Piper Mejia is an advocate for New Zealand writers and liter¬ature.¬ Her¬ short ¬fiction ¬has ¬been¬ published ¬in ¬a¬ range¬ of¬ magazines ¬and ¬anthologies, ¬including ¬Room Enough for Two, which¬ appeared¬ in¬ the¬ Sir¬ Julius¬ Vogel¬ Award-winning¬ anthology¬ Te Korero Ahi Ka¬(2018).¬ A ¬collection -of ¬her ¬original¬ short ¬stories,¬ The Better Sister,¬ was ¬published¬ by ¬Breach ¬in¬ 2020.¬ In¬ addition¬ to¬ writing,¬ Piper¬ is ¬a ¬founding ¬member¬ of¬ Young¬NZWriters ¬–¬a ¬non-profit ¬organization ¬dedicated ¬to¬ providing¬ writing¬ and¬ publishing¬ opportunities¬ for¬ young¬ writers. ¬As ¬a ¬child, ¬Piper ¬stayed ¬up ¬late ¬ laughing¬ at ¬horror¬ films.¬ As¬ an¬ adult¬ she¬ has¬ never¬ lost¬ her¬ love¬ for¬ science¬ fiction¬ and¬ horror,¬ two¬ genres¬ that¬ continues¬ to¬ ask¬ the¬ question “What if...”

The blurb:

Nobody likes you when you're the ugly new kid. A hoodie and a new foster home won't hide the creeping dread that you are dangerous. So, when you're offered the chance to meet a grandfather you never knew, you jump on a plane to the bush-covered mountains of New Zealand.
Slate longs for a home when he finds himself living among an ancient race masquerading as travelling performers. Dispossessed and disillusioned, Slate fears being trapped in a life hiding from the world; one his own father had to run from.
However, the decision to stay or leave is taken from him when he is held captive by hunters on the trail of the ultimate game trophy. Tortured and alone Slate fears that the only way to escape is to become the monster he never wanted to be.

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