David Whittet is a family doctor, a multi-award-winning independent filmmaker and an avid writer.
‘Storytelling has been in my DNA since childhood. I have vivid memories of watching Sunday teatime serials on television as an impressionable youngster. A dramatisation of Oliver Twist had a profound impact on me. In its day, Dickens’ novel brought reform to the poor law. This convinced me of the potential of the written word to change the world, and I decided then that I wanted to be a writer.
‘Subsequently, the novels of A J Cronin inspired me to become a doctor, especially The Citadel, which pre-empted the foundation of the National Health Service in the UK and beyond.
‘Medicine is a constant source of inspiration for my writing. General practice, in particular, is about being interested in people’s stories—they go hand in hand. The colourful cast of characters I have met throughout my career—colleagues and patients alike—breathe life into my writing.’
‘Storytelling has been in my DNA since childhood. I have vivid memories of watching Sunday teatime serials on television as an impressionable youngster. A dramatisation of Oliver Twist had a profound impact on me. In its day, Dickens’ novel brought reform to the poor law. This convinced me of the potential of the written word to change the world, and I decided then that I wanted to be a writer.
‘Subsequently, the novels of A J Cronin inspired me to become a doctor, especially The Citadel, which pre-empted the foundation of the National Health Service in the UK and beyond.
‘Medicine is a constant source of inspiration for my writing. General practice, in particular, is about being interested in people’s stories—they go hand in hand. The colourful cast of characters I have met throughout my career—colleagues and patients alike—breathe life into my writing.’
THE ROAD TO MADHAPUR
Theo Malone, an idealistic New Zealand doctor, heads to the remote township of Madhapur, with high hopes of making a difference. Elisha, a rebellious Australian missionary’s daughter, is also bound for Madhapur. Unlike Theo, Elisha is angry and deeply resentful that her parents have uprooted her from her friends and her life in Australia.
Theo and Elisha’s worlds collide in a violent political uprising and tragedy propels their lives on an inescapable trajectory.
‘While The Road to Madhapur is a work of fiction, many critical events in the story are based on true-life incidents that occurred during my time in India. A leper colony plays a vital role in the story. For many, like Elisha in my novel, it was a place of overwhelming sorrow, despair and heartbreak. To Theo, it proved a near-impossible challenge that almost ended his career.
‘That leprosy mission was among the happiest places I have seen in my life. Beyond the immense suffering, I found love and fulfilment. Writing The Road to Madhapur has brought back many vivid memories. I will never forget the leper children’s faces. Despite a lifetime of suffering, they always had a smile for everyone. I hope I can capture something of their indomitable spirit in my writing and share their joy of life with my readers.’
Theo and Elisha’s worlds collide in a violent political uprising and tragedy propels their lives on an inescapable trajectory.
‘While The Road to Madhapur is a work of fiction, many critical events in the story are based on true-life incidents that occurred during my time in India. A leper colony plays a vital role in the story. For many, like Elisha in my novel, it was a place of overwhelming sorrow, despair and heartbreak. To Theo, it proved a near-impossible challenge that almost ended his career.
‘That leprosy mission was among the happiest places I have seen in my life. Beyond the immense suffering, I found love and fulfilment. Writing The Road to Madhapur has brought back many vivid memories. I will never forget the leper children’s faces. Despite a lifetime of suffering, they always had a smile for everyone. I hope I can capture something of their indomitable spirit in my writing and share their joy of life with my readers.’
From rural New Zealand to the plains of India, The Road to Madhapur takes readers on an unforgettable journey through love and grief to redemption and fulfilment.
Pre-order you signed copy of The Road to Madhapur today.
Written by a family doctor, David Whittet’s heart-wrenching story will captivate lovers of true-to-life medical dramas.
Order you signed copy of The Road to Madhapur today.
Order you signed copy of The Road to Madhapur today.
GANG GIRL
The Gang stole her childhood.
She won’t let them claim the rest of her life.
She won’t let them claim the rest of her life.
Born into the Gang, Alicia is the daughter of a notorious mob leader. Trapped by an arranged marriage to her cousin, she longs to escape the misery of her childhood. A chance meeting with a business executive promises her a new life away from the Gang—but can her dream survive retaliation from the mob? Or will the ensuing blood feud destroy all hope of freedom?
David Whittet’s gripping story of love, betrayal and redemption is set on New Zealand’s spectacular West Coast. Gang Girl will capture the hearts of readers who love books featuring strong women determined to take charge of their own destiny.
The inspiration for David’s debut novel Gang Girl, the story of a young woman’s struggle to escape from the Gang, came to him during the twenty years he has spent as a family doctor in rural New Zealand communities.
Born into the Gang, Alicia is the daughter of a notorious mob leader. Trapped by an arranged marriage to her cousin, she longs to escape the misery of her childhood. A chance meeting with a business executive promises her a new life away from the Gang—but can her dream survive retaliation from the mob? Or will the ensuing blood feud destroy all hope of freedom?
David Whittet’s gripping story of love, betrayal and redemption is set on New Zealand’s spectacular West Coast. Gang Girl will capture the hearts of readers who love books featuring strong women determined to take charge of their own destiny.
Born into the Gang, Alicia is the daughter of a notorious mob leader. Trapped by an arranged marriage to her cousin, she longs to escape the misery of her childhood. A chance meeting with a business executive promises her a new life away from the Gang—but can her dream survive retaliation from the mob? Or will the ensuing blood feud destroy all hope of freedom?
David Whittet’s gripping story of love, betrayal and redemption is set on New Zealand’s spectacular West Coast. Gang Girl will capture the hearts of readers who love books featuring strong women determined to take charge of their own destiny.
GOLIATH AND THE GANG
Book Two in the Gang Girl series
Aaron was just five years old when they took his mother away …
Twenty-three years later, he’s the CEO of an industry-leading power company and still fighting the Godzone Gorillas—the Gang that kidnapped his mother.
Goliath and the Gang is the next heart wrenching novel in the Gang Girl series.
Twenty-three years later, he’s the CEO of an industry-leading power company and still fighting the Godzone Gorillas—the Gang that kidnapped his mother.
Goliath and the Gang is the next heart wrenching novel in the Gang Girl series.
HĪKOI
A Cathy Come Home for our times
After the success of Amiri & Aroha on the international film festival circuit, David is excited to be working on a new filmmaking project that is close to his heart.
Hīkoi is a hard-hitting drama dealing with child poverty. A burnt-out social worker takes risks to help a single mother escape from loan sharks. The inspiration for the film came from the hīkoi against child poverty in Auckland in September 2014, one of several real-life events incorporated into the story.
Child poverty remains a crucial issue in New Zealand. Hīkoi culminates with a recreation of the presentation of a petition with fifteen thousand signatures to the government, which took place outside parliament in Wellington on 20 May 2015.
David’s screenplay has received glowing reviews at the Emerging Screenwriters and the Table Read My Screenplay festivals. Armed with this feedback, David is currently negotiating with leading New Zealand production companies to bring the story to the screen. An enthusiastic producer described Hīkoi as ‘a Cathy Come Home for our times.’
David had hoped the film would go into production in election year. While the Covid-19 pandemic has temporarily halted plans, Hīkoi will remain as relevant as ever in a post Covid world.
Hīkoi is a hard-hitting drama dealing with child poverty. A burnt-out social worker takes risks to help a single mother escape from loan sharks. The inspiration for the film came from the hīkoi against child poverty in Auckland in September 2014, one of several real-life events incorporated into the story.
Child poverty remains a crucial issue in New Zealand. Hīkoi culminates with a recreation of the presentation of a petition with fifteen thousand signatures to the government, which took place outside parliament in Wellington on 20 May 2015.
David’s screenplay has received glowing reviews at the Emerging Screenwriters and the Table Read My Screenplay festivals. Armed with this feedback, David is currently negotiating with leading New Zealand production companies to bring the story to the screen. An enthusiastic producer described Hīkoi as ‘a Cathy Come Home for our times.’
David had hoped the film would go into production in election year. While the Covid-19 pandemic has temporarily halted plans, Hīkoi will remain as relevant as ever in a post Covid world.
FUTURE PROJECTS
See what David has lined up for 2024 and beyond
Following the publication of Gang Girl, The Road to Madhapur and Goliath and the Gang, David has several more exciting projects in progress.
Next up is a gripping standalone novel. Threepence on the Carpet sees a Kiwi musician caught up in the hippie movement in the United Kingdom in the 1960s.
And so much more to come. For fans of the Gang Girl series, Alicia and Mickey’s story reaches a thrilling conclusion in Godzone and the Gorillas, the final book in the trilogy.
Plus, there’s a new movie on the horizon.
Next up is a gripping standalone novel. Threepence on the Carpet sees a Kiwi musician caught up in the hippie movement in the United Kingdom in the 1960s.
And so much more to come. For fans of the Gang Girl series, Alicia and Mickey’s story reaches a thrilling conclusion in Godzone and the Gorillas, the final book in the trilogy.
Plus, there’s a new movie on the horizon.
THREEPENCE ON THE CARPET
David has started work on a third novel, Threepence on the Carpet, the story of a struggling Kiwi musician, Tommy Tavener.
Tommy gets caught up in the hippie movement and the Aldermaston marches while on his overseas experience in Britain in the 1960s. Disillusioned with his dead-end job in a bank and unable to adapt to free love in a commune, he returns to New Zealand destitute.
Back home, Tom tries to resurrect his career as a musician with gigs up and down the country. But his protest songs from a bygone era don’t strike a chord with New Zealanders who are more interested in cricket and rugby than folk music.
Tommy’s life is on a downward spiral until a long-lost uncle leaves him some puppets in his will. How could such an inconsequential inheritance end up tuning his life around?
GODZONE AND THE GORILLAS
Many readers of Gang Girl took Alicia’s struggles to their hearts and were sorry to lose her so early in Goliath and the Gang.
David promises that Alicia will be back in Godzone and the Gorillas, the final novel in the trilogy, where her struggle to escape the Godzone Gorillas will reach a dramatic conclusion.
Mickey’s many admirers will be pleased to know that he also returns in Godzone and the Gorillas. While demoralised following his brutal de-patching from the Godzone Gorillas, his spirit remains alive. His mischievousness is still there, and Mickey plays a vital role in the denouement.
Read more about all of these stories on David’s Author Page and follow progress with Hīkoi on his Filmmaker Page:
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