AtoZ Blog Challenge: V is for VACILLATE

What is a mind if you cannot change it? A butcher. A baker. A candlestick maker? An engineer or an architect? With every character I write, I epitomize the very core of it. Today a construction worker, tomorrow a pilot. Am I constantly changing my mind? Of course I do.
Step into my office and take up the mantle and listen to the voices that are crying out - I am the creator of worlds, the destroyer of galaxies, the cupid of all the happily-ever-afters.
See me: the lover, the conqueror, the hero, the weaver of tales dark and desirable - I am the writer...and you better start running!

AtoZ Blog Challenge: U is for USEFUL Links

I might have mentioned this before, so please forgive me rehashing this one :)

I am in the process of developing a course for indie authors to help them learn about all things indie - except the writing itself. With many creative writing courses out there, and good ones too, there is no need for me to reinvent the wheel. Developing a course takes a lot of time and research to ensure that the information shared is not only relevant, but actually useful to the student.

Here are some of the useful links that I found and will be sharing and/or using in my course.

Time Management

Marketing information

What it means to be a writer
Writing Advice

If you found a blog or website particularly useful, why not add it in the comments, then I can look into including it in my course to share it with all the students - thank you!

AtoZ Blog Challenge: T is for TWITTER

As the end of April approaches, I find myself “all a freakin' twitter” with nervous energy. The publication date of our group's anthology is coming closer with the speed of white light. At least that is what it feels like.

Was it only yesterday that I came up with the idea? Time certainly flew by and very soon our stories will be out there for people to read and hopefully enjoy. Of course there is printing to arrange for the paperbacks and a venue to finalise for the launch and hours of marketing still ahead.

But being the kind of person I am, I have already been looking towards the future. What will be in stall for the Pretoria Writers' Group in 2015? Another anthology? Maybe a series? Who knows.

There are baby plans in the making (for some members), work issues for others and then there are the invariable normal life issues that crop up. As always we each decide our priorities and devote our scarcest resource, time, accordingly.

On that note maybe T should have been for Time,  Touchdown or Transmogrified instead :)

AtoZ Blog Challenge: S is for STORM

A storm? It is the theme for our writers' group's upcoming short story anthology. Instead of blabbering about it, yet again, this post is a teaser for the interviews of my fellow authors in the project.

Mark those days on your calender, because there is a storm coming, and nothing will be the same again!

3 May - Interview Richard T Wheeler
4 May - Cover reveal STORM Volume I
5 May - Cover reveal STORM Volume II
6 May - Interview Carmen Botman 
11 to 24 May - Blog tour (host blogs promoted)
4 June - Interview Charmain Lines
7 June - Interview Natalie Rivener
10 June - Interview Vanessa Wright

Both Volumes will be published on Smashwords in ebook formats suitable for all e-readers and mobile devices.

AtoZ Blog Challenge: R is for REVIEWS

Do you love books? Fiction? Non-fiction? Did you know that by leaving a review for the author will not only help the author, but will also tell other readers about the book?
I am guilty of the sin of reading many books but not formally reviewing enough of them. As a published author I need reviews on my books, and have been taking mental notes while reading to do exactly do that more often.
So how do you review a book? Here are a few tips to help you out.
And while I am on the subject - our writers' group anthology will be published in June 2014, and we are asking for 50 people to volunteer to review for us. We have had people already asking for the ARC (advance review copy) but there are more copies available. Please let me know if you are interested. You can read more about the anthology and how to contact us here.

AtoZ Blog Challenge: Q is for QUESTIONS

Linzé holding katana

I have blabbered a lot about me and things that I like to do in this April Challenge, but for the letter Q you might like to ask other things.

But be warned – I am going to ask right back! ;)

AtoZ Blog Challenge: P is for PLUS 1

On this day, 18 April 2014, I can claim to be married for twenty years, 16 days, and no, I have no idea how many hours. It is actually quite amazing that I had remembered the date for this post. Yep, my husband is the one that remembers dates, I am useless when it comes to these things. I am good with numbers, but not dates.

Hopefully hubby won't mind being a Plus 1 for a few moments, so let me tell you a bit about him. His name is Francois Venter and he is an engineer too. We went to the same high school, but didn't date back then since we are not the same age (I am two years older). We started dating at university and got married in the week that he had a birthday and got his degree – trust me, it was a real busy week that year!

We worked together for the first few years of our marriage, we shared an office with two other engineers, before our careers started diverging. He still works as an engineer, while I branched out into consulting and project management.

His passion is photography, and he is very good. Biased am I? Maybe, but the awards, red ribbons and medals that hang on the walls in my living room, all agree with me on that score. You can see some of his photographs here.

The funniest thing is however the two of us going to the shops, typically on a Friday evening after work, to stock up for the next week. We would traverse the isles - him pushing the trolley, me picking out food – and then we would whine and complain and chat about our workday. I mean who doesn't do that?

The two of us however, talk about weapons and bombs and explosives and firing trials and stuff like that. Since I work in the military industry, and he works at a commercial company that designs and manufactures detonators and blasting equipment for mines, our talks are normal – for us.

For everyone else shopping with us, it might sound like we are planning the end of the world. It is really funny watching people's faces if they overhear our conversations. Of course, we don't talk about classified things – commercial companies have those too – but it remains a treat. We vent on each other's shoulders, and our audience, well, who knows what they are thinking?

Who is going to win the rugby on Saturday? Probably :)

AtoZ Blog Challenge: O is for OBSIDIAN

Image Pinterest

Obsidian is a shiny, black piece of volcanic rock. I chose this for my O post in the Challenge because I have recently read a book by my favourite author, Nalini Singh. The title is Heart of Obsidian and I have once again confirmed her as my favourite.

The story is part of a series, but I am not going to go into those details. Heart of Obsidian is the story of Councillor Caleb Krychek. You meet him in some of the earlier books, and no, he is not a nice guy. In fact you believe him to be the worst of the worst by the time you get to this book.

And no, he doesn't suddenly become this cute guy that likes teddy bears and plays nice with the kids. The author never deviates from the character established in earlier books and that is one of the things I loved about the story.

But can bad guys be misunderstood? What motivates him? What drives him to do the things he did? Can someone like him find love?

If you like paranormal romance this Psy-Changeling series might be right up your alley. And Heart of Obsidian? I loved the story because it delved into the deepest darkest recesses of the human (Psy?) mind to find the one thing that can, and sometimes will, motivate us to commit murder.

It is not a pretty and fluffy hero story, but it was different and an out-of-the-box romance. If you read as many romance books as I do, you will find this story unusual for the genre. I couldn't put it down and sacrificed many hours of sleep to find out if Caleb could find love before it was too late.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

AtoZ Blog Challenge: N is for NANOWRIMO

April and July presents the opportunity for anyone who wishes to write a novel to 'practice' for the main event in November each year.

CampNaNoWriMo as the events in April and July are known, differ slightly from NaNoWriMo in that you can set your own target with a minimum of 10,000 words. It might sound like a lot but if you break it down into a daily target, it is an easier target. How difficult can it be to write 10,000/30 = 333.3 words (okay, make it 334) every day for 30 days?

The benefit is that you get into the habit of writing, you can plan to write everyday and if you get ahead of your target (which is always recommended) there is less pressure when the dreaded deadline looms.

And these events are fun. There are local groups and online groups and the best thing of all is the support given by everyone taking part.

Not a novel writer? Why not write a collection of short stories? I have found that a Plan B, the short stories, is an excellent way of writing for this challenge. You never know what ideas might crop up that could be explored in a novel.

My work schedule is especially nightmarish this year, but the one thing that I add to my calender on January1^st, is NaNoWriMo - and Camp is the best preparation there is.

AtoZ Blog Challenge: M is for MY LIFE STORY

I bought a book a while back, with the title on the cover, My Life Story. No, it is not a novel or a self-help book, it is a blank journal that you can use to write...my life story.

It has enough pages for 100 years of your life and the manufacturer of the book states that if you have filled this one up, they will give you a new one for free. Ha, I don't know how many people live past a hundred years, but it is a nice sentiment I suppose.

I bought mine when I was in my forties already, so there is a lot of my life that still needs to be penned down. The hard part is what do I include and what is way too boring to even mention. And the most important question: when am I going to find the time to write the details of the years before I bought it?

To alleviate some of this problem, I decided to stick to my adult life. My childhood was fairly normal, and happy. Where I recall a particularly happy or memorable event, I could always pen that. Wasting pages of paper just to say that I passed this grade or read that book, would really be dull anyway. Not that I can remember every single book I have ever read in my life.

I even bought special lightweight sketchbook for a drawing or two for this book, since it has a blank page for every year for a photo. I don't have many photographs of myself, being a bit camera shy and all that. The drawings will also serve a double purpose to alleviate the urge to create - for the artist in me.

Have you considered writing your life story, even if it is only for your own family?

AtoZ Blog Challenge: L is for LETTUCE

This underrated vegetable deserves more attention than the afterthought slash limp leaf

decorating the corner of our dinner plates. It is a low fat and low cholesterol food, containing essential vitamins and minerals our bodies need.

A few years' ago I had read an article that said lettuce contains a trace amount of arsenic. My friends used to joke that I am probably the only person alive that will die of natural arsenic poisoning, because I do love my lettuce. Fortunately, I doubt that I will ever eat so much of it that it would pose any risk to my health. I like other foods way too much to ever live on lettuce alone.

In the meantime I have done a little more research and found out that the levels of arsenic in lettuce is about the same as for any other vegetable. The levels in the vegetable depends on the levels found in the soil where it is farmed. It is not unique to lettuce.

Since arsenic can be harmful, soil levels are monitored where necessary.

So here is to many more years of BLT samies!

Please tell me I am not only one that thinks that lettuce is more than rabbit food!

 

AtoZ Blog Challenge: K is for KRYANE

Image from Pinterest

Also taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo during April, I am working on finishing the first draft of my third novel in the Nations of Peace Series, Michael's Mystery. It is also the second Grandmaster story of the series.

Michael is sent to investigate a series of serial murders that took place in KEEPER OFTHE DRAGON SWORD. His bosses, the Lords of the High Council, sent him to Kryane to find out what motivated these horrifying murders and to help bring the responsible person to justice.

Unlike Xa'an - the planet where GERA'S GIFT and KEEPER OF THE DRAGON SWORD took place, Kryane is mostly a desert.

The planet is divided into four continents: Kyrja (the largest), Ananla, Prochi and Lirtyni (the smallest). The four continents are surrounded by two oceans, both of them very cold and only supporting a limited number of species of sea creatures. The ice caps are frozen solid and the prevailing winds make them uninhabitable to mammalian life forms.

During his investigation Michael finds himself trapped with Andesine in a sandstorm and he learns that life in a desert environment is more challenging than he realised. The inhabitants of the village of Amer guard their water supply jealously. The villagers also grow their own food, but to enable them to do that they have to work in greenhouses that can also be hazardous to them because of the heat.

But these are people adapted to living in a desert. The fabrics and styles of their clothing suit their environment. They are prepared for sandstorms, but are not lax when it comes to cleaning up afterwards. The villagers living in Amer appreciate and support each other as their lives invariably depend on it.

Now only if Andesine was so easy to figure out. What are the secrets hiding behind those red eyes and how much does she really know about the murders?