Science Helps to put Poachers in Jail

Picture from RhODIS presentation - see link in text

This is not my normal type of blog, but today I thought to mention something which I thought was quite amazing. If you had paid any attention to the news the past few months you would have learned about the rhino poaching that has been going on in South Africa. And not even far away from my own home.

As a fellow animal lover, you will understand the feeling of violence that overcomes me when I hear about another rhino cow killed for her horn (my husband does have a very graphic way of explaining his feelings on the matter too). And to make matters worse her baby died too, either as a direct result of the killing or later on when it died of starvation. Rhino calves depend on their mothers for quite a while, and if they not found in time, they will die.

That is where science comes in. They cannot, as yet, prevent the rhinos from being senselessly slaughtered, but they can help to put the criminals in jail.

If you are like me who thought that the DNA from one animal species is pretty much the same as the next, think again. The University of Pretoria’s Veterinary Department at Onderstepoort, has developed a DNA test that could uniquely identify each rhino that was killed when a sample of the horn is tested.

If the police then catches someone in possession of a rhino horn, Dr Harper and her team can then tell to which rhino it used to belong. Evidence that then puts the people involved in jail.

One for the justice system, I would say.

The team consist of only five people who have done this ground breaking work, and they are in need of funding. Check out the links to see the work done in South Africa to try and protect the dwindling rhino population and how Dr Harper’s work benefits the efforts to put these people behind bars.

Abstract: The Story or the Hype?

By the time your book is finished and almost ready for publication, the publisher (and sometimes even the cover designer) will want to have the abstract for the back cover of your novel. We all know that it is the cover of the book that makes someone pick it up from all the others on the bookshelf - even an ebook bookshelf. The decision to buy then rests on the abstract of the book printed on the back, or the inside of the dust cover.

Unless you are a famous best-selling author, it is those few words that will convince a potential reader to buy your book. Those 100 to 150 words that could say so much, and yet can also be construed as just a load of hype. Where do you draw the line?

As with the first chapter, you want to hook your reader into reading the next chapter, and the next. The same applies to the abstract: you want to grab the attention of a potential reader, and yet you shouldn’t give away the whole plot.

Of course, with a romance novel, a happy ending is expected, but the abstract should entice the reader to take the journey with your hero (or heroine) on his quest to win the fight, and the heart of his true love. In a mystery novel, the sense of the unexpected remains the ultimate thrill on this ride to finding whodunnit.

The abstract of Keeper of the Dragon Sword has a long way to go still, and that selection of words will require some fine tuning to make sure that just the right balance can be found to tell the story, and yet not give away Elizabeth's battle to be the Dragon Master.

Keeper of the Dragon Sword: Cover Proposals

I was given the above three options as the cover design for Keeper of the Dragon Sword. When I show this to friends, the majority prefer the design on the right, while some also like the design on the left. My personal choice is the the right hand design as well. The design is not yet final, but I think it is almost perfect as is.

The final images are still to be uploaded by the designer, before it can be used. The photograph of the sword was taken by Francois Venter. 

The sword belongs to a friend who had generously lent it to me for the cover of this book. His blades will definitely make the cover of other books in the series as well.