Woman behind the words
Carly Thomas is a journalist and in-house writer for Shepherdess magazine. A keen storyteller, she treks across Aotearoa for her interviews – even conducting some from the back of a horse. Here she shares a bit about her career, behind the scenes working for the magazine and what makes a good story.
22 | THE FARMLANDER
Where were you born/raised and where are you living now?
Walk us through your career in
I was born in Christchurch but I have lived mostly in the North Island. I have moved around a lot, both during my childhood and in later life, too. I lived in England for 10 years and have done stints in Scotland and France. I now live in rural Manawatū, in Kiwitea. Our house is a big old villa built in 1884 and it has a gorgeous acre of garden which I love and am ridiculously obsessed with. We are a whānau of five. My husband and I have three teenagers – a 16-year-old and twins who are almost 13 – and life is the usual wonderful rural chaos of kids, horses, too many pets, mud in winter and dust in summer.
My pathway into journalism started
journalism and storytelling. off traditionally. I studied with the legendary Jim Tucker – I loved it. We are talking pre-internet, so I learnt the old-school way, which has forever shaped my values as a writer. If I step back into why I love storytelling, I have to mention my mum. She taught me how to listen and be interested. In my early teens, she had a bookshop where I worked after school. My mum knew everyone and they would all come in for a chat and a giggle. That’s another thing I learnt from my mum: always find the humour, it’s a leveller.
Farmlands Co-operative Society Limited | © May 2022. All rights reserved.
WWW.FARMLANDS.CO.NZ
