Look what I bought myself for my birthday

It is the 19th day of what would have been our 21 day lockdown. The South African lockdown has been extended for another 2 weeks, until the end of April.

I realize that the world is going crazy and that everyone is scared. But all that you can control is how you and your family stay safe. I’m not going to lie. Every time I leave the house I am scared I might get infected, or worse, pick up Covid-19 and bring it home for my family as a present.

But I think there is enough crazy going on. We need some new and fun things to do. Well, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I bought myself these for my birthday.

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

I enjoyed this book so much. I enjoy reading about history and mythology, and this book is about the documented tales of Ibn Fadlan as taken from his manuscript. It starts a bit slow but it is very exciting. This book was worth every penny.

I became obsessed with finding this book after watching 13th warrior. I really enjoyed this movie, and still do. Michael Crichton disapproved of the film version, so obviously I wanted to read his original. Both the book and movie are so enjoyable. Give me anything about Vikings and I’m happy.

I have been looking for a used copy of this book for more than 10 years. I tried to purchase a new one for the past 5 years, but the bookshops and online stores in South Africa couldn’t get me one. So I finally bought a copy from Amazon. The only reason I never buy from Amazon is because how expensive shipping is. It is almost the same price as the actual product.

 Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

There is such honesty and truth in her work. So much of her experiences I can relate to. If you don’t mind digging deep into your own soul and having her words take you on a journey, then please do try this one. Loved it.

 

The Sun and her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

I was first introduced to Rupi’s poetry by my cousin. She had lent me The Sun and her Flowers a few years ago, and I loved Rupi’s way with words and her illustrations. When I finally had the money I just had to buy my own copy. Trust me, her words are so powerful. Loved this one too.

New Writing Desk

This post is a bit late. But I wanted to share my Christmas/ Birthday gift from my brother and his wife.

This is my new writing desk, and what I like is that there is space for me to place my laptop and my notes. I don't know about you, but I never seem to have enough space when I'm writing. It helps that there are two small shelves for storage.

So dear friends. What is your writing space like, and do you always lack space when actually writing?

The Executioner is now available

It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here!

The Executioner is now available at all your major e-book stores. Here are just a few links: Amazon * Smashwords * Other 

It only took me five years to get here. There were times I really doubted myself, and my writing ability, but this fantastic blogging community always cheered me on, and believed in me. Thank you, my friends.


As previously discussed, I won't be doing all the marketing I did last time. Aside for showing off my books one my social media pages, I'm not going to bother with much else. I'm just going to focus on my next book. 

The Executioner

The past is never too far behind, or as innocent as it may seem.

Claire’s past is rearing its ugly head and threatening her life.

Alex has a love from his past who might wreck his future. New challenges are thrown their way can end both their lives, and that of those they love.

Most writers always have such nice custom images of their books. So I thought I would give it a try. 

Another Angel Departs

On 10 January 2020 another one of my baby’s left this world. Her name was Abby and she was only a few months away from turning 13 years old. She was a beautiful soul, and my best friend. Even though she was my sister’s dog, I helped raise her since she was a pup, and helped take care of her until her dying day. 

As you know, I always talked about being a full-time babysitter, not just for Abby, but my brother’s dog, as well as my own. I big hole is left in our hearts. She had such a big personality, and everyone who met her couldn’t help but love Abby. She was just the most lovable character.

I will love you always.

The Executioner Coming Soon

I finished the editing of my second book in my Thelum Series. Finally! Now its just the formatting, and other technical things that needs to be done. I have set the publish date for February 2020.

I have been tinkering on this book for 5 years, and its time I moved on. I'm ready.

October Begins

Hello Friends. I did it. I finished my first round of edits from my editor. It wasn’t as bad. I just had to put my head down and get it done. Of course afterwards I chastised myself for not finishing it sooner. But oh well.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been getting the strangest comments on my blog. People using the comments section to advertise their own site, or products. At some point it was one or two weird comments a day. Every time I deleted one spammy comment another would pop up again. So I activated comment moderation. So I get to choose which comments get published, and not. It is a relief actually, and so easy.

The day job has been keeping me busy, which is why I haven’t been around. A smart person would start writing posts in advance and scheduling them. Clearly I’m not smart (he he).

So have a good week. What is new with you?

Moving, but not as fast, and sabotage

I didn’t mention this before, but I got my manuscript back from my editor In June. I was so excited. I only asked for copy editing this time. And my brilliant editor, Janie Goltz, did an excellent job. I’m actually embarrassed about the simple mistakes she had to keep correcting me on. Things like, using British English, along with American English in the same manuscript. And not using the same spelling throughout.

However, I have had this bad habit of not pushing through the corrections as fast as I should. I could have worked through the entire book in a week. But I’m taking it slowly. I think I’m scared of publishing, and now I am sabotaging myself again. I also decided to read my manuscript as I was applying the change, and immediately had the urge to start tinkering with the manuscript again. I didn’t think it was good enough. I had simply deleted one sentence on page 3, and stopped myself from reading the rest of the manuscript. I had done the best I could before submitting it to my editor. But for some reason, as I was working on applying the changes, I almost gave in to bad habits again. Like rewriting certain scenes, and so forth. I’m not doing it this time. Not again.

I could make a quick search and replace all similar words. But I really want to take my time with it. Make one change at a time. Though I won't lie. I'm frustrating myself. And I know I have to start pushing, and motivating myself.

Why is it you think that we keep wanting to write the same book over and over, and then never moving on to the next book? Or is this problem just me?