifelong trauma after his assassination; and whose life was coloured by complex relationships, many of them under constant scrutiny by media and the world at large. It’s absolutely fascinating.

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