In My Post

I've had a few nice packages in the post recently. The first was my author copies for a children's book I wrote for Macmillan UK called Elephants.

Writing for these new, young readers is challenging. You need to be careful with your vocabulary as well as your sentence structure. Also, there is a lot of jargon in educational publishing that you need to understand before you even get started. I was trained as a teacher but that didn't give me much of an advantage. It was a good learning experience writing this book.

The next package contained the new anthology from Fundza Literacy Trust, a project I have a lot of love for.  I've written quite a few stories for their Mobi platform. The stories go out a chapter a day onto the kids' cellphones. If you like immediate engagement with your readers, Fundza is the place for you. The kids give you immediate and honest feedback.

Big Ups! is a print collection containing some of the stories which appeared online. I'm proud to say my story The Good Girl is included. (click the link if you want to read it online)

Almost back in Action

I can't believe it's been more than a month since I blogged here. My sciatica was suddenly a herniated disc and then it was MRIs and visits to doctors. Since I'm a normally healthy person it has all been a bit upsetting but I coped knowing eventually I'd have my life back. I'm not yet 100% but I'm on my way. I can't quite sit at my desk in my office since sitting is still too painful, but I can sit up on a sofa with pillows and get back to work. And here I am.

In the meanwhile, I've had a few acceptances which always give joy. One is for my story called In Grace-land, up at the fantastic literary magazine, The Kalahari Review. Here is an excerpt:

The prison band played Graceland, the singer singing like Paul Simon except with a Setswana accent, while the green and white tent blew in the hot breeze almost in time with the beat, but not quite. MmaYaone wiped the snot from the nose of Baby Number Ten and got rid of it on the edge of her skirt. She was tired of sitting. She could feel a drop of sweat making its way down her back. The baby was niggly. MmaYaone suspected the singer was not pronouncing Memphis correctly. The speeches hadn’t even started yet, there was still a full programme to get through. She had no choice but to sit and wait it out. She wished it was over, but she knew it never would be, really. She knew they had a piece of her now, it was the price she had to pay, she knew there was always a price.  

Maybe I've a reason to believe
We all will be received
In Graceland...

Read the rest of the story HERE.