The Week in Review – April 5, 2025

There's a lot I can say about the world at present, but I've already deleted the introduction to today's blog once because I think I was dropping too many F-bombs.

Anyhoo, before I go back on my decision to make this post family friendly, it's time to kick off with this week's roundup...

I've not had nearly as much time as I would have liked to read, but I did finish wonderful little field guide by Peter Ryan. Yes, I'm more than a little obsessed with birds, so the Guide to Seabirds of Southern Africa is one that I particularly enjoyed. Granted, my eyes complained about the size of the type, but this is a field guide, so if it weren't the kind of book you'd conveniently slip into your backpack before going for a cruise on a ship, then it would have to be the kind of hefty coffee table book you could clobber annoying people over the head with. (I'd really like that, too.)

What I appreciated with this slim volume was how much they managed to pack into it. Not only do we get an overview about seabirds in general – and they really are amazing, considering some of them hardly ever go to land – but we're also reminded how fragile our oceans are. We are one of the reasons why seabirds are vulnerable thanks to our fishing habits and also all the awful plastics we seem to be choking our oceans with. 

But if you get past that, Ryan gives us an excellent overview of all the important species that are found in and around our coast ... as well as the ones who sometimes wander here by mistake. And I learnt a new word (for me, all right) for a type of albatross. Whoever came up with "mollymawk" deserves a badge. I may want to include it in a colourful, Shakespearean insult one day.

Nevertheless, this fantastic little book has loads of photos, and while I'm not going to tell my shearwaters apart from my storm petrels anytime soon (without a lot of handholding), I really do appreciate all the photos that will assist with IDing. I suppose I really need to get off my posterior and go for a boat cruise soon considering that Simon's Town and Cape Point are right on my doorstep, so ostensibly I don't have to go far for some birdwatching.

Bookish stuff

This past week I attended one of editor and all-round awesome person Helen Moffett's Salon Hecate events at the Noordhoek Artpoint. One cannot ask for a better environment to sit and listen to folks talk about their passions – there are always amazing new artworks up on the walls. This time around it was on April 1, and the talk centred around why certain people do the things they do (publishing, volunteering, doing book fairs) in a country that doesn't exactly have a huge reading culture. 

Speakers included Julia Smuts Louw (Off The Wall poetry), Darryl David (assorted book festivals), and Colleen Higgs (Modjaji Books), all interrogated by Helen. My big takeaway was that one needs to put your trust in the universe and take that leap of faith to do that thing that makes your heart beat faster. You might not always succeed, but when you do, it's magic.

And to a large degree, that's what I've found. If I look at my career thus far, I'm certainly not wealthy, but I've had some incredible successes that involve winning major literary awards, speaking at literary festivals and Comic Con, working with some of my favourite authors and illustrators, and of course, seeing my books out there in the wilds. It's not so much the number of books, but rather the journey that sees you arrive at various destinations. 

If you think it's a mountain that has one peak, you're very much mistaken. I liken this more to a steady climb full of false summits that never end unless you decide you're done.

I'm not done yet.

Going wide

I've steadily been going wide with my books. What that means is that I've given up on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited for my most recent titles. My sales there have been so dismal. I don't know if it's the boycott of Amazon goods or simply that the industry is so volatile what with all the junk AI books and general oversaturation. Or just that I really suck at marketing. Or perhaps all of the above. What I am grateful for is my small cabal of rabid readers who go out to buy my books when they do release. THANK YOU.

So, my books are now going to be going up at Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and all the others, as soon as their terms with KU finish up (it's a 90-day contract). And I'll also be directing folks to purchase the ebooks directly from my Ko-fi store as that's the venue where I get the biggest slice of the pie when it comes to the splits. PayPal doesn't steal nearly as much from me as Amazon or the other vendors do. So if you're looking for something to read, do stop by my Ko-fi store. I've just put up the ebook for my novelette The Princess Job this past week. I'll still be using Amazon for my print fulfilment, however, as the system works, even if it's not that author friendly. I just shudder what the print costs are going to be now with all the tariffs. But, as we say here in South Africa, ons sal maar sien.

The Week in Review – March 29, 2025

This has been one of those weeks where I really don't have much to say – pretty much subsumed by work with a pack of brutal deadlines. I broke all my previous records and proved that when I have a fire lit under my arse I can type 2,500 words an hour. I don't recommend doing it, but I still have it in me. This was for an alt text job that I misjudged the number of images I had to write descriptions for. That was *fun*. Not. But hey, it pays the bills.

 

Anyhoo, I've not done nearly as much reading as I'd have liked to. I've just been so knackered in the evenings, and honestly, when I've spent my entire day reading and editing and writing, the last thing on the face of this planet I can bear doing is more reading. Nope, I watch short prank videos on IG. And chortle like a lunatic.

But today being my birthday, I'm taking things slow. The husband creature and I went to buy some nice things at the shops and we've got a few friends coming around for tea. Which is something we don't often do. My brain is itching for me to write, and my next WiP is nibbling at my grey matter. I've got some ideas I'd like to weave in. Mostly, I want to make some acerbic commentary about current global events. But it's good, also, that I'm not actively writing today. I need a break. I'm feeling a bit crispy at the edges.

And yeah I know, I'm blogging today, but I enjoy this; it's one of my guilty pleasures. In a few years' time I might look back at these words and cringe, but for now it's a valuable outlet. I'm not so vain to think I'll ever have a biographer looking through my dog ends of thoughts and opinions. But I'm not likely to inflict my memoirs on anyone either. Haha.

Which reminds me of a a writers' meeting I once ran. There were a dozen participants, of whom only one was a teen. The rest were all retired. There was the one prerequisite man with faulty hearing aids predictably sitting the furthest away from me (he was writing a political conspiracy theory thriller – of course he was). The rest were all ladies who were either writing poetry or their memoirs. The teen was sitting next to me, looking rather wide-eyed at all the older folks, and she leaned over to whisper, "What is a memoir?" At which point I laughed a little too loudly before I explained it to her.

We all want to be remembered. Have our names memorialised on stone. But when I walk in the local cemetery as I am wont to do, so many of the headstones are so badly eroded you cannot see the names. Particularly tragic are the ones that were initially intended as shared plots, with the one spouse's details on the joint headstone blank. There's a story there, except no one's around to tell it. Or the sad little stones, choked in long grass, of the little children who lived perhaps a day or two, who were so loved and wanted by their parents that they had their names carved into pale marble with a bible verse. The parents are now in the dirt, too. All gone. And homeless people make their beds on the graves.

I guess I'm always slightly maudlin about the ephemeral nature of life, conscious of trying to pack as much living into each moment before it's gone. I'm reminded of that immortal line from Highlander, when the Kurgan tells Connor McLeod: "It's better to burn out than to fade away" – and that's kinda been my ethos over the years.

Though now approaching 50 I have learnt to pace myself. 47 is plenty good to get stuff done, and I would prefer to be able to go at a decent pace for a good few years still. I like to remind myself that Robin Hobb wrote her breakout novel Assassin's Apprentice at age 47, when she'd already written and published countless other novels under the name Megan Lindholm. So perhaps there is hope for me yet.

And lastly... Because this is a bit of a rambling mess of a post. I have been slowly putting my ebooks up at my Ko-fi shop because honestly, I'm tired of Jeff Bezos getting more fancy yacht money out of me. If you've yet to read any of my books, do consider buying one of mine or simply buying me a cup of coffee just for shits and giggles. It being my birthday and all that... 

Almost Human by Lee Berger and John Hawks

I will admit straight-up that I'm terrified of caves, so there were parts of this book that had me kinda claustrophobic in a big way. But oh, what a wonderful read. I've been fascinated by the work done by archaeologists, anthropolgists, and palaeontologists since I was a wee lass, so Lee Berger's story in Almost Human (narrated by Donald Corren) about how he pulled together the team that discovered and described an early hominid and one of our ancestors – Homo naledi – was absolutely riveting.

What many of us often don't realise when we're watching a nature documentary is how much behind-the-scenes effort goes into these expeditions of literal blood, sweat, and tears at times. Lee Berger is a paleoanthropologist who has spent many years here in South Africa studying the ancient remains of our ancestors and near cousins, and he really digs deep into how he pulled his team together and how they faced and overcame the many challenges they encountered in their work.

What I love about his writing is that he not only comes across as a scientist who knows his stuff, but he tells a darned fine story, too – a rare combination. So his writing is very much accessible to those of us who may not be conversant in all the scientific terms. His approach of sharing his findings with the scientific world at large also goes contrary to the methods of many researchers who are not so forthcoming with their research – his attitude geared towards getting as much input as possible from those in the know.

The basic story of the H. naledi discovery is particularly fascinating because not only is the species a crucial, missing link in our understanding of human evolution, but also the the remains themselves were discovered in a practically inaccessible cave, making it an incredible challenge to not only analyse the site but to retrieve the remains for further study using a scientific method.

And for once this was an opportunity for women to shine – with young women researchers being the ones who had the physical characteristics that made them best suited to squeeze through the tight spots guys would struggle with and then still spend hours at a time at their work carefully retrieving the remains.

This was a thrilling account that turned, ahem, dry bones, into something exciting. 

The Week in Review – March 22, 2025

The big news this week has, of course, been the whole shitshow with Meta having been caught out for training its AI on a database of pirated books. The Atlantic made a link available where authors can search to see whether their books have been used... And lo and behold, six of my novels and one short story anthology that contains one of my stories appears there. I'm unsurprised. I'm not even angry anymore. Just sad and resigned that creatives' work has been reduced to mere 'content' to feed the capitalism machine. 

That won't stop me from continuing to write, however. But it does serve as a wakeup call that writing fiction will be relegated to a hobby, going forward, much like you still get some people who weave, crochet, or make crafts despite the availability of inexpensive, imported mass-produced goods. I know what I prefer in my home, and it isn't made in China.

THE BIG NEWS, OF COURSE...

Some of you may already have seen the Very Big Announcement on social media, but in case you haven't, I've just been contracted for a five-book fantasy series called Fate's Scatterlings with Mirari Press. You can read more about it here. But the short of it is that a few years ago, I wrote a book called Call the Fire, which was always intended as book one of an ambitious four- or five-book series. Life got in the way, as it invariably does, and quite by chance I figured out that Marius from Mirari might just love this story, which is a queer, adventure-packed fantasy. Turns out I was right. And now I've got a sufficient carrot to set aside the time to write the rest of the epic saga, which, my dearly beloveds, is going to be wonderful. 

Moving on from Amazon

I'm a little over Amazon, and am starting to see the need to diversify where my books are available. I'll still be using Amazon for my international print fulfilment because a) their quality is excellent and b) they know how to get stuff from A to B. But for ebooks, I'm getting seriously tired of handing over such a large piece of the pie every time I sell a book. Hence, I'm slowly going to be taking my works off KU and going wide. My shop of choice, however, will now be Ko-fi for my ebooks, and I've already put my very early Books of Khepera there. Go check out my shop, and if you're looking for a starting point for my weird and wonderful fiction, Khepera Rising and Khepera Redeemed will be a fun, and rather dark pair of reads. I'll let everyone know as the other titles come available there.

Witchmark (Kingston Cycle 1) by CL Polk

This one's been on my radar for quite some time, and turned out to be every bit as enjoyable as I'd hoped it would be. Witchmark by CL Polk brings us a recognisably modern fantasy setting reminiscent of early 20th century London, where the elites control magic and use it to manipulate the world (and by default others). This is very much a story that engages with the ideas of class consciousness while also unpacking the issues surrounding countries with jingoistic, colonial aspirations who seek to wage foreign wars. I'd say this was very much a parallel with Britain's actions in India, instead it's Aeland vs. Laneer.

Our magically gifted main character Miles Singer would have spent his days in a gilded cage, enslaved to do his family's bidding. Instead, he sought to flee, by going to fight in the war. While there, he had the opportunity to reinvent himself and start fresh with a new identity back home, working as a doctor, where his skills as a healer can go some way to repairing the incalculable damage that has been done to others. 

Yet he gets dragged into conflict nonetheless, torn between his desire for freedom and navigating the Machiavellian power plays of the nobles who are always hungry for more power. Added to this, he crosses paths with a man who's dangerous to know and love. 

With themes centred on the class struggle and freedom from oppression, this little book packs a powerful message. I am definitely going to hunt down the sequel.

The Week in Review – March 15, 2025

This week's very much been a case of 'butt on chair, fingers on the keyboard', and to an extent, I've been able to block out the awfulness of the world at large by focusing on work. It's not always easy, but rather concerning myself with the aspects of my life I have direct control over is better for my long-term mental health. I admit that I'm very lucky to be in the position that I am – working from home, doing work that I'm passionate about – whether it's designing printed assets for a large, multinational pet food company or editing a Daddy Dom book. My life is a far cry from what it was in the run-up to 2015, where I was depressed as all heck and stuck in a career in newspaper publishing that was fast going down the tubes. Life isn't boring. Also, I don't have a toxic work environment.

ABOUT LAST WEEK...

So, I was super anxious about my book launch at the V&A Waterfront Exclusive Books last week. As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about. It was AWESOME. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to making the event successful. And there were OREO CUPCAKES. 

But seriously, if you're yet to pick up a copy, hie yourself down to your nearest branch of Exclusive Books or Wordsworth, and if they don't have a copy of The Company of Birds, order it. For too many years my South African readers have complained that it's been so difficult to get my books in print in South Africa, and that's all set to change as I'm now focusing rather on my local readers. 

With the world socio-economic situation being well [gestures vaguely around her] and with paper and fuel prices being horrific, it makes sense to focus on being sustainable and keeping it local. Late-stage capitalism has basically broken this planet. But anyhoo, let this not turn into a frothing rant.

As an author, I'm in a really happy place right now. I've got the long-term ghost-writing project that is helping to keep the lights on, and I've got multiple other projects on the boil. My editing income is steady, and I've enjoyable QA and alt-text writing work from a big publisher in the UK. Nerine in 2015 could only dream of what Nerine in 2025 is doing.

And on to Egyptian stuff...

So, The Egyptian Society of South Africa has its next meeting happening at the end of the month. 

In 1798 Napoleon launched a military expedition to Egypt, leaving France with 335 ships, the French army and 167 scholars that included many engineers, writers, artists, linguists, scientists and mathematicians. Although the expedition was a military disaster, with Nelson having destroyed the fleet, it revealed the splendour of a forgotten civilisation and gave birth to Egyptology.

This is just a taster of the lecture "Napoleon and Ancient Egypt" offered by Peter Loyson on March 25, at 7.30pm at the St George's Grammar School, Richmond Road, Mowbray. Parking is available on the premises. Free for members of TESSA, Visitors pay R30. Refreshments R10.

I've really enjoyed being an active member of TESSA again because oh my goodness, the library is just brimming with books that are giving me all the joy. Plus I get to hang out with people who are just as passionate about ancient Near Eastern history as I am.

How do I become a better writer?

The other day on Threads I encountered a heartbreaking post from a writer who'd had a bad review. They'd been told that the idea behind the story was great but that the writing could have been better. They were at a loss at where to start. Now, the advice I give to anyone who wants to take their craft seriously, is that all good writers are, first and foremost, rabid readers.

And I don't just mean reading in the genre that you want to write – I mean reading all sorts of books, be they the most recent TikTok sensation, a classic, a crime novel, something non-fiction ... A good author is conversant with more than their chosen genre. They have a good sense of style. They choose words not only for meaning but also for how they'll sound. And to this, I also advise you to read and listen to poetry, and to listen to audiobooks narrated by gifted human voice artists.

And then the hardest part: put what inspires you in others writing into practice. Be kind to yourself if you feel that you fall short. Get to understand what areas of your writing need improvement and be aware of them when you write new pieces so that you don't keep breathing life into the same gremlins over and over again. 

A good writer is someone who is constantly evolving and reinventing themselves. I look back at my earlier writing and I often wonder what on earth I was thinking when I did certain things – things I'd certainly never do now. And I'd like to think that I am a better writer for having made all those happy accidents.

If you're looking to embark on a career as a writer and don't know where to start, I do offer affordable, one-on-one coaching. Drop me an email at nerinedorman@gmail.com, and let's chat.

 

The Week in Review – March 8, 2025

At the time of writing, it's a few hours away from my big book launch at the V&A Waterfront branch of Exclusive Books. To put it rather indelicately, I'm kakking bricks. The last time I had a launch at an EB it was the larney one up in Joburg at the fancy mall where they have those hair salons where you have to take a second mortgage to have your highlights done. And that was back in 2019 when I won gold in the Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature. So if you're reading this now, a few days later, I hope I acquitted myself well and that things weren't a complete clusterfuck. This being a Cycle Tour weekend and all, which means I somehow have to negotiate Cape Town's foreshore to reach the Waterfront.

ANYHOO...

So, other than the obvious, I am finally able to share the following:

Sauúti Terrors: The Dark Side, co-edited by Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton, and Cheryl S. Ntumy, has been acquired by Flame Tree Publishing, distributed by Simon and Schuster. This acquisition was facilitated by Bieke van Aggelen of the African Literary Agency, who came on last year to represent this collection.

“We were confident from the onset in the capabilities of Bieke and her team, comprising Martijn Lindeboom and Debbie van de Zande, on this second major Sauútiverse project!” said co-editors Eugen, Cheryl and Stephen jointly.

Read the full story here at Brittle Paper.

I have a short story included here called "Endling" which draws on all my terrors of deep space and to a large degree inspired by the Alien franchise and the horrors of The Event Horizon. To say that I'm frabjous about this tale being included is an understatement. I love working with Eugen, Stephen, and Cheryl – so thank you for inviting me on board. And a HUGE thank you to my delightful agent Bieke for securing this deal.

But wait... There's more...

This week I received most tantalising news, but of course I'm going to have to leave you in a state of antici....

BUT OKAY, IMMA GONNA TALK ABOUT DRAGON AGE NOW OKAY

Those of you who follow my various accounts across FB, Threads and Bluesky are probably sick unto death about me blathering about Dragon Age but I make no apologies. Back in 2014 when my husband shoved Inquisition in my hands and said, "Hey, you're probably going to enjoy this game" little did he know what demon he was unleashing. 

Ten years down, it's right up there alongside the works of Tolkien for me in terms of world building. It came on the heels of me recovering from years of substance abuse, suicide attempts, and depression, and along with music and art, has been part of me regaining my joy.

Last night I finished my second run through Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and I loved it as much and had as many feels as I did after the first run. I got the ending I wanted, that tied up so many loose ends from Inquisition and its DLC Trespasser, and my headcanon is now in a happy place.

Was it a perfect game? No game is perfect. But this is the first Dragon Age game where I felt equally attached to all the companions. Each had a story that I felt was beautifully expressed, and the game in total foregrounded empathy, teamwork, reconciliation, diversity, and fighting against authoritarian fascist dictators. I can see why certain people embarked on a campaign to ruin this game for others.

This is not their game. And if anyone else hears that you're thinking of playing Dragon Age and tells you to 'play better games' tell them to go back to playing Call of Duty or Fortnite or whatever and to let you figure out for yourself if this game works for you.

Anyhow, this round, I did the Emmlich run, and it pleased my sense of taphophiliac macabre. I could have spent more time in the Nevarran Necropolis. I will say this much for all the other unrepentant Solavellans out there – if you get certain choices just right, you will have the closure you need. And it was lovely. I am pleased.

I'm going to take a short break to play Baldur's Gate 3 because it's healthy for me to play other games. And I will likely return to Veilguard in a year or so to do my Veil Jumper run.

OTHER STUFF    

I am now on book six for my ghostwriting client, and am also at the 30k-word mark of my children's fantasy story that I'll be translating into Afrikaans. And there's a short story I want to write, too, so I've got over enough to keep me out of mischief. I am in a really happy place with my writing, and I can honestly tell you, that if you're reading this and you're a pre-published author wondering what you should write – write the stories that spark joy for you. Don't try to ride on the coattails of all the authors who are currently being lauded for their romantasy and whatnot. By the time you've got your dragonrider book out the market will be oversaturated in dragons and the Next Big Thing will be selling piles of copies. 

But I'll give you a little trade secret – if you want to see what sorts of stories are perennial favourites, look no further than the fanfiction stories that are the most popular. But then find a story that makes your heart sing and run with it.

....pation