Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Meet Gaia Sol, author of mythological romance

A huge welcome to author Gaia Sol, who's here to talk up her most recent release, Echoes of the Gods, an epic mythological romance (that's the best way to explain it).


Everyone's journey as a writer starts somewhere. When did the bug bite you and what did you do about it?

I’ve been an avid reader since childhood, and wrote little bits of made-up mythological stuff while in school, but it was only in 2013 that I seriously put fingers to keyboard to write stories on Archive of Our Own (AO3). That forum was my introduction to the heady world of fanfiction and slash fiction. 

Many were the nights I stayed up way past my bedtime, swept up in long, complex, layered, sultry and absolutely amazing M/M stories. Unfettered by commercial considerations or critical voices, the writing on AO3 was wildly imaginative and free-flowing, and the talent on display blew my mind. With no background in creative writing, I’d never thought about writing fiction before. But Ratatouille’s Gusteau must have been perched on my shoulder as AO3’s kindly animated ambassador, whispering “Anyone can write”, because that was a turning point in my life.

Shielded by a pseudonym, I finally took the plunge and started to post fanfics. Over the next three years, I wrote eleven stories, some short and some novel-length, in both contemporary canonical settings and AUs. There was a mythological AU, a Camelot AU, and the final story in 2016 was a 126K-word Crusades-Robin Hood crossover AU. The AU stories really allowed me to let my imagination run free, and were, admittedly, original fiction that used TV character names to pull in readers. 

It was incredibly freeing and joyous to be able to explore everything I hadn’t known was inside me, and to write, without fear of judgment, the stories I wanted to read. Truly, those three years were among the most creatively productive periods in my life. I remember using every available minute to write: on the train to and from work, during lunch or coffee breaks, and sometimes even during meetings, if only to scribble an idea in my notebook. Sigh.

I reworked the mythological story and published it as Echoes of the Gods (the first edition) in 2017. 

Who are some of the authors who have been massively influential on you, and why?

Two of my favourite authors are CS Pacat and Madeline Miller. Since I cannot distil their talents into an elixir and drink a bit every day, I’m trying to study what I love most about their work and implement it in my own writing.

CS Pacat’s Captive Prince trilogy is my favourite series. I’m in awe of all aspects of her writing, from the economy of her prose to her ability to subvert tropes to her off-the-charts skill with subtext and foreshadowing. Capri’s heroes were complex, conflicted and simply unforgettable, with sizzling power dynamics and DEFCON-12 UST. She’s a master of the long game, and it was thrilling to experience the deliciously slow unfolding of layers of political intrigue and childhood trauma and sexual undercurrents over three books. I’m seeing that happening with her latest series, too. An auto-buy author, for sure!

The Greek epics are particular favourites, and when reimagined in Madeline Miller’s lyrical prose, they are elevated to a different level. Even her choice of narrators—Patroclus and Circe—was inspired! Circe, in particular, was an education in writing strong women and their relationships, with men, of course, but especially with other women. I admire her sumptuous, figurative language (but never going purple) and her ability to wring the full gamut of emotions out of me, breaking me towards the end and then mending my heart (and the characters’!) with some of the most memorable final lines I’ve read.

Both these authors have mastered the art of invisible writing, as Pacat calls it. And their immersive, evocative prose might be deceptively uncomplicated in construction, but leaves such strong, lingering impressions that I’m lured back for another reading, and another, and another.

Self-publishing is not for sissies, and I need to commend you on the dedication and investment you've made in Echoes of the Gods – what has been the most challenging aspect of the process? And what's made your heart sing?

Thank you! And thank you for recognizing that it’s not easy. 

My self-publishing journey has presented a combination of internal and external challenges. 

This might seem hyperbolic, but I must quote the tagline for the movie, Alien: In space no one can hear you scream. That’s how self-publishing sometimes feels to me: like shouting into a void, a really lonely undertaking with no guarantee of a happy ending. I missed the sense of community that AO3 engendered, the feedback loop of chapter-wise comments, and the energy of engaged readers. Fortunately, I made a few amazing friends there who have cheered me on in my efforts. And my husband kept me going. He's like Telemachus in a sense: a stoic, staunch supporter through all my (mis)adventures. ?? 

My biggest external challenge has been getting noticed. I’m rather introverted, so the typical exuberant social media interactions don’t come naturally to me. As a result, readers who might enjoy this sort of story probably don’t even know it exists! I hope this feature, which is a perfect avenue for someone like me to get the word out, goes some way towards remedying that! Thank you for that! 

On the bright side, I just love the idea behind Echoes. Even at the fanfic stage, the concept felt fresh, exciting and somewhat unique, and I knew that, given time and massive effort, it could evolve into an epic novel. And when the central, unifying idea came together, I’m pretty sure I squealed with joy. 

I’ve had this cinematic vision of the whole thing playing out in my mind, and trying to capture that vision in words has been agonizing, but also extremely satisfying. I would love to be able to transform Echoes into a graphic novel someday, because I feel it lends itself to that format, with the different mythologies, some big and fraught scenes, the vast and diverse cast of characters. Oh no. I drifted into dreamland there...

Another highlight was the instructive feedback from my top-notch editors. It was like going through creative writing university in a year! That, I think, was the best monetary investment I made with both editions, for myself and for readers. I want to put out a product that’s worth the readers’ money, and something I would buy myself.

Collaborating with my super-talented friend for the cover and seeing it evolve over countless iterations into what it is now—all vibrant blue and white, and teasing clues to the plot—was incredible. 

I’ve learnt so much more going through the process this second time. I should probably blog about my experiences with Canadian self-publishing. 

You mentioned that the novel was previously published, and you’ve done a fair bit of revising. How has the novel changed since its first incarnation? 

Love the wordplay! 

Echoes first came out in late 2017, after which life happened, leaving no time or mental space for writing. When the words began to flow again in early 2023, I chose to reincarnate (lol) Echoes to ease back into writing. I felt there was so much more to explore in that world. I had, in those intervening years, dedicated time to learning more about the craft of writing, and also revisited the editorial feedback on the first edition. Armed thus with new and revived information, I gave Echoes a ruthless read-through, essentially ripping it apart and putting it back together with what I hope comes through as deeper characterizations, more intricate myths and stronger world-building. 

The second edition is over 20K words longer. The myths and adventures exist in service to the characters, and perhaps a little bit for their own sakes as well! Shara is still the protagonist, but Yngvi is a much stronger deuteragonist with his own motivations and inner conflict, and his own hero’s journey. The insta-love and miscommunication tropes (holdovers from my days of writing fan fiction) are gone. Instead of alternating the PoVs, I made Yngvi the primary narrator, so that Shara could retain his mystique while giving us his viewpoint in fewer and very specific chapters.

It was a lot of fun playing with myths, making each escapade personal to the heroes, and introducing new characters in each pantheon. The adventures are all connected, and key off a single triggering event whose aftershocks ripple through the worlds. The cast of characters is wider this time, with new gods and mortals showing up to thwart and aid Shara and Yngvi on their quest.

Overall, I’ve tried to make the second edition a richer and more cohesive composite of myth, mayhem and manly men, and a whole lot more fun!

You've been quite ambitious by mashing up a bunch of different pantheons, ranging from the Old Norse through to the ancient Egyptian, Near-Eastern, and ancient Greece – which ones are your favourite, and how did you get them all to play nicely?

I’d been aware of the similarities between different mythologies for a long time, but it was only when I started experimenting with alternate universes that I realized it was possible to feature more than one mythology in the same story. I’d never actually considered that this was an ambitious concept until it was pointed out to me. But it clearly was, especially for a newbie writer! It was bloody hard! However, scaling it back in any way would not have done justice to the vision I had. So it was probably for the best! 

To prepare for the second edition, I threw myself back into researching myths, legends and ancient symbols, poring over books and websites, seeking out lesser-known deities and nuggets of connection that could be played with to fit into Echoes, either as myths themselves, or as world-building. YouTube has some amazing channels that were supremely edifying (such as Crash Course Mythology and Mythology & Fiction Explained). I had to bone up on the Babylonian/Sumerian pantheon, which was unfamiliar to me, and also revisit the Norse, Egyptian and Greek legends.

The Babylonian parts were a lot of fun to play with, given it’s not as mainstream a pantheon as the others. I loved reading up on those primordial gods and their family drama. 

The mirrored pantheons, with deities organized by domain of divine influence and rolling up to a head honcho, and the mirrored myths woven around them offered a perfect set-up for a multiverse story. But I needed to figure out how to put my own spin on it and make it relevant to my characters. I’ve also focused more on world-building in the new edition, so that, through the heroes’ eyes, readers can experience the differences between the worlds in terms of divine dynamics, social frameworks, clothing, climate, funerary practices etc. If these worlds were to drop a hint, they’d quote U2’s lyrics: We’re one, but we’re not the same.

The majority of the story was methodically planned, but some aspects did emerge serendipitously. I do hope my plantsing has succeeded in getting the whole thing to hang together!

Echoes of the Gods has enough scope for a follow-up. Have you got something planned?

Although Shara’s and Yngvi’s story has ended and a dedicated sequel isn’t on the cards, I do have a nascent idea for a trilogy that could be set on one of the unexplored worlds of Echoes of the Gods. That way, they could make an appearance and continue their adventures alongside the heroes of the new story. That would also be a Punarjanman story, based on reincarnation and rebirth, concepts that fascinate me. 

What do you love best about writing? I've always seen the process as being a delicious 'kopfkino' to borrow from the Germans. 

I think creative writing has revealed a different side to myself, one that I’d never thought I possessed. 

My corporate job in finance and technology entailed near-constant analysis and business writing, which is far less dreary than it sounds. 

Writing fiction, however, has tapped into another part of my mind. It’s rather the opposite of the job. Clarity and concision are prized in the kind of business documents I produced (because the smallest unclear requirement could cause budgets to balloon and executive heads to explode). But fiction benefits from deliberate and well-executed ambiguity, and taking time with characters and situations. It was quite unsettling in the beginning to have to fight my logical, analytical self and need for clarity and my instincts to get to the point. I had to learn to get comfortable with uncertainty. But now, it’s fantastic when I can let my imagination run wild and concoct loosely connected images, scenes and concepts, and only later bring in the planning and organizing side of myself to gradually pull something cohesive out of the fragmented mess. I really need more of those productive episodes! I’m also eager to draw more on the Indian myths and epics in upcoming stories.

Where can people follow you on social media and/or subscribe to your newsletter?

I’m not active on social media, but here are a few places I hang out / lurk. I do hope to become more active online in 2024.

Find Gaia Sol on Goodreads.

Author contact: 

https://www.goodreads.com/gaia_sol 

https://www.gaiasolwrites.com/

https://twitter.com/GaiaSol_writes 

About the author:

Gaia Sol lives with her husband in Toronto, Canada. Her adventures in creative writing began with a 9K-word story in 2013, as a much-needed diversion from her day job in finance and technology.

Over the next three years, she wrote longer and bolder stories that explored her love of myths and legends—from Camelot to Robin Hood to the Holy Land—and even the parallelism of ancient mythologies. That last one eventually became Echoes of the Gods which she published under the pen name "Gaia Sol" to combine the Greek and Norse mythological equivalents of the Sanskrit meanings of her real name and surname (she was very pleased when she came up with it).

She's now researching India's myths, cultural past and heritage to plot her next story. If her muse cooperates, she will publish that novel sometime this decade.

Universal Buy links 

About Echoes of the Gods:

Peace has endured in Yggdrasil since Loki, prophesied nemesis of the gods, was captured. And wardens, like Yngvi, are entrusted with the essential, but mundane, duty of ensuring he stays imprisoned. Seeking other avenues of excitement, fancy-free Yngvi sets his sights on a beautiful young stranger in Midgard. But when Loki breaks free, unleashing his ruin on Asgard, and Yngvi is framed for his release, the usually easygoing young soldier realises how fragile the peace really was.

Shara, the enigmatic stranger, appears to have a perturbing connection to Loki, and to the circumstances of Yngvi’s disgrace. Yngvi confronts Shara and learns that an insidious killer is behind the fall of Asgard, and that Shara alone may hold the key to redemption. Realising that they can help each other, the two men embark on a quest across the stars, onto strange new worlds and into perilous encounters with new gods, monsters…and their own conflicting feelings.

As they close in on their common enemy, Yngvi and Shara must face the frailty of their fledgling bond, and of life itself—because their choices have consequences greater than they ever imagined—as they unravel the shocking past that threatens the future of every world.







Thursday, December 7, 2023

Sisters of the Circus by Laila Manack

What drew me to Sisters of the Circus by Laila Manack is that I'm a huge fan of stories about performers that are set in liminal spaces such as theatres and circuses. This story introduces as to twins Kahina and Noor, who together perform a trapeze act in a circus. This life is all they know, although they are aware that they were sold to the circus owner, Garret, when they were very young – so in essence, they are slaves.


Although the setting is nominally European, and it's suggested that the story takes place during the interwar period, the focus is very much on the microcosm of the circus and the small dramas that play out beyond the eyes and ears of the audience. Theirs is a tight-knit, often toxic community, and Noor and Kahina endure much cruelty. 

It's a kind of love-hate situation, because undeniably performance offers one heck of a kick to the sisters, and this is the only life that these two young women know. Although they can conceive of a life beyond that which is familiar, it is understandably difficult for them to break from the routine – until events conspire that see Kahina training a mysterious young man to be part of her act. Central to the plot is almost a coming of age, as the sisters struggle with notions of identity and a claiming of agency out of an oppressive space.

All this plays out against the somewhat exotic background (for those of us not in the business, of course) of circus life and the often harsh realities the performers face when they're not in the ring. Kahina and Noor soon discover that there is a bigger, more dangerous game at play, and while they navigate and negotiate the terms of their potential freedom, they face many risks while bigger players revel in their machinations. 

This was, largely, an enjoyable read. I did feel that the editing for this book could have been a bit sharper – I picked up quite a few obvious typos and grammatical errors. And not just copy editing, but I felt that the story itself, while it has a strong start, becomes a little muddled towards the end, as if Manack wasn't quite sure where to end it and the developmental editor either didn't leave strong hints or these edits were rushed and not implemented. It could be a combination of all these, which I've seen played out with otherwise awesome books over the years. Some pretty exciting stuff happens plot wise, but I often feel as if Noor and Kahina are carried along by events rather than having a firmer hand in steering them. I also would have liked to have seen more attention paid to differentiating their voices, as I often struggled to tell the two apart.

All things considered, this is still a great little story, left open ended enough for continuation. Manack's voice is fresh, and she weaves a compelling tale in the kind of setting that should appeal to those of us still sore about the fact that a series like Carnivale was canned after only two seasons.

Thursday, November 23, 2023

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher, narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd

I've had this one marked on my wishlist for quite some time, so dropped my Audible credit on The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher, which is narrated by her, as well as her daughter, Billie Lourd. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. I'll admit to a long-standing admiration for Fisher, for her role of Princess Leia, but I've known precious little else about her other than maintaining an appreciation her outspokenness in the media. What I got with this was a short dip into the behind-the-scenes activities for the first Star Wars film way back in the day, as well as a warts-and-all glimpse into Fisher's personal life.


I met a young woman, adorably insecure, navigating an industry known for eating people alive. Her involvement with Harrison Ford at the tender age of 19 was, let's be honest, questionable, and yet I don't gain the impression that Fisher feels ill-disposed to him or even that she was taken advantage of. She discusses the affair quite frankly and with great empathy for her younger self.

Fisher reveals herself as an astute somewhat introspective observer of people, and boy she can write. I will admit that it's difficult for me to give a free pass to people who indulge with other people's spouses, but as Fisher states, the event happened so many years ago, she has no qualms now about discussing the distant past. And indeed she does so, in a way that doesn't at any time make you feel as if the tale is sordid.

Stars are revealed as being merely people, whose paths run parallel for a while before they shoot off in different directions. As a time capsule, The Princess Diarist is a somewhat sweetly wistful memoir that encapsulates a period in a young woman's life where she is establishing her identity. I think we can safely say that we've all had that one intense love affair in our younger years that did not last but made a lasting impression. Carrie Fisher was and in many ways still is, a delight, and our princess is sorely missed.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien (read by Andy Serkis)

I think by now it's pretty pointless to give a blow-by-blow account of JRR Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings (LotR) considering that it has become so firmly entrenched in popular culture. But I do feel I need to share a few of my thoughts and feelings about the Andy Serkis reading of all three books, which total approximately whopping 65 hours of listening pleasure combined.


I've been threatening for years to revisit the trilogy. I first read it around the tender age of 12, one heady summer holiday that had my mom complaining I spent too much time indoors when other kids my age were working on future basal cell carcinoma on Cape Town's beaches. I knew from the moment that I first read these books (I own the hardcover centenary edition, now sadly sans dust cover, with Alan Lee's illustrations) that I wanted to be an author who wrote about elves and dragons, and created worlds I could get lost in. The Peter Jackson films remain among my firm favourites.

So, yeah, LotR inhabits a very special place in my heart. It was my gateway to becoming a SFF author, and it's one of the few epics that has left me in tears at the end. Every time those elves go West. Sam's almost anticlimactic "Well, I'm back" at the end always slays me – that we can embark on these earth-shattering adventures and still return to merely being ourselves. We are forever changed on the inside, even if we present a face to our friends and family that appears the same as always. I can peel back so many layers.

The problem with LotR, is I simply don't have the time to sit down and read the entire thing, but I do have time when I'm doing mindless menial things like washing dishes and driving, to listen to audiobooks. Audible has been a lifesaver, and The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, as narrated by Andy Serkis, are absolute gems.

It's one thing to read Tolkien, and have an appreciation for his exquisite style, but it's quite another to hear a gifted actor such as Serkis breathe life into the story so that it feels as if my earballs are giving me a full-cast production. Of course, as always, Gollum steals the show. 


I feel as if I've reconnected with the work in a different way through having listened to this rendition of one of the greatest works of fantasy literature in my personal library, and if you find the idea of sitting down with a dead-tree version daunting, you can't go wrong with these three chaps. Granted, it took me about three months to work through all of them consecutively, but they served to remind me why I keep returning to Tolkien's writing. His wordplay remains exceptional, and very few authors come close to how he describes the beauty of nature. (I realise I'm one of those individuals who won't tire of endless descriptions of bloody trees, okay?)

Friday, November 10, 2023

God of Broken Things (Age of Tyranny #2) by Cameron Johnston

I am so late to the party on this one it's not even funny. This book has been sitting on my TBR pile for YEARS. God of Broken Things is the sequel to Cameron Johnston's Traitor God, in which we encounter the Tyrant magus Edrin Walker, who although much maligned by his fellow magic wielders, at the end of the day is the only one who possesses the power and the fortitude to scrape their collective posteriors out of the flaming frying pan. The reason why everyone hates a Tyrant is because their magical powers allow them to get inside others' heads, and no one is a fan of mind control, especially when the person with that power isn't a particularly nice individual. Which Edrin isn't. He's entirely self-serving and often snarky, with no regard whatsoever for social hierarchy, and this is magic combination that's never going to win him friends.


But for all his irreverence, he's not a bad sort, and all told is quite fun to hang around precisely because he doesn't give a toss about the things that matter in high society. His understated, often darkly absurd observations of the goings on around him are what made me keep on reading – if Edrin took himself too seriously, these novels wouldn't be half as entertaining. 

In God of Broken Things, we see our hero mucking about in the aftermath of the Big Bad that pretty much wrecked the city of Setharis in book one. Except he and the rest of the Arcanum (the mages who rule the city) face an even bigger bad that makes Edrin and his powers look like a minnow. And he's packed off back to the region where he grew up – to face not only the Even Bigger Bad, but also the things in his past he's been doing his darndest to avoid dealing with. I'm not going to spoil, but all I'll say is he has a really creepy gran. Oh, and did I mention that there was something that was even worse than the Even Bigger Bad? 

Of course he doesn't have to go it all alone – he has a few of his fellow magi from the Arcanum, including my favourite, Eva – a knight who in many ways is the perfect opposite of Edrin – and the interaction between the two is rather special. 

Now, Cameron doesn't do anything by half-measures. This is the second of his novels that I've read, and if epic, world-destroying cataclysms*, with a side order of demons, ravening hordes, and inter-dimensional beings blows your hair back, then you'll be in the right hands. The Age of Tyranny duology packs a whopper of a punch, with piles of action, cinematic battles, a rich, varied cast of characters, and some deeply fascinating world building while Cameron's at it. This is a fire cracker in the fine old tradition of GrimDark fantasy and well worth the read if you're looking for a story that will dance with all your favourite tropes but then pull a few sly ones when you're not looking. 

*If the old ultra-violence isn't quite your thing, then maybe skip this round, okay?


Monday, October 30, 2023

The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr

Okay, so The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr was a bit of a side quest for me. This is ordinarily not the type of novel that I'd read, but a copy showed up at my local book swap, and I was intrigued because I'd heard so much about The Alienist. And, while this is clearly book two in a series, I didn't feel too out of my depth, and I'm sufficiently intrigued to go pick up book one should I cross paths with it.


Set in New York during the late 1800s, this story is told from the perspective of the delightfully disreputable Stevie Taggart, a chain-smoking kid saved from a life of crime by Dr Laszlo Kreizler, a psychiatrist known for his (at the time) unconventional methods of understanding how people's minds work. Accompanied by friends such as journalist John Schuyler Moore, private investigator Sara Howard, and police detectives Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, and the enigmatic Cyrus Montrose, Kreizler is off on an adventure to find a missing child. But nothing is as simple as that, when they realise their work is far more dangerous and darker than initially expected.

Look, I really don't want to spoil the plot by giving too much away, so I'm going to focus on what I loved – which was the teamwork and the camaraderie between characters. Everyone brings something special to the table, and we have moments of humour interspersed with the serious business of solving a mystery. What becomes immediately apparent is that Carr knows his stuff in terms the setting, and he really makes New York City come alive for me in vivid Technicolor. So I really did feel authentically immersed in the period. (A huge plus point for anyone who wants a bit of a field trip into the past.)

That being said, I did feel that the novel plodded on a bit too long – part mystery, part court-room drama, but even though it felt like a slog at times, I was so invested in the characters, that I was genuinely sad to let them go when I reached the end. Carr's writing style is engaging, and he treats often problematic subject matter with great sensitivity. And yeah, there's some stuff here that shows the not-so-nice side of a big city that I've never seen so frankly examined.

I did feel as if the plot wrapped in a way that I could almost see coming, but it was still fun, and there were elements that were truly tragic. I really do need to go pick up The Alienist now, but if you like me, haven't read it either, although there will be stuff referenced in The Angel of Darkness that you won't have context for, it won't be a dealbreaker for following what's happening in book two.

Friday, October 27, 2023

Sometimes Nature isn't red in tooth and claw

Some of you who follow me on social media will know that I'm the resident bird lady here in my area. And, while I'm not a licensed rehabber, and there are certain species that I will leave to the professionals (seabirds, raptors, for instance), I've had a fair amount of success with ducks, pigeons, doves cuckoo, flycatchers ... and Cape white-eyes.  Some of my cherished memories involve caring for African penguins during the 2000 Treasure oil spill disaster here in the Western Cape. 

Over the years, I've been slowly transforming my garden into a haven for birds, and at any given moment, you can step outside and see everything from red-eyed doves, speckled pigeons, Cape sparrow, Cape white-eye, hadeda, and Cape bulbul, to even the occasional rufous-breasted and black sparrowhawks to African harrier-hawks (which of course visit because of the free lunch of slow, fat pigeons).


On Sunday, I had one of Those Phone Calls from an unknown number. "Hi, I've found some baby birds..." It's the kind of call that makes me despair. Because those words are usually followed by "I've got cats" or "I've got a dog". And for whatever reason the babies cannot be reunited with the parents or returned to the nest.

Also, with it being spring, many baby birds are fledging. Which means they're going to have a day or  three where they're still figuring out how to fly. The parents are in attendance, but the littlies are also very vulnerable to predation. The best thing you can do is keep your cats and dogs indoors, and leave them alone to get on with things. They don't need rescuing. This is how they learn to fly. Leave them the heck alone.

But sometimes, as with the call on Sunday, there was no other recourse than for me to step in. The tree in which the nest had been had been chopped down, and there was nowhere else in the garden for it to be placed. And the babies' eyes were barely open. I took them on, figuring I'd give them a slight chance of survival as opposed to none at all.

Miracle upon miracle, they survived. And thrived. I'm not going to go into all the details of hand rearing tiny birds, except that they require feeding from dawn to dusk, every half hour. And if you don't bring the food, they let you know. In no uncertain terms. This is not something for the squeamish, because it involves decapitating live mealworms and feeding them in bits. And there's poop. Lots of it. On you. All over.

Midweek, I received another call. This time, from people in Newlands who'd brought me the trio of flycatchers back in 2021 that were a successful rehab and release (they are apparently still in the garden, but happy adults now). Now they had an adult white-eye that had survived a close encounter with a cat and couldn't fly. Could I take it. So I did, figuring that if it survived, it could be a good older sibling for the two littlies, and I could eventually release them together as they are highly social birds.

Little did I know what awaited me this morning. Tweedledum and Tweedledumber as I've called the two, decided it would be a good idea to start flying just before bedtime at 11pm last night. Which meant I had to put them in the big cage with Lucky the adult white-eye (the people who rescued him insisted that was his name). This morning, everyone went out on our balcony in the cage, and not even half an hour later, an entire flock of wild Cape white-eyes rocked up.

It was madness. Countless adults arrived with bugs in their beaks, trying to feed T&T through the bars of the cage. I thought, what the heck, and took them out. And there, off they went, after the adults. Last I saw of them, they were in the thickets surrounding our garden, being fed and fussed over by an entire flock. Lucky went out, too, overjoyed to regain his freedom. 

Never in my life have I ever imagined to see such a spectacle. The best place for wild birds is in the wild, cared for by their own. My heart is singing today. Needless to say, my cats are not amewsed as they are under house arrest for the next three or so days...