The Korpes File Series – Short Stories: Vol 1 by J. I. Rogers Some Day I’ll Fly Away by Linda Dutton Broken Ties (Realms of the Mist, #2) by Jude Itakali Natural Selection (Dawn of Humanity #3) by Jacqui Murray
I’ve really enjoyed my first quarter’s reading this year. As I’m sure I’ve told you before, I love to read almost as much as I love to write, and I strongly believe that the more good writing I read, the more my own writing improves.
I generally choose to read books that have been recommended by other people, mostly my WP reviewer friends. Once again they’ve picked real winners. I’ve also read a couple of well-known authors whose books I’ll always turn to (Jasper Fford and Isabel Allende) and a couple of instructive books to hone my ‘word-smithery’ (Kathy Steinemann’s Writer’s Lexicon) and to improve my poetry-crafting (Colleen Chesebro’s Wordcraft).
It has long been one of my missions to read more authors from South Africa and the African continent, since I feel we are frequently under-represented in the wider world. You’ll see that my first four reads were all SA authors, after which I spread my reading wings and flew north to find Jude Italkali in Uganda.
I hadn’t read a collection of short stories for ages, but Chris Nelson’s excellent collection, The Beautiful Silence, has re-kindled my appetite. As soon as I’d finished reading Chris’s book, a reading recommendation made to me by Liz Gauffreau* on the thread of a post about Magical Realism on Jacqui Murray’s excellent site, led me to seek out a short story by Gabriel García Márquez, The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World – a delightful read! Encouraged by the fact that I found a copy via Mrs Google, I also sought out Ernest Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro, which I’ve been keen to read ever since I began dipping into Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson. My obsession with Hemingway’s prose continues.
Here are the books I read as the scorching South African summer mellowed into a glorious golden autumn. My next round up will find me shivering as we head into the depths of winter!
As a writer, I know how exciting it is to receive a review from a reader, and I offer a big, big thank you to my readers (and listeners, now I’ve three books published as audiobooks) who’ve taken the time and trouble to rate/review my books. That aside, to know someone has read one of my books is enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *A quick heads up for poetry lovers: Liz Gauffreau is hosting a live poetry event Poets in the Blogosphere, on 23 April 2022 from 4-5:30 PM ET. This is a perfect opportunity to enjoy poetry being read out loud. Just as it should be. You can find out more here.
Spirit of the Shell Man, the sequel to Song of the Sea Goddess will be released next month. Set in the same fictional town, located somewhere on the beautiful west coast of South Africa, our favourite characters return in a new adventure – Albertina and the Aunties, the Professor and little Toti, Abdu and Jannie are all back, ready to face whatever new challenges await them.
It is with the greatest pleasure that I offer you a free Advance Reader Copy from Booksprout: simply click here to download your copy and start reading.
Here’s the blurb:
“A series of strange events accompany the delivery of an unusual wooden box to the bookish Professor who lives on the hill, while down by the sleepy harbour a dusty convoy of huge earth-moving machines roll into town. Soon afterwards, an expensive-looking yacht arrives, skippered by an enigmatic sea captain, accompanied by her weird and troublesome little crew who cause chaos in Albertina’s chicken-run and wreak havoc in the posh new hair salon.
The mysterious mute captain, her nose permanently buried in an old notebook, is clearly seeking something. Meanwhile the Professor’s interest is piqued by an unusually attentive congregation of praying mantises in his back yard. Then, as construction work begins on the unspoiled hillside beyond the town’s looming headland, the disturbance of long-buried bones unleashes a grim and ghostly presence from the ancient past with the potential to destroy the tranquil little town.
Join the cast of colourful characters from Song of the Sea Goddess, as they embark on a new adventure where legend and reality intertwine, and once again they must join forces to combat a deadly threat to their otherwise peaceful lives.”
The ebook and paperback will be available to purchase on Amazon, Kobo and Google Books in March, and the recording of the audiobook is underway. I’m really excited to share my new novel with you!
P.S. thanks so much to Paula Light of Light Motifs for her lovely review of Song ofthe Sea Goddess. It really made my day when I saw it this morning. Do pop over and take a look around Paula’s site!
Wonderful writer, reader and reviewer, Diana of Myths of the Mirror blog has thrown down her velvet gauntlet for a fun writing challenge. Here’s what she says: “I don’t know anyone who owns a Kindle (or other ebook reader) and isn’t buried in books. We groan as we add more to the stack… then laugh about it and buy more! That’s my situation anyway.”
That’s my situation too!
Here are the details of Diana’s challenge – The Teetering TBR Pile – the challenge is open until 23 January if you’d like to join in too.
This is my response:
Ode to My Kindle
Kindle, my Kindle, how do you compare to those wretched stacks of curling pages whose covers dim in daylight’s brightness spines rendered unreadable by old age?
Shelves piled high with neither rhyme nor reason unruly stacks wobbling and tottering set to tumble in thunderous cascades engulfing unwary readers in words.
Kindle, my Kindle, how long has it been since first we browsed those virtual bookshelves hovering o’er Amazon’s icons bright daring downloads at the click of a key?
Far have we travelled by land, air and sea since I first loaded a heap of beach reads oh, my Kindle, faithful companion never rejecting yet another book.
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While you’re here, fellow overstuffed e-readers, can I just tempt you to just one more teensy-weensy book? The book birthday freebie offer I was running has finished, but you can download Song of the Sea Goddess for a snip: USA ~ UK ~ IND ~ AUS ~ CAN ~ ESP ~ South Africa and the Rest of the World
It’s a Happy 1st Book Birthday to the Song of the Sea Goddess this Saturday!
I’m celebrating the day with a book signing at Bookworms Fantasy the fabulous independent bookstore in my home town but for the rest of you far-flung folk, I’m celebrating in a different way.
The ebook is free to download right now and for the rest of this weekend. Offer ends Monday 17 January at 11.59 PST.
Read it in advance of the sequel Spirit of the Shell Man coming soon!
As 2021 draws to a close, although there are aspects of the year I’d prefer to forget, I’m looking back with a happy and satisfied smile on the books I’ve enjoyed in this second half of the year.
I love to read almost as much as I love to write, and I firmly believe that the more good writing I read, the more my own writing improves.
Here’s what I read as our wet and windy winter gave way to a hot and breezy summer. The most recently read books are shown first.
The books I’ve read, listed on Goodreads
Once again I’ve enjoyed my half-year’s reading. Books I’ve frequently found via reviews and recommendations here on WordPress, including a nice helping of works by fellow indie authors. I’ve read a mixture of old books and new – mostly prose and poetry – a long, long history/geography of Africa, and a witty and instructive writer’s manual. Thanks to the latter, written by Kathy Steinmann, my latest MS is all the more sparkly and shiny!
More news on my new release coming soon.
As a writer I know how exciting it is to receive a review from a reader, and I offer a big, big thank you to my readers (and listeners, now I’ve two books published as audiobooks) who’ve taken the time and trouble to rate/review my books. That aside, to know someone has read one of my books is enough.
I continue to faithfully post a review of all the books I’ve read on Goodreads and usually on Bookbub, so long as the book comes up in a search. It’s good to recognise fellow writers and give something back for the enjoyment I’ve had from their words.
Happy reading, happy writing and a Happy New Year!
Following the success of the audiobook version of ‘Song of the Sea Goddess’, I’m delighted to announce that my popular historical fantasy fiction novel, ‘Following the Green Rabbit’ is now also out on audio. It’s currently available on Amazon ~ Audible ~ Kobo and within the next week or so should be available from most other audiobook sellers. Narrated by the same wonderful narrator, Terry Lloyd Roberts, and produced by Devon Martin at Audioshelf, here in Cape Town, I couldn’t be more pleased with it. You can listen to a sample here:
If you’ve been following my current Six Sentence Story serial, ‘Do you believe in faeries?‘ you’ll see from where characters Bryony, Bethany and Mr Eyre originated. Their first adventure took them back in time from 1911 some 200 or so years (I was never precise), but our present mini-series, which picks up from where the novel left off, has taken them on an even more fantastical adventure!
For ‘readers of words’ the novel is of course still available in paperback and as an ebook.
“This is one great tale…especially if you want to have a Sunday afternoon tea and a book. Chris is a brilliant story teller.” ~ Kindle Customer
Over the past half year I’ve enjoyed hosting the Launch Pad spot for some lovely guests. Now we’re approaching the end of the year, I thought it would be good to catch up with them and find out what they are working on now.
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First on the spot, back in May, was internationally bestselling author, Lizzie Chantree, who had just released her latest romance, Shh… It’s our secret. Checking in on Lizzie’s social media, she already has another book out, The Woman Who Felt Invisible. Now that’s impressive! Click on the cover to view on Amazon.
Working as a stationery supervisor and a sitter to a pair of internet famous, delinquent dogs, wasn’t how former cyber-specialist, Olivia, imagined her life turning out. Working in a tiny cubicle with a decrepit computer and being overlooked had suited her for a while, but now she’s fed up, lonely and determined to make the world ‘see’ her again. Old school friend, Darius, wants to fill Olivia’s days with romance, but their love of technology has taken them on very different paths. Gorgeous undercover policeman Gabe is steadfast in finding out if Olivia was part of an online scam, but something doesn’t feel right and he suspects someone else was manipulating her life. Can love blossom from the most deceptive of starts? And can someone who feels lost, find a way to flourish against all odds?
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Next on the Launch Pad was Jude Itakali, who joined us in June to promote his wonderful new poetry collection, Crossroads (Winds of Love). I had an inter-continental chat with Jude the other day, via the wonder of Whatsapp, and this is what he had to say about his current writing project:
Ahhh, what can I say? Writing my first novel has been a rollercoaster ride, weaving through hopes, fears and even moments of bliss. It has probably been the greatest challenge I’ve ever undertaken, but still a most enjoyable one.
The original inspiration for writing my upcoming novel was actually from a poetic story I wrote over a year ago on my blog. I remember many of the comments saying it would make an outstanding novel. Once I was done publishing my debut poetry book, I knew that it was possible to get a book out into the world, so I started working on the novel. My core drive comes from a deepest realization that writing is what truly feeds my soul; what makes me happiest. I have always had a dream to write and be read, and I’m living half that dream for now, but that’s plenty too.
The initial promo campaign for my debut novel (coming in Spring 2022) starts January, so I can’t reveal much until we’ve decided on some marketing details with the publisher. Here’s a little teaser verse I wrote about a few of the themes you’ll find in the book:
“Be it born to darkness and sacrifice, Or be it raised amidst love and hope, Those who dwell under light and freedom, Or those shackled to ways preordained – The cruelest curses stem from our greatest blessings And yet some are cursed, so that others may be blessed.”
I hope that soon you will all walk, love, run and creep, along the thin line between blessing and curse, in my upcoming YA fantasy saga.
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In July, I had the pleasure of hosting Paul English, my writing buddy from up the road. Paul is another highly prolific author and back in July, the first book in his sci-fi trilogy, Scorched Earth: Arrival, had not long been published. We regularly get together for a ‘writerly chat’ over coffee and cake, so I’m well up on what Paul’s been up to. Here’s his comment between mouthfuls of carrot cake:
“Thanks for inviting me back on your blog. Since the last time I was over there, I’ve completed the second book of the Scorched Earth trilogy, Scorched Earth: Takeover. In a nutshell, the book takes up the story again about a month after the alien Drahux Empire arrived on Earth in Scorched Earth: Arrival. The tension rises as aliens are slowly taking over the planet, while our broken heroes are struggling to pick themselves up in order to fend off the alien threat before its too late.”
Not one to rest on his laurels, Paul is already busy with the final part of the trilogy. You can follow his progress over on his blog, Backroom Bulletin.
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Prehistoric fiction author, Jacqui Murray, joined us on the Launch Pad in August, where she shared her insights into how she found her writer’s voice and how this enabled her to follow her passion for writing the books she truly wanted to share with the world. At the time, her second book in her Dawn ofHumanity Trilogy, Laws of Nature, had recently been released.
I caught up with Jacqui via email and this is what she said about her progress with the third book in the trilogy:
“After several months of stodgy progress, Natural Selection is finally moving forward. Which is good because when it comes to writing, I have no Plan B. It either works or I’m f****. Yes, I understand all novels come with the warning, ‘some assembly required’. My fear is that when I’m done, there will be pieces leftover. None so far! Check back with me in January.”
Jacqui sent me the cover pic in the meantime. Doesn’t that whet your appetite?
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In September, I was delighted to host Michelle Navajas, international best selling poet, on the Launch Pad, where she shared her writing journey with us, setting out what has inspired her to write her ever-growing series of poetry books. This was her reply when I emailed her to find out what she’s working on at the moment.
“I am currently working on my 6th book which is the second edition of ‘After Rain Skies’ – a collection of true and inspiring stories of abuse and violence. The second edition will highlight other forms of abuse which I’d refused to write about in the first edition due to their highly sensitive nature. Now, I finally have got the courage to write about them.”
Here’s Michelle pictured with some of the awards she has earned in recognition of her unique, meaningful and highly accessible style of poetry.
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Next up on the Launch Pad was novelist and poet, Liz Gauffreau, whose deeply moving collection of syllabic poetry, Grief Songs, was published in October. A brief flurry of emails revealed some very exciting developments in Liz’s literary life.
Sheldon Poor Farm – inspiration for one of Liz Gauffreau’s current projects
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Here’s what Liz told me:
“Recently, I’ve had a short story, “New England Gothic,” published in The Chamber Magazine, a horror magazine, and another of my short stories, “A Formal Feeling Comes,” was published in Remington Review. Each publication is a bit out of the ordinary for me, as I’ve never written a horror story before and didn’t intend to with “New England Gothic.” “A Formal Feeling Comes” is a reprint. The first journal that published it changed the ending in a way that contradicted everything that came before it. (I won’t agree to that again!)
I’ve also just had a story, “Bonnie and Clyde Rob the Enosburg Falls National Bank,” accepted as part of a new venture that creates a video reading of the story as the means of publication. We’ll have to wait and see whether anything comes of it!
I have a collection of short stories planned for release in 2023. The stories all take place in my home town of Enosburg Falls, Vermont. “Bonnie and Clyde Rob the Enosburg Falls National Bank” is one of them.
Currently, I’m working on a new novel set at the Sheldon Poor Farm in Sheldon Springs, Vermont. It was the last poor farm in Vermont. The state shut it down in 1968, which is the year the novel takes place. I have a great deal of research ahead of me, so I’m more in the inspiration stage right now.”
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My final guest this year was Tom Burton, who joined us last month, having recently released his second collection of short stories, Pocketful of Time. Tom also shared some interesting insights into writing craft with his ‘Three Top Guidelines’, garnered from his own experience as a storyteller.
When I caught up with Tom earlier this week, I discovered that he’d had one of those writer’s eish! moments and accidentally lost quite a large chunk of the newest draft of his forthcoming historical short story collection. What with that and all the activity associated with the forthcoming festive season, Tom has had to postpone its release until next year.
If Pocketful of Time is anything to go by, be sure to look out for Tom’s new book in 2022!
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I’d like to thank all the authors who took time out to spend time with us on the Launch Pad spot last year, and who’ve just updated us about their latest progress and projects. If you’re reading this and would like a spot on the Launch Pad to talk about your new releases and literary adventures in 2022, please let me know.
In the meantime, I’m hoping to share news of my own new release next year.
luna's on line 