No-holds-barred Lisette - 'MY TALES FROM A WAR ZONE'

Her stories were so amazing, she decided to write a book about her experiences

- Fleur Guthrie

At broadcasting school, Lisette Reymer always thought she'd be the journalist best-suited to covering entertainment stories – cracking a joke with a movie star at a film premiere or telling an upbeat yarn for the “kicker” story at the end of the bulletin.

It turns out celebrity interviews give her an aggressive heat rash (or maybe that was just the effect actor Stanley Tucci had on her?), and disaster zones are, in fact, her natural habitat.

A world away from the Waikato dairy farm she was raised on, Lisette found her time as Newshub's Europe Correspondent coinciding with some of the biggest global headlines in decades.

From brushes with landmines in Ukraine to being detained by Turkish police and reporting on royalty to refugees, the 30-year-old saw more in three years than many journalists do in a lifetime.

In her new book No, I Don't Get Danger Money – Confessions of an Accidental War Correspondent, Lisette shares a funny and no-holds-barred account of what it was like to cover some of the most risky and extraordinary moments.

How has life been since returning to New Zealand last November?

Well, I've got a home now!

I bought a little house – it’s so cute. I’ve even bought a couch and a plant. Getting my first place has been my number-one mission for this year – and getting the book out. I like goals and ticking off milestones. I can never be accused of dragging my feet.

Do you think your drive to succeed came from growing up with four older, high-achieving siblings?