How to use this Page

I have registered with Simpleology site so I can gain access to the course. The process was longish ( six steps in total), but I suspect it's because the blogging course is a promotional give-away, not the substance of what the I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.It

As I’ve mentioned previously here, this November I entered the Lieurance-King Autumn Challenge (Fall). The wonderful news is that I am among the winners, and will soon be awarded the Golden PJs. The challenge brief was to write 15 marketing articles during the month of November and submit them to article directories like Ezine Articles. Marketing articles are different from journalistic

Baby's school closes today, and like every parent around here, I was wondering what I was going to do with her for most of the summer. She is going to Durban for a couple of week. Still, I was relieved to see the 101 things to do with kids this Christmas, published by the Independent Online. Enjoy summer... and the Christmas season.

Below is a two-part review of The Golden Compass, starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Dakota Blue Richardson, I also did a social commentary on it, I suppose because of the religious controversy. The reason I wrote about it, in the context of this blog is because: - Some of us are parents and therefore the issues affect us - African stories, especially folktales, are littered with gods who

Next week Camille Lagarrigue, author of the Miss Behave books will visit the Ricardo Mülder Community Library in Edenvale as part of their holiday programme. The event will be the first public reading of her second book, Miss Behave and the Sacred Cats of Ancient Egypt. Children will also have the opportunity to ask Camille all the questions they have about Miss Behave. There will also be

I just received a note from Camille Lagarrigue, author of the "Miss Behave... " series. She says: Hooray! Miss Behave and the Sacred Cats of Ancient Egypt is finally here! If you would like to get your paws on a signed copy please let her know. You can order a copy directly from her at R95. The book will also be available through local bookstores (Exclusive Books), but I'm not sure when.

I first saw I saw Gcina Mhlope, well-known South African poet, playwright; performer and author of children's books, tell a story over 15 years ago. She was a guest of the Mmabana Cultural Centre in Mafikeng, presenting at a writing workshop. I was just out of university, eager to learn the craft of writing so I could become a rich and famous author and not have to follow a career in the

I first met Janet Grace Riehl, of Riehl Life, when we both took part in the Lieurance-King Article Challenge in August/September. It turned out Janet, who is American, spent some time in Africa, including Botswana, and has a section on her blog dedicated to Africa. I was honoured when she asked me as a guest blogger. Janet is an award-winning author, artist, performer, and creativity

Janet Riehl over at www.riehllife.com asked me to guest blog for her about an instance where I realised some family friends were actually relatives of sorts. US-based Janet was a fellow-participant in the LK Summer Challenge (www.lkarticlechallenge.com), where participants were asked to write 30 articles in two months. I later learnt Janet spent some time in Africa, including Botswana, and has

Author: Anne-Catherine De Boel Publisher (reissued): Giraffe Books, Pan Macmillan Africa Published: 2006 ISBN: 10920016-52-X Availability:Pan Macmillan at www.panmacmillan.co.za Alba is a beautifully told, evocative story about a little girl who was sitting in front of her house, waiting, with ants working at her feet. “Good day Alba,” one of the ants said. As I read the book for the first

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Camille Lagarrigue, author of Miss Behave and the Secret Agents, saying she was getting ready to launch her second book. I don’t have details of the book and the launch date yet and can’t wait to get my grubby paws on a copy. As I mentioned previously on this blog, Baby loved Miss Behave and the Secret Agents, and looks forward to the next

This week, the National Assembly will discuss the merits of banning corporal punishment in homes, as included in the current draft of the Children’s Bill. Children and youth who presented during the provincial consultations gave unanimous support for the ban of corporal punishment in homes and recommended the promotion of positive and guiding relationships between parents and children. To find

Helen King, an editor from Macmillan (Educational dept) UK, will meet with South African children's writers and illustrators in Cape Town next week Tuesday. The meeting will be held at the A is for Apple children’s bookstore at 166 Kloofnek Road in Tamboerskloof. For more details about the meeting, visit the web site of the Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators Cape Town. SCWBI SA

Jo’burg started partying today. It’s was wonderful Spring Day – the sky was clear, the sun shining and there was a breeze providing some cool. Just the kind of weather begging you to have a braai (barbecue). I was invited to one or two for this afternoon, but I couldn’t accept. Baby’s plane was to land at around 14h00 but they were very late. That’s what I dislike about el cheapo airlines. As

The work trip over the weekend went well. The one and a half hour trip from Durban to Margate was mostly in the dark, so I snoozed most of the way. I woke up long enough for dinner, and then we checked into a bed and breakfast hotel. I wasn’t quite happy about that- the last bed and breakfast I stayed the owners tried to sell me Amway at breakfast. Seriously tacky! It made me prefer the

I've mentioned previously that my employer, ITWeb, launched a blogging platform called My Digital Life? I've finally given in and started a blog called Mobile Life on that platform. The blog, which will be updated weekly, explores the impact of mobile phones on how South Africans live, work, play and communicate. "Hopefully, there will be some pretty hot debates, and we will all learn something

The Citizen recently partnered with 30° South Publishers to offer unpublished South African writers a chance to have their work published and to expand the public's awareness of the wealth of undiscovered writing talent in South Africa, reports Biz-Community. According to Kerrin Cocks of 30° South Publishers, most book prizes are judged by a panel of judges, and many manuscripts sent into

The report from the 12 July meeting of the Gauteng region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is now online. Rob Marsh, LeAnne Hardy and Agueda Nunes spoke about the evolution of their writing careers. They also provided insight into their experiences in the SA publishing industry. Read the full report. A lot of thanks to Jenny Hatton, Assistant Regional Advisor who

For the past couple of days, I’ve been going through Lisa Gates’ "The Architecture of Identity - Scaffolding Your Personal Brand(Workbook 1)." Lisa was kind enough to send me a copy of the workbook weeks ago, when she first made it available. But at the time I felt overwhelmed with work. I was physically exhausted, my mind was fuzzy and my confidence as a writer felt a little shaky. All

Amos Nobele was born in Chegutu at the Chegutu General Hospital, on the 4th of September 1963. He was the sixth born in the family of eight children, five boys and three girls. By the age of 10, he began to ponder joining the Zimbabwean liberation army so he could get revenge for his sister, who was murdered in his presence. By 14, he was a war spy, entering camping sites of the Rhodesian army

You are invited to attend and participate in the 3rd Conference on South African Children's Literature 17-20 September, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. The conference is for all who are currently involved or who wish to become involved in children’s literature in SA. These include those involved in: - The literature production process (e.g. oral storytellers, writers, illustrators,

I’ve been approached by Free Range Films to have my creative work showcased on “Mantswe a Bonono,” a TV programme showcasing South African writers of various backgrounds, works, genres and languages.

The company says it was commissioned by SABC 2 to produce the documentary series which was aired in 2005. This year they have been commissioned for the second series of Mantswe and currently in our research phase of the production.

"Mantswe a Bonono focuses on The language criteria which we are exploring are works written in Sotho / Setswana / Sepede / Xivenda / Xitsonga / Afrikaans. We are especially also researching individuals who are located in provinces such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Free State, etc. If they’ve relocated to main cities we’d also be keen to meet with them.”

They say they’ve received lots of feedback on local poets, novel, writers and screen-writers. ”It would be great to hear from people who write for radio, people who write letter, unpublished writers, TV commercial writers, journal writers, etc. If there is a team who works together on their various projects we’d also love to hear from them.”

I must say I feel honoured and excited that they tracked me down from my online presence and approached me. It’s a sign that consistently putting in the work will pay off.

The biggest benefit is that my work will be put in front of a national audience, and hopefully, attract the attention of readers and publishers alike.

But I’m not counting on a giant leap in my career as a result of the coverage (assuming I am selected). I’ve been this road before, where I am interviewed by a big-time media programme and nothing happens beyond the good wishes.

For example, when “Some Roses, a Hamburger, the AK47 and a Puddle," a short story anthology I contributed to was published in 1993, I did a number of interviews, with including a radio chat with Jennifer Crwys-Williams on 702.

Jenny was very warm during the interview, and I was subsequently interviewed on TV about my writing. But nothing came of it except my 15 minutes of fame. Part of the problem, I think, is that I didn’t know how to leverage the coverage into more work/ increased coverage, something I have since made a point to learn.

The next meeting of the SCWBI Gauteng is on the 12 July, from 09h00 – 13h00. Local children’s authors Rob Marsh, Leanne Hardy and Agueda Nunes will show their books and discuss their writing processes.

If I can swing it, I will attend so I can report on the event on this blog, maybe even review the books here. But I'm not holding my breath - lately my schedule has been very hectic. Check out the day’s programme here.

BTW, at the last meeting in May, Russell Clark from Jacana Mediasaid local teachers and librarians identified a need for non-fiction books on some specific topics, and that Jacana was open to proposals on those topics.

Russel also gave writers some writing and submission guidelines:

* Develop a clear concept for your book.
* Put together a proposal and submit it.
* Keep your target group in mind.
* Limit the age bracket for which you’re writing.
* Keep the language level consistent for the target group.
* Do not patronise your audience.
* Write from an African perspective.

I just found out today that my article for the Gauteng chapter of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCWBI) is online. Check it out the post here.

I'm going to see The Lion King ( the musical) on Thursday night. I wish I could take Baby with me, but it's one of the rare work-related social evenings that I've accepted. It will be fun, but it's also business, and no place for a child. Also, I'm going on a school night.

My Q and A with Ramon Thomas made the front page of the web site of the South African NGO Network (Sangonet).

Sangonet is a national non-profit organisation that encourages and assists other non-profits with issues around the use of technology to deliver services to disadvantaged communities.

I’m very excited about this, because Sangonet is a reputable, well-known organisation with national scope, and members include child welfare organisations.

Sangonet also publishes an online database of South African non-profit organisations called Prodder.

I also have an article (about blogging) due to come out in the newsletter of the South African chapter of the South African Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Not sure about dates, but will keep you posted. The article will also be published in the SCWBI Gauteng blog. Will link up to it when it's out.

Also, don’t forget to read Absolute Write on Tuesday 2 July and 9 July, where I expect to have 2 articles published.

I’m still not sure if the Ezine Articles experiment is working. In the month since I joined the portal, I submitted 12 articles and they are now live.

Collectively, these articles have been viewed over 650 times by publishers, online markets and bloggers. I don’t know how many publishers eventually used them though.

I haven’t seen an increased hit rate on my stories at ITWeb, but I remind myself that it’s only been more than a month since I joined the portal.

It will take time for publishers start using my stories and for people to click through to the ITWeb site and my blog.

It also strikes me that maybe readers from Ezine Articles do click through to the ITWeb site, but don’t find anything they can use directly for their business because it’s a South African technology news site, so they move on. I need to give this experiment more thought…..

Read my interview with Ramon here.

I have a 40th birthday coming up next month. As you can imagine, it’s a moment that lends itself to introspection about the life and the paths not taken. I decided some years ago not to make New Year or birthday resolutions, so I’m not feeling like I didn’t achieve set targets or anything. In general, I'm pretty happy with my life: the choices made and professional goals achived. I don't