Signs of life... and looking back on 2025

I've realised that the last time I blogged was in September. I have still have a pile of book reviews to write and my resolution to blog more often this year instead of relying on social media has fallen by the wayside. But if you're reading this now, fantastic.

I don't celebrate Christmas nor do I go way out to observe NYE, though this year I will be having low-key gatherings with my closest friends and the few remaining family I have that still speak to me. 

For me the more important date is today, the Summer Solstice, and this year I've had the incredible privilege of being able to celebrate this in one of my favourite spaces: the Klein Karoo. We booked three nights in Red Stone Hills at one of the cottages on the farm. Our little spot is a thatch-roofed dwelling with thick walls, a reed-and-clay ceiling and thatch roof, that was built in 1876. Despite the daytime temperatures that soar well past 30°C on the thermometer, it's a comfortable 20°C inside, which is perfect.

Bird's Nest cottage perches on the flanks of the iconic red hills – oxidised conglomerate outcroppings that crust the khaki-green veld studded with iconic Aloe microstigma and Cotyledon orbiculata. A venerable giant Peruvian pepper tree spreads its weeping branches out back, providing welcome shade. We face a verdant valley where almond orchards create a vivid splash of green and a willow-and-bamboo-lined river flows. Admittedly, it's been a very dry summer, so the river has been reduced to a few puddles, but the valley itself is still quite lush. The bougainvillea planted in and around the houses here offer vivid splashes of magenta.

This is a birdwatchers' paradise, with everything from the shy neddicky, Karoo Prinia, and common chat making up the ranks of the LBJs; to all three species of mousebirds; assorted raptors, like pale chanting goshawk (which we were privileged to see); malachite sunbirds; blacksmith plovers; laughing doves; Cape turtle doves... And bats. Loads of bats at night. We've also been warned that there are leopard, and we did see baboons up in the hills yesterday.

Someone asked me on Threads earlier this week why I would want to go to the Karoo. My answer is complex. My dad was born in Hanover and grew up in Aberdeen, descended from sheep farmers who operated in the area. I spent many childhood holidays every year in September/October at a farmstay in the Cederberg. And since then, we've also enjoyed visiting at the farm Wolverfontein near Plathuis in the Ladismith area. Nieu Bethesda near Graaff-Reinet is another place that's very dear to me, home of my beloved Owl House. So, visiting the Karoo, Little or Groot, in my blood. I just naturally gravitate to these spaces. 

I've learnt to rise early, before the heat, and do my first walk. Then spend the rest of the day lurking indoors reading, making art, working a little... Then at 5pm when it's cooler, walk again. Admire the stars at night. Love the wide-open spaces where everyone stops to have a chat, even if they're total strangers. People drive past and give you a little nod and wave. Life is just different here.

I heartily recommend Red Stone Hills cottages for a breakaway. It's an easy five-hour drive from Cape Town along the R62, with plenty of places for pitstops en route. It's self-catering, but you can arrange for breakfast and 'braai packs' at the farmhouse with Petro Potgieter, the host. Horse-back riding is offered by arrangement. A large swimming pool is available for guests' use at the reception area. There are two hiking trails, and bird-watching enthusiasts will be in for a treat. The cottages are well appointed, if rustic (which I like). The air fryer was a nice touch, and as a freelancer whose work follows her everywhere, I was simply delighted with the fast Wi-Fi. Although telly isn't our thing, there is DStv for those who like to watch. You're well situated here for day trips to various sights in the region, that boasts wine tasting, caving, driving, nature reserves, and more. An extra bonus: Red Stone Hills cottages is pet friendly. Our Malinois Maia has had an absolute jol here.

By contrast, I live in Cape Town in a small 'village' near Simon's Town that I feel has the same vibe as a Karoo dorpie. I get the best of both worlds there, but every December, the world and his wife descends upon my city. The beaches and shops become a nightmare. You must add at least half an hour to 3/4 of an hour to any travel plans. 

I don't begrudge people their plans to holiday in my home town. But I tend to either hunker down in my home during that time or strike out for the Karoo with its versengende hitte. I love the silence. The screaming cicadas at midday. The haunting call of the acacia pied barbet from the thorn thickets. I love meeting the people who live and work here, be they the farmer's wife or the labourer on his way home along the road. I love the way Afrikaans just rolls off my tongue – there's a way my mother tongue is spoken here that's just different from the city.

I've savoured every moment here, have tried to strike a good balance between relaxing and taking pecks at some of my work. I've completed some QA for the publisher I freelance for in the UK, and I've also set aside much-needed time to complete a short story for the Sauúti Collective – something I simply haven't had time for because the last quarter of 2025 was just so batshit crazy. Having dedicated time to writing has been a treat.

And what a year it's been.

We sadly lost Thomas's father in August after a short illness, so we've had that trauma to work through that has thankfully brought our little family closer. We are supporting his mum now, so that is an additional layer to our life.

I've stepped into doing client work with my big corporate client in addition to design, which although not something that I'm unfamiliar with, does add more responsibility to my plate. But it's all right. My clients at the company are wonderful, and they're all women around my age – so there's just a vibe there. And the work is familiar and easy to me.

I'm doing ebook QA, audiobook PDF layout, and alt text writing for a big publisher based in the UK – the money is a godsend when those pounds roll over into rands, and the pay is better than the minimum wage in the UK. So there is that. Even better: I enjoy the work immensely while it leans into all my skills sets.

Work is going apace on the 10-book science-fantasy series I'm writing and project managing. Books 1 and 2 of the Winter Mage series are being published by Mirari Press on February 21, and I've had the incredible privilege of collaborating with the very talented writer and editor Catriona Ross with Daniël Hugo illustrating the covers and the maps. It's really a dream job, and I'm so excited to invite people to step into this world.

I'm also gearing up to release book 1 of my five-book Scatterlings of Fate series, Call the Fire. At time of writing this blog, I've been embroiled in revisions, and I'm really in the trenches. I've made inroads with book 2, though am nowhere near hitting my stride there.

In terms of short fiction, I'm seeing the release of the Sauúti Collective collection entitled Terrors, which has one of my stories in it – we're still planning a launch early next year. I'm just waiting for the folks at Flame Tree to get back to me about availability of books here in South Africa. So, watch this space. 

I'm also seeing the release of a short story in Mirari Press's next anthology Utopia/Havoc, which is super exciting. Which reminds me I still have a story on sub for an uber-cool subs call I'm waiting to hear about.

And while I'd love to set aside more time, I'm still very much in the proofreading trenches for the second book in the The Splintered Fool series. But we have cover art, and I've done the layouts. It's just not going as fast as I'd like it to.

I'm going into the end of the year absolutely shattered after a very challenging last quarter. I'm hoping to have some rest before everyone goes back to the office during the second week of January, which usually means I'll be working but not at the same frenetic pace I have usually. There is another bit of good news still to be announced, but I'm under NDA, so I'll simply have to be vague about it.

If the stars align, I'll have some funds set aside for a winter breakaway once my husband's current contract with a Netflix production ends.

But yeah, some highlights to look forward to are Comic Con Cape Town and Franschhoek Literary Festival next year, where I'll likely be showing face again. Other than that, here is your reminder that my books are available for order from all good book shops, as well as most online retailers like Amazon etc. Do support your friendly neighbourhood SFF author. And if you've read this far, and would like to give the first book of my fantasy duology, Inkarna, a spin, let me know by dropping me an email at nerinedorman@gmail.com – tell me you read this blog.

The Week in Review – May 31, 2025

It's finally cold enough that I'm sitting here in a hoodie and bundled up in a blanket. I'm trying to avoid turning on the heater quite yet because electricity is expensive, and I try to save the heater for once the sun goes down.

Yesterday was kinda awesome in that I trusted my gut and got out of my comfort zone. I had somewhat of a torrid week with deadlines from my UK-based publisher I'm a mouse-monkey for. I suspect many of the production controllers all want to go on summer vacation, so they've been hitting me with a pile of work with tight deadlines. Which I did get finished, but man oh man, I was pretty crispy afterwards, and it was straight to Club Duvet and a spin with DJ Pillow for me Friday night. 

I had a friend visiting from the UK, whom I've not seen in two years, and I was so tempted to cancel – primarily because seeing him would involve driving 'over the mountain' as we here in the far south peninsula call the trek to get anywhere near the city proper. Which I wasn't certain I could bear.

But I'm glad I went – because honestly, we don't know when we'll see people we connect with again. Our generation is reaching that age where people are starting to shuffle off this mortal coil. And even if we met at The Forrester's Arms in Newlands, which is totally *not* my scene, it ended up really quite pleasant even if the place was somewhat noisy and crowded. The last time I was there was more than a decade ago. So, yesterday, I had two zero beers, and additionally reconnected with another very distant connection I hadn't seen since my late teens/early twenties.

I often reflect on the meaning hiraeth in a broader context outside of Wales, and the location in question is a property in Rosebank that was for two years of my life a hub around which I orbited. Some good memories in that old Victorian home. Some sad ones, too. But I prefer to cling to the memories of the library, the lovely garden with its chameleons, the old magnolia tree. And of course the tragedy of an ill-starred young adult romance which I try to put behind me because honestly, some of the shit I pulled was so fucking cringe I'm cringing writing this. 

I'm a very different person from the person I was back then, and I suspect if present Nerine could meet past-Nerine she'd give her a rather stern talking-to that past-Nerine would promptly ignore and do all those stupid things anyway. Because I was an idiot. I probably still am an idiot, but in different ways. At least I've stopped drinking a hundred years ago, so there's that. I'm a much better person to be around now than I was back then.

The scary-cool thing was realising that my gut feeling to go out yesterday had been right all along, because that connection with past friends was really awesome – meeting with people who might be on a very similar wavelength even if they come from a vastly different background. And of course realising that my long-term, long-distance friendship with my friend from the UK means so much to both of us. Especially in a world gone crazy. Who knows when we'll see each other again. What matters is that deep-rooted affection that is still present.

Cherish the people you love. Don't be afraid to push outside of your usual comfort zone even if you are feeling a bit crispy. These moments matter.

Bloody Parchment update

So, things are moving along with Bloody Parchment's next anthology. I've just paid a deposit for the amazing Mike Tenebrae, a wonderful South African illustrator with a love for horror and fantasy art, to have carte blanche when it comes to what we'll see on our wraparound cover. I'm very excited to see what he will come up. This is the part of making books that I love – collaborating with and supporting other artists, thereby giving them a platform for their work. This year we're also partnering with a local publisher to do a small local print run that will hopefully see the book available in store, too. So more on that later.

ZamaShort "Summer"

It's been a while since I've had a short story out, and I am so pleased to have worked with editor and publisher Ivor Hartmann on "Summer" a story that is quite dear to my heart as it's inspired by an actual event (not the hanging, that is, but the chance meeting of an old friend after she'd left school). I still wonder what happened to her.

From ZamaShort:

In the far future on the outer reaches of the great space diaspora Hannali toils daily under alien skies on their farm. On a break into town she spots Summer, a childhood friend, on a scaffold waiting to be hanged...

What ensues is a touching tale of choices made, different paths taken, bonds formed and broken, what makes us who we are, and how we travel through life.

The ZamaShort imprint series is solely focused on the amazing powerhouse that is the short story. We give each short story its own publication so that it may be read and enjoyed fully as a stand-alone publication. As per the StoryTime Publishing mandate initialised in 2007, ZamaShort continues to champion and add to the ever-growing canon of African literature excellence and diversity. 

Get it here: Amazon US (Also: UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, JP, BR, CA, MX, AU, IN); Libby; Apple;  Barnes & Noble; Kobo; Smashwords; Fable; Thalia; Vivlio; Angus and Robertson.

Review copies available on request, or if you have any questions, please contact: zama1short@gmail.com

Mini Review – Cast Long Shadows by Cat Hellisen

Okay, so just a disclaimer – Cat has for many years been one of my closest writing friends. They were incredibly formative for me, having taught me much in terms of the art and craft of storytelling and style right at the beginning when I had absolutely no frigging idea what I was doing. I remain forever indebted to their guidance (and patience). And every time I read one of their books, I reman in awe (and some small part of me despairs for I shall never measure up to their incredible talent).

That Cast Long Shadows is not spoken about more often is an absolute travesty.

Although I own a signed copy, I opted to access this story via my Audible subscription, which was fan-fucking-tastic. The voice artist, Cathleen McCarron, is phenomenal in terms of the immense dynamic range of the characterisation she delivers that drives the narration, and combined with the lush, image-laden prose, is an absolute cherry on the entire deal. I could listen to her read Wikipedia entries about particle physics and probably be enthralled.

Cat's gonna murgle me for saying this, but if I had to describe this story in a nutshell, it's basically Game of Thrones mashed with Downton Abbey, by way of Snow White. (Sorry, Cat!) But it's so much more than that. The imagery, the prose, the slow-moving drama that culminates with incredible beauty and cruelty – and mercy – means that this book is going to stay with me for a very long time.

Honestly, I'm totally reccing this book to absolutely EVERYONE. It's about women's power and magic within a patriarchal world, and of course mysteries and secrets.

Where I'm at write now... 

I'm at that weird stage where I'm waiting for my publisher to greenlight the outline for my Scatterlings of Fate series. I must've spent about two months writing an outline of more than 7,000 words and creating its accompanying two-page tabled outline detailing the chronology of events so that I know where all the characters are at all times.

I know this sounds a little excessive, but when there's money involved, and an entire five-book series was sold based on the strength of book one, it's my responsibility as an author to make fucking certain that this story is functional and that my publisher knows exactly what I'll be delivering. And when, of course. I have five years to write this. So I got this.

Then, other than that, I've got two short stories to write – one due at the end of June, the other halfway through July. The second is really exciting – I'm collaborating with a scientist to write speculative fiction around the ethics of de-extinction and the impact of fortressing in conservation on the communities affected by land usage. The first is already plotted out – and it's a kinda dystopian eco-punk story inspired by a folk tale about a woman who puts on her husband's clothing and goes to rescue him.

And then, of course, I'm nearly done writing book five of a nine- or ten-book series for my ghost-writing client. It's been wild, I tell you. Wild. Don't ask me where I find the time for all this. I honestly couldn't tell you. 

The Week in Review, May 25, 2025

It's very much been a butt on seat, fingers on keyboard kinda week, but I can honestly say that I love what I do for a living, be it editing, layout, writing, quality assurance, or coaching. My day is never dull. I have seen a shift in my general income sources over the past two years where I'm getting more work that's not graphics-related. Which was always one of my goals, since I've maintained I'm not a natural when it comes to graphic design. I far prefer layout, in any case. There're some pretty exciting projects on the boil, one of which is related to Bloody Parchment, in which we'll be partnering with a local publisher and another bit of traction with a long-term ghost-writing project I've been on about, where I'm also starting to reach a point with a project where we need a publisher on board to handle all the back-end stuff I don't want to handle on behalf of my client.

I'm a weird one in that I exist at an intersection of not one but three skills sets – graphics, writing, and editing – and I don't think there are many folks who present, as one of my mentors said to me, a triple threat. Gosh. I like that. I'll have that, thanks. I blame the decade I spent in newspaper publishing, where we sub-editors had to develop those skills in our department. Or, rather, I was one of the subs who had the opportunity to do so, because for many years I was doing page layouts, writing editorial, and editing/proofreading the other subs' work.

Things look very different today. As a freelancer, I do graphics and marketing communications for a big pet food brand; quality assurance, alt text writing, and audiobook PDFs for a multinational publisher; ghostwriting; editing for independent publishers and authors; and coaching for writers. And of course, my own writing, which unfortunately does tend to take a back seat. My days are never dull, and while things do occasionally get a bit hairy when I need to meet deadlines, I wouldn't trade in career path for anything. I am constantly stimulated, and my work is often very different. One moment I'm editing a dark, gothic romance; the next I'm working on a product catalogue for pet food.

Moon Knight – a mini review

This week, I heard that Amazon canned The Wheel of Time, yet another series that has bitten the dust. I admit that I hadn't gotten around to watching it, but from what I heard, folks were enjoying it. Another series that got canned that I am sorry won't see another season is Marvel's Moon Knight starring Oscar Isaac, May Calamawy, and Ethan Hawke. I finished watching it last night, and despite the butchering of ancient Egyptian mythology, I did rather enjoy it.

There was certainly enough humour and plenty of mind-bending magical weirdness to keep me happy. Honestly, it felt like the kind of unhinged world building that had me writing my Those Who Return duology, Inkarna and Thanatos back in the day. It did get me thinking on what a fertile, underutilised mythology we have in ancient Egypt – however I suppose it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Moon Knight predictably plays loose and fast with ancient Egypt. It grated a little seeing Khonsu depicted rather as a raven instead of hawk-headed entity. Tawaret was a delight, and I was kinda missing Anubis or even Thoth. Hells, it would have been great to see Bast and Sekhmet, too, but I guess they might've made an appearance later, had the bean-counters not decided the series was not popular enough. The overall production design was lovely – and for once they seemed to have set decoration that wasn't too far off from what would come across as authentic. And yeah, it would have been great to see more of an Egyptian superhero for a change. May Calamawy was a delight as Layla, and I think given more screen time, could really have come into her own. Oscar playing opposite himself to depict the characters Stephen and Marc was nothing short of brilliant, and Ethan Hawke as the rather creepy Arthur Harrow did good, too.

Community

Honesty, I've been operating in a state of poorly contained rage and helplessness the past two weeks. I see what's happening in Gaza or listen to the absolute garbage the Tangerine Palpatine is spouting about South Africa... Or then speak to friends in the creative industry who've seen a significant downturn in work as more and more companies and clients resort to using generative AI for their needs. 

My only thought at present is that we need to stand together as communities. Whether it's sponsoring the educational needs of a child in the townships or donating to Gift of the Givers ... or simply paying your workers better wages. The point is that we do something that will benefit communities rather than enriching a few tech billionaires who already have more fancy yacht money than they know what to do with in a hundred lifetimes. Dog knows waiting for government to pull their thumbs out of their fat fannies is an exercise in futility. 

I guess this is why I'm so passionate about sticking it to the establishment in my industry (media, publishing). This week I saw that a major South African publisher is now releasing all its romance titles with generative AI images on the covers. It makes me wonder how soon they'll be releasing books under author name brands that have been wholly written by ChatGPT. Because if they don't have to pay those pesky creatives for their time, then hey, let's cut corners. I'm certainly not ever going to consider them as a potential publisher now. 

As creatives, we were only useful so long as they could scrape our work to train the machine. Now they don't need us anymore.

So, once nearly all the jobs out there are automated, where does that leave the majority of the humans on this planet? Who's going to buy all these products that the capitalists are trying to sell if most of us don't even have two rands to rub together to pay for a roof over our heads? With students using ChatGPT to write their assignments, and teachers using ChatGPT to grade assignments and create lesson plans, is this all just going to become a case of machines talking to machines while humans do WHAT exactly? 

Anyhow, this is my call for you to look around you, see where you can affect positive change in a world. Don't let the bastards lie to you and tell you this is all inevitable. It's only inevitable if you lie down and accept it.

The Week in Review – May 17, 2025

Buckle up, babes, it's going to be a long one. I didn't post last week because I went to the Overberg to visit my mum in Swellendam for Mother's Day. She's pretty much the only family I have left that I'm related to by blood that I still see or speak to, so it's kinda important for me to get out to see her. I love that stretch of road driving up – the Overberg is incredibly pretty, no matter the time of year. One of our favourite stops is at the Ou Meul bakery in Riviersonderend. We usually buy some of their famous pies en route home so that we can have extra gastric upsets after a day of eating stuff we oughtn't at our age.

Locus finalist, my dearests

So, last week I discovered that the very awesomesauce academic book in which I contributed a chapter has been made a finalist in the non-fiction category in this year's Locus Awards. Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction, Eugen Bacon, ed. (Bloomsbury Academic) is a fascinating deep dive into identity and the role speculative fiction plays in expressions of African culture. I'm absolutely thrilled, of course. The African speculative community is one that I'm championing, as I believe that we offer important insights to counter the traditional West-centric narrative that dominates much of the publishing industry.

South African Horrorfest Bloody Parchment Short Story Competition winners

And the, staying with speculative fiction, quite recently I decided to limit the South African Horrorfest Bloody Parchment Short Story Competition to African writers only, which does mean that we receive fewer entries. However I am adamant that we need to grow our offering as African writers. There is enough happening in the world at large for Western writers. So, I am pleased to announce the results for the 2024 competition: Xan van Rooyen for their winning story "Splinters of the Schism". Runners-up are Brett Rex Bruton for "The Hand on the Door" and Dera Udochukwu for "Alkaline Water". Do go check out more at the Bloody Parchment blog.

On Voetsekkers, and why their attitude sucks balls

By now, most folks watching the news will have heard about what we here in South Africa are now calling The Great Tsek (IYKYK). Forty-nine Afrikaners took the Naartjie Emperor up on his offer to claim refugee status in the US, on the pretext that there's allegedly a 'white genocide' happening in South Africa and that white people's land is being taken away from them.

This is all while an actual genocide is happening in Gaza, and millions of brown people who are actual refugees are being deported or refused aid, so that 49 smug, privileged and somewhat well-fed white South Africans can get a fresh start. This makes me incandescent, in addition to the blatant lies the Tangerine Palpatine has been spouting to mainstream media. Stuff that is patently untrue.

Here are the facts. There is NO WHITE GENOCIDE in South Africa. White people's land is not being taken away from them en masse. The problems we are facing affect ALL South Africans, regardless of colour or creed.

“Whites are far less likely to be murdered than their black or coloured counterparts,” Lizette Lancaster, who manages the Institute for Security Studies crime and justice hub, told Africa Check. This is supported by an analysis of a national sample of 1,378 murder dockets conducted by police in 2009.  In 86.9% of the cases, the victims were Africans. Whites accounted for 1.8% of the cases (although whites make up 8.85% of the population). (Are SA whites really being killed 'like flies'? Why Steve Hofmeyr is wrong, Africa Check 2013)

It's a grim picture, and in a decade, not much has changed in South Africa. In fact, according to data.worldbank.org the murder rate has spiked in rent years to 42 per 100,000 people in recent years. Which fucking sucks, to put it mildly. 

So, what to do about it? Firstly, instead of pandering to the politicians over the pond and our home-grown idiots, who seek to divide and destabilise us with their racist, bigoted ideas, we need to stand together. We are, first and foremost, South Africans, regardless of colour or creed. While I acknowledge that I, as a white South African, benefited from apartheid and continue to do so courtesy of the head start I had in life, I can also aim to do better than my ancestors who supported racist institutions that assisted in the wholesale systemic oppression and dehumanisation of the majority of dark-skinned Africans.

Which means that when I do see people pulling any BS strategies, I can use my position of privilege to call out their nonsense. I can pay my workers a better wage than most. I can sponsor their children's educational needs. I can assist with large expenses when I have the spare resources. These are small things, but they make a huge difference in the lives assisted.

South Africa is not all wine and roses. There's a lot that is wrong here. We have unacceptably high rates of unemployment and violence. Even though we transitioned to a true and robust democracy in 1994 without the benefit of a civil war (and that's a fucking miracle in and of itself) our politicians are... to put it mildly, either grossly incompetent or disgustingly self-serving and corrupt. There are certainly a few good ones in among the lot, but I can imagine that their work is often hampered by the numpties. We need to hold those numpties accountable for their actions (or inaction), and we need to work harder to foster a country where education, housing, healthcare, and job creation number among priorities where taxpayers' money is spent wisely.

I spoke to an elder in my community this week, and she said something that was profound. And I'm going to paraphrase here. She said, there are two types of South Africans, those who live in fear and those who live in love. Which South African are you?

So, instead of fear, where I allow myself to be manipulated by the likes of Afriforum and Magat frothings, I give myself over to love – love for the land, its people, and a future here. It's not easy. I admit that I am, as always, hyper vigilant. Violence and crime are a reality here that I will not sweep under the rug. I am privileged to live in a small, peaceful but tight-knit community far south on the urban fringe. More often than not, it feels like a small rural dorpie rather than a community encapsulated within the embrace of one of South Africa's major cities.

I do what I can, with the resources that are available to me and with the skills I can donate, to build rather than tear down. And wherever you are, I challenge you to do the same. If you can't change the awfulness of the big picture, then work where you can. Because dog knows we're going to need our neighbours in the years ahead.

Mini Review – The African Baobab by Rupert Watson

I love baobabs. I grew a few from seed when I was younger, and a few years ago, when I was on a media visit to Zambia (a beautiful country which I totally recommend you go visit if you're planning a trip) I got to see that typical view of Africa with its red earth, big trees, and small round huts clustered in tiny villages in rural areas. This beautiful book is a must-have for anyone who loves these majestic trees. Watson not only gives an overview of the tree's iconic status in history, but also discusses its importance within the landscape – the tree itself providing food and shelter to many species. He also looks at the importance of the tree on a cultural level and touches on its future (which is, predictably, vulnerable if not threatened). Although it's a concise book, it offers a wonderful, thought-provoking dive into the life and magic of this amazing denizen of our natural world, with lovey photos accompanying it.

Local is lekker when it comes to stories

With the general enshittification of publishing and the insidious creep of the technocapitalists into the wholesale destruction of All The Nice things, I'd like to remind you that South Africa has some amazing small presses that are doing the Muses' work. This is a shout-out to Karavan Press, Modjaji Books, and Mirari Press. If you're looking for quality, home-grown literature, do visit their sites and support them directly. I do believe that some of them offer loyalty or subscription programmes, which is a way that you can directly become a patron of the arts and help platform voices we need to hear.

The Week in Review – May 3, 2025

It was Cape Town Comic Con weekend, and as always, it was a bundle of fun. This was my third time speaking on panels, and yesterday (May 2) I was on a panel with Sam Wilson, Masha du Toit, and Shreya la Cock, all talking about the challenges that SFF authors face in South Africa. As someone who's been in the trenches since the mid-2000s, I can honestly say it's wonderful to see that newer authors are making waves despite the lack of will from the large traditional publishers in this country. Opportunities abound that were not available back in the day when I was a relative unknown. Not only can indie authors now get their books into major South Africa retailers but they are being recognised by institutions such as Comic Con. Also, we have robust small publishers like Mirari Press now looking to fill the gap for quality SFF in southern Africa where the big players are relaying on imports instead of developing local voices. Which we have. In abundance. 

Sam Wilson, Nerine Dorman, Shreya la Cock & Masha du Toit

I hope that we, as South African SFF authors, can change this mindset local readers have that all South African fiction is just about a limited set of topics. I recall walking into the main bookselling area of a big literary festival a few years ago, and the books that were promoted front and centre mostly related to politics, sports celebrity, and crime. South Africa is so much more than that.

Likeable or relatable? What's in a character?

So, this is a debate I've seen doing the rounds on social media a bit, and I felt I need to weigh in. I've seen so many readers give novels poor reviews because the characters are unlikeable. I get it that we often read because we'd like to project ourselves into a world, to escape aspects of our own that we don't like, so if a character doesn't match our own preferences, it's easy to not like them. I can think of a bunch of characters I don't like. Off the top of my head, there's Anakin Skywalker. He's an entitled little prat for quite a few of the movies, and then he becomes the dark lord himself. He kills countless people. He's cruel. He's petty. And yet, right at the end, he has that glimmer of goodness that redeems him and tips the balance of an entire saga. I find him fascinating. I don't want to be Anakin, but I do love watching character arcs like this. If I take an example from literary fiction, Holden Caulfield annoys the ever-loving crap out of me, and I'll likely not reread The Catcher in the Rye again unless it's for any tertiary studies I might do. But Holden still makes for an interesting character worth discussing.

The crux of the matter is that characters have quirks. I consider how my views on Cathy and Heathcliff and their support cast have changed since the first time I read Wuthering Heights at age 14. As a teen, I felt they were wonderfully tragic. As a middle-aged adult I want to slap some sense into them. When you write characters, write to provoke. To make memorable characters. In a world of Bella Swans rather write a Circe Lannister.

Reviews to make authors purr

I had such a wonderful batch of reviews for The Company of Birds this week after the Instagram readalong. 

Mr Pink Ink writes, The pacing of the novel does require patience, especially in the first half, where much of the world-building takes place. However, once the story gains momentum, the payoff is immense. The depth of the world, combined with Dorman’s lyrical prose, makes for a read that lingers in the mind long after the final page.

Riley Herbert-Henry writes over at Goodreads, Nerine Dorman’s prose is elegant and lyrical. She conjures worlds that are rich and vivid and otherworldly. Her characters are flawed and deeply human. You feel with them, ache with them, route for them. Dorman manages to find the perfect balance between working with introspective character monologues and high-stakes conflict, all while asking difficult moral questions.

Do go pick up your copy direct from the Mirari Press website.

Mini Review: Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

I purchased a copy of this book a hundred gazillion years ago when the publisher was having a massive sale, and it's been languishing far too long on my Kindle. I'm so glad that I gave it a spin, because it turns out that Eames' writing is exactly what I needed this past while. The premise of the novel is simple – in a world where monster-hunting mercenary bands are treated with the same awe as rockstars, a band has a reunion and goes on a not-so-merry adventure to rescue the daughter of one of the members.

At times absurd, playing with all the well-worn fantasy tropes and at times having quite serious social commentary to make (I'll give a hint, the bad guys are not simply the bad guys for the reason of being bad), this epic saga is at times funny in an almost Pratchettesque way but also goes to some dark places. It's a perfect blend of action adventure and humour in a fantasy setting, and I'm immediately jumping into book two. I've heard through the grapevine that book three is in the works.

You're not pizza – a healthy attitude to bleh reviews

One of the things I've learnt over the years is that I'm not pizza. Not everyone's going to enjoy my writing. It might be a pacing issue. It might be an unlikeable character. Hell, it might even be the subject matter. Whatever it is, I'm not going to please everyone, and I'm okay with that. That doesn't mean that those bleh reviews don't sting. But here's my advice to any author who's received that first lukewarm-yet-stinging two- or three-star review. Or heaven forbid, a genuine one-star DNF stinker. 

Here's what you do: I want you to think of the most recent novel you read that you absolutely adored, that felt as if it was written just for you. Go to Goodreads or Amazon, and go look at all the reviews for that novel that are three stars or less. There. Do you feel so bad about your own writing?

This is a subjective business. That is one truth I've seen again and again in the decades that I've been seeing my stories wander off into the wide world.

The Week in Review – April 27, 2025

Yesterday ended up being far too weird and exhaustapating, so I simply didn't have the spoons for blogging. As I'm writing today, it once again feels somewhat like a warzone. The mountain is burning over at the Silvermine/Tokai side, so we have choppers and spotter planes, and emergency notifications about staying off the mountain. For the most, our air has been good but now the wind has shifted, so we're starting to smell smoke. The light outside has taken on a brassy quality that triggers some vague mammalian reflex to panic. But I have faith in our firefighters and disaster management, and the fire is far away enough that I'm not concerned. 

Ghosts from my past

I've been thinking about some of my older books that came out in the 2000s and early 2010s. Particularly Raven Kin and The Guardian's Wyrd, where there is occurrence of slavery in the story. And I describe societies where this is normalised. Raven Kin specifically was set in a faux-Roman Imperial setting, where the main character is the associate of a woman who is the daughter of a slave dealer who liberates a barbarian captive, thereby inadvertently hurrying up the fall of said empire. In The Guardian's Wyrd, the main character, Jaye, does a rescue mission where he meets slaves who aren't fussed with their situation because they'd bee zicked out of worse situations on earth. Now for The Guardian's Wyrd I really feel like I need to rework that book somewhat – so I don't really promote the story much. But I'm not sure if I should take it down quite yet either, since I'm working on the sequel in fits and starts, and am thinking that when I'm ready with part two, to take book one down and smoosh both together. Then take a stronger, less measured stance from the MC's point of view. Especially considering that he's descended from people who were initially brought to the Cape as slaves. 

I need to make it quite clear – I believe slavery is abhorrent. If I write about it in my fiction, it's to highlight the awfulness of these extreme power imbalances as something that needs to be fought against tooth and nail. So when I put these themes in my novels it's to explore ideas of why it's important we should resist authoritarian regimes that disregard people's freedom – the issue of freedom being one of the most important themes in my fiction.

But that hasn't stopped me from thinking about these two books of mine and wondering if I should perhaps take down The Guardian's Wyrd for now. It's not like it's selling enough copies to warrant keeping it available. Heck, it's not even being pirated, so um, yay? I'm not mortified by the book but by the same measure, it's not exactly one that I go out of my way to recommend to others as a read. 

A few years ago when I got the rights back for Camdeboo Nights, I made the decision to not republish it myself. I instead cannibalised it for parts, so we now have Stars Don't Glitter, which is sitting with my lovely agent. I think SDG is a far tighter story that packs even more wonder and will give me far more mileage than TGW. Camdeboo Nights wasn't bad – for a novel written by a relatively inexperienced writer back in the late-2000s. But it also wasn't particularly good, if you ask me. I put too much in there that I felt would add flavour, instead of focusing on good bones. If you know, you know.

Would love to know hear your ideas about what to do with these older books.

Generative AI – it needs to be said. Again.

This week one of my clients came to me wanting to rebrand all her books with AI covers. I respectfully told her that I cannot help her – not with something that I believe is damaging the very creative industry that I rely upon for my income. I get that hiring an illustrator is expensive, but goodness gracious, you can get premade covers for as little as $99. I've seen some advertised for less. And we're talking good, quality covers that will more than sell up your novel to the right audience. Made by human beings.

This notion that we need to cut out the pesky middlemen such as artists, editors, and writers, to get to the juicy product while making huge piles of profit is so damaging to the creative process. And I'm afraid I see a greater divide between those who are chasing those profit margins vs. those of us who believe in the humanity in every step of the path to making beautiful books.

 When I appreciate art – whether it is music, a painting, sculpture, or a book – I want to feel as if I'm connecting in some way with the intentionality of the creator. We don't have that with something that is pooped out by a machine.

The bottom line is a) generative AI is built on stolen datasets, b) it's genuinely bad for the environment, and c) it's making us dumber.

Look, this is a huge discussion, but if I have to lay out the argument in very small, simple words, these are the three points I make. The next person who tells me that generative AI is "democratising art" will get a swift klap upside the head with a pap snoek. (South Africans will get that last statement.)

Robert Mapplethorpe – a mini review

A few years ago, a friend in the US made me a little happy packet with goodies in, and this wonderful large book was tucked in among all the items. At the time, my husband was still busy doing quite a bit of fetish photography, so my friend had thought we'd appreciate the book. And we did, and although I did page through the book, it went to go live on my bookshelf in the study.

Now, to rewind a smidge – I majored in photography at university, so we did at some point touch on Robert Mapplethorpe's work, and I think if we did look at some examples, they were not quite the ones that we see in this volume (!!!).  As they say, IYKYK. My suggestion is to not page through this book with anyone who is a bit sensitive about nudity and sexual imagery. 

A few years down the line, I think I have better cultural context for Mapplethorpe's work. I'm currently on a bit of a deep dive hyperfixating on Patti Smith and the milieu in which she was active, so her profound relationship with Mapplethorpe also needs to be examined. If anything, this has gotten me thinking about visual communication again, especially in terms of black-and-white photography with regards to messaging and composition. 

I started out in the dark room, and while we're spoilt for choice with our digital cameras, I do feel that we've lost something about the art of making beautiful pictures. Even the ones that come out slightly wrong.

At any rate, the essays in this book, while thought-provoking, I feel are also a bit too ... I dunno. I get impatient with folks who get all high falutin' with jargon and esoteric with how they approach descriptions of image-making. I never really was much one who was of an academic bent. But the pictures are pretty, and they are worth a hundred words.

Writing advice...

And for those who're idly curious, here's a link to a writers' workshop I hosted about worldbuilding. Enjoy!

The Week in Review – April 19, 2025

It would appear that this week is one for inviting a bunch of TERFs to my block party. With She Who Will Not Be Named further proving to the world that she's become Voldemort, it's more important than ever for good people to stand up for the smallest of minorities who are being impacted by her actions. So yeah, I'll say it again, because it must be said: trans rights are human rights. You cannot in all good conscience support the Harry Potter franchise while the bitch still lives. Trans lives are more important than Harry Potter. 

Anyhoo, so back onto what's happening in my world. This week was an amazing one for me because I finished two massive editing and/writing projects. The biggest one for me was having to write alt text for over 20 backlist titles for the big publisher I work for in the UK. I pretty much had to do all the work in 10 days as I still had other deadlines that gnawed at me, but the relief at handing over that final file was cathartic to say the least.

Which left me free to finish edits on another rather challenging edit for a local author – challenging because there were so many areas for improvement in the manuscript, and it's very much a case of as editor being able to deconstruct the work that needs to be done, highlight the aspects that need attention, then draw up a list of resources and a battle plan for the writer that a) will give specific feedback and b) not discourage them. A good editor will be able to see to the heart of the story and make the appropriate recommendations. 

In this case, I had five pages of handwritten notes to go through and put into order – which took quite some time. It's also not something I'd do if it weren't for the fact that I believe that this novel can be overhauled. If you ever receive such detailed feedback from an editor, realise that they took the fucking time to put all these thoughts in order and that it's not coming from a place of malice but rather a genuine intention to help you become a better writer. It's a calling I have, to invest in my local writing community when and where I can.

I'm feeling kinda giddy right now because I don't have these arsewhomping deadlines. It also means that my availability is ... well ... available. I do have a few small projects that I'm working on, but nothing that's going to turn me into a semi-masticated pile of goop. So, if you need edits, want to look at a bit of coaching, drop me an email at nerinedorman@gmail.com

Land | Lines by Shari Daya – a mini review

I must draw attention to this slim volume of poems by Shari Daya. A few months ago, I was blessed to attend one of Helen Moffett's Salon Hecate events at the Noodhoek Artpoint Gallery, where she hosted local poet Shari Daya to launch her collection of poems entitled Land | Lines (Karavan Press, 2024). And what a selection of beautiful words it is.

Daya possesses a rare eye (and ear) for evoking space and senses, each poem encapsulating moments of presence in the world and the complex accompanying thoughts and emotions. She has a talent for evoking instances in vivid colour and texture with only a few deft brushstrokes, and for those of you who grew up in Cape Town, this one's a must. Many of those poems linger. For me it was very much "The Work of Dying" with this passage:

My father, when the hours were numbered, knew
to call on muscle memory for each slide,
each breath, each grip-release, as onto ice,
fresh water running strong and clear beneath.

If you're an avid collector of quality words, then reach out to Karavan Press for your copy of this thoroughly profound little book. You will return to the words within, I promise.

Call the Fire – State of the Thing

Some of you might recall this year's big new of my five-book deal with Mirari Press for the Scatterlings of Fate, a rather ambitious project of mine that's been on the backburner primarily because Toby and I were so busy with The Splintered Fool five-book series. (which is still under production, I'll have you know – I'm currently drawing a map.)

The scary thing about picking up the threads around eight years after writing book one for Scatterlings is that I don't have any notes nor any deep familiarity with the characters and their predicaments. In fact, somewhere between moving desks around in the Treehaus and writing a bunch of other novels and stories, I lost whatever notes I had. Were they stashed at the bottom of a tray, saved as Google Docs or a random Word Document stashed on a hard drive somewhere? WE'LL NEVER KNOW.

This is both terrifying and liberating. It also meant I needed to reread the document and make copious new notes, draw maps, and build up a rough wiki with cultures, languages, plants and stuff. A lot happened since I wrote the end on book one, Call the Fire, and me bravely (or foolishly) telling my publisher when he made an offer that there'd be five books. It was always supposed to be five books: four origin stories for four friends dragged into far-flung reaches of a vast world, only to be brought back together by cruel twists of fate that see them possibly at odds with each other. While a world burns and empires clash. 

I finished my read-through of Call the Fire last night at 11.30pm whereupon I immediately wrote my publisher a completely bonkers wall o'text detailing my cunning plans – #sorrynotsorry, Marius. I couldn't put the fucking book down. Who is this past Nerine and how the hell did she manage to write this marvellous book? What drugs was she on? (None, I can assure you. This was pure braingasm.) There's something to be said about loving a relatively old manuscript when I can barely look at some of my older stories that I will honestly admit have problematic elements when viewed in light of today's societal conventions. You don't need to call me out on those. I know. I can do better. Be better.

Anyhow, getting back to Scatterlings – my next step is going to involve very careful management of timelines and story beats. Since for of the books happen along the same timeline I need to know who is where and when. How much of certain events will be foreshadowed earlier. How the four timelines brush up against each other before they eventually converge. I'll be making tables in InDesign. I foresee this in my future. I am the Table Queen. Hear me ROAR.

I already have a number of elements I'll be folding in, which includes a nod to a few historical figures such as Napoleon, Dr James Barry, and the Golden Age of piracy. I'll be cannibalising one of my other WiPs for an undead mummy assassin (a story that was legit based on a dream I had). There will be some fantastical beasties, such as giant eagles and griffins, selkies, and yes, maybe even gnomes. Because people asked, and this epic is also about creating a world that features things you want to read. So, this is the part where I invite you to leave any requests in the comments below. What do you want to see in this absolutely unhinged epic fantasy?

Photographs

I've had a few inquiries about my photos and where prints can be available. And although I'm not reliant on photography for my income, I've decided to make select works available over at my Redbubble store. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I very much have a vibe that favours things of a taphophile theme. If this is your jam, then do swing past my store and consider supporting my work there. I have a range of different options available.

The Week in Review – April 12, 2025

It's always with a sense of immense relief whenever I finish up a massively intense deadline – like the past three or so weeks have been where I had to write alt text on 17 backlist titles for the big publisher in the UK I work for. Of course, invariably, with a job like this, much like the creative process in general, it ends up with the memeworthy "doing all the work while crying".

Anyhoo, I got through it – the largest title taking me more than five hours of describing highly complex bar graphs for the visually impaired. It's ... definitely a skill. But it wasn't all dull stuff. A highlight for me was writing alt text for three Patti Smith books and oh my gosh, why have I never delved deeper into her work? I do believe I'll be purchasing hard copies of these titles – there's something to be said about a creative person who works across multiple disciplines and is still going strong in her latter years. She's a decade younger than my mum. Respect.

I briefly want to talk about the whole thing with the de-extinction of the dire wolves according to the work that Colossal has been doing. On one hand, my inner SF author is absolutely gobsmacked by the science behind this while another part of me has had time to sit back and listen to other opinions. So I have mixed feelings.

These are not dire wolves in the historical sense – it's been pointed out that the animals that died out over 10,000 years ago were not actually related to grey wolves at all, but were closer to dholes. All Colossal has done is mod the genes so that they have larger, edited grey wolves that share traits with dire wolves. No actual dire wolf genes were spliced and diced, but rather certain genes were nudged in the modified grey wolf DNA (at least that's how I understand it and am trying to explain it in plain English).

But evolution is a weird thing. Case in point is the Aldabra rail – a fascinating story of how the form of the animal was so well suited to the environment that under similar circumstances the same creature evolved after the first iteration went extinct. And let's look at parallel evolution. We have porcupines in the Americas and Africa, but they are not closely related, even if they are both rodents. They both have quills, however. 

If these hypothetical dire "wolves" can occupy the same ecological niche the original ones did, then they will have similar form and function, so in a sense do behave as the dire wolves should. Nu-dire wolves, anyone? Not that there's much in the way of megafauna for them to hunt these days.

I've seen people saying we should rather protect the species that we already have, and that to have these 'de-extincted' beasts running around is unethical since we can barely manage the vulnerable or critically endangered ones we already have. And yes, I totally see their point.

Yet it is also my hope that the work being done can be applied to helping restore species that are under significant pressure. Or nudging along programmes such as The Quagga Project that has already done a much gentler job of de-exctinction for the quagga. The current generation of Rau-quagga, as they're called, are really starting to look the part.

I do, however, have a great fear that we're going to see many more 'designer' exotic animals created for wealthy billionaires who don't have anything better to do with their fancy yacht money. Le sigh.

Anyhoo.

On to books.

Mini review

I just read Knee-Deep in Cinders by Ashley Capes, an author I've reviewed before, and I'm happy to say that I enjoyed this book even more than his first, that I read a million years ago, it feels like. In this one, we meet Vilas, who's the endling of his people, who were brutally murdered and used for magic potions by a conquering race, due to magical properties in their bodies – primarily their immortality. Vilas is now kept under lock and key, collared so that he cannot access his magic, and he vows that one day he will break free and wreak vengeance on the city of Onath. Yet when an existential threat looms, Vilas may very well be the only one who can save the city he has vowed to destroy. 

Capes offers well-written, action- and intrigue-packed adventure fantasy set in a well-realised world populated by a broad cast of characters. This is very much the type of story that carries me away so that I forget that I'm reading and get swept up in the action, with some nicely executed descriptions as well. I know that with his previous book I felt that there were moments where characters acted without sufficient motivation and I'm pleased to see that this time, he's gone deeper, with a far stronger-realised setting and characters. A solid read, and one that I recommend.

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... 

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.