It is with great excitement that I post this video. The new Jozi Flash anthology is coming soon, and we will be celebrating first, with a cover reveal on the 30th June.
Details will be available soon. In the mean time…
In the mean time, please feel free to download and read out previous iterations of Jozi Flash. Both a free to read.
Blurb
A psychic parasite who hijacks personalities.
A couple who discovers the house of their dreams … in the wrong dimension.
The priests of Psi, custodians of a forgotten wisdom which may exalt or damn mankind completely.
Five dazzling stories from one of science fiction’s masters
Frank Herbert is best known for his iconic desert-centered novels (and TV Series) Dune. This time he moves beyond Arrakis and into new dimensions. I look forward to reading this anthology from one of the masters himself.
Frank Herbert was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author.
He is best known for the novel Dune and its five sequels. The Dune saga, set in the distant future and taking place over millennia, dealt with themes such as human survival and evolution, ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, and power, and is widely considered to be among the classics in the field of science fiction.
He was the father of fellow author Brian Herbert.
If you have been following me on Twitter, or perhaps joined my Facebook Author page, then you will know all about the #FindJoziFlash17 treasure hunt we’ve been running. Well it’s not too late, and all the clues have been posted so today I have the honor and privilege to present to you: *drum roll please.
That’s right, gaze upon the beauty and magnificence of our upcoming Jozi Flash anthology cover. Man I love this image. It tells me that we have so much local talent both in art and writing here in South Africa, but it also tells me that Chasing Dreams Publishing has done it again for us so thank you Nicky!
So onto the nitty gritty details. The rules are posted below, but they are also in the downloadable Jozi Flash ’17 Info Pack. This pack is super-important because it contains all the info you need to solve the clues about where each piece of the cover will be hidden.
We want this to be interactive and entertaining, so when you find a clue on one of the sites, please like it, or leave a comment or follow the author/artist. It’s not compulsory, but it makes our day! 🙂
Also, just in case you don’t adore treasure hunts and wonder why you should bother participating – the winner of the hunt will receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card. Which you can spend. On books. Or, you know… anything on Amazon. And that’s pretty cool. 😉
You need to leave a comment on the chasingdreamspublishing.wordpress.com/findjoziflash17 page in order to be eligible for entry into the draw.
Did you know: You can read the first Jozi Flash anthology for free? Yeah! Just click here -> Jozi Flash and scroll all the way down.
I have a draft folder full of all these ideas I never pushed far enough to publish. I was content with this. Figuring that eventually I would sit down and turn them into novels worth publishing. This was sometime in the future but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the years of spawning new drafts on a whim every time is this: if I don’t actually sit down and write, not just have the intention but put in the work, I won’t ever publish. Ever.
So future me will have to thank me for this camp’s ambitious endeavour: writing four novels in four months. Camp is the beginning of it all.
Camp NaNo Writing
The four novels (well three and an anthology) are as follows:
Junk Yard Angel – A Steampunk novel
She is a guardian, a saviour… an angel, spending her time in the scrap yards filled with discarded metal parts – fixing the broken with an amazing new technology powered by steam. They call her, the Junk Yard Angel.
However, some know a darker side to her. A murky, questionable past that still haunts her – for demons were once angels too.
Junk Yard Angel Short Stories – A prologue to JYA.
In the growing metropolis of Neandershöhle, a great revolution is on the rise. The Church and the State fight to keep their dogmatic rule and absolute Monarchy over the people, while the people fight for Enlightenment and individual liberty.
A young girl finds purpose in the fragile Age of Enlightenment. She stalks the scrap yards and uses the discarded metal to bring hope to the hopeless.
Yet something within rattles her soul. Whispers dark thoughts, and with the revolution so close at hand, she must choose her destiny wisely or endure the resulting consequences.
Last Robot on Earth – A Dystopian Novel
The world is a ravaged war-torn landscape still carrying the scars of nuclear war. Melted ice-caps have increased water levels, submerging much of the world under water. What little habitable land remains becomes a haven for those who survived the war.
Humans, living under the effect of the radiation, begin to mutate to their environment. Exhibiting bizarre adaptations and abilities.
Roaming uninhibited by the radiation is a single sentient machine. Living among the humans.
Waiting.
Watching.
Preparing.
Dominae Mortem – A Dark Fantasy Novel
Princess Arabella has a secret. Following her mother’s death, she sought the council of the Great Elders on what happens after death. Their answer drives her towards performing one of the Great Sins – suicide. Her premature death sends her to Orcus where she meets Death himself.
Following her defeat of Death, yet unable to reclaim her mother’s lost soul, she returns to the world of the living. The mantle of Death has been passed on to her yet she refuses her responsibilities.
But death is necessary. It calls to her. Summons her to its dark realm… and Fate decides to make a personal call.
The idea here is to write at least 12,500 words per novel between Camp and the next camp in July. That’s about 200,000 words in total (50K per novel although some will probably be much much longer than that eventually).
Thus this camp starts the real journey of becoming a writer. Of not just procrastinating and putting things off. A little ambitious I know, but…
“Ambition… is a great man’s madness.” John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
Are you participating in Camp Nano? What are writing? If you need a cabin (there’s about 7 spaces left) comment your username and you can join us. Happy writing!
Want to find out more about my writing projects? Sign up to my newsletter:
It’s the 1st of December and I don’t need to go further than my emails to know that everyone is getting hyped up for Christmas and December holidays. Not me.
I’ll be busy working towards 2017 during December, and there is a lot to work through.
I have announced before that I am working on a short story anthology. Two in fact, one of my own personal stories and another from Patreon suggested short stories. My dear friend and amazing artist Leesan Naidoo, has been designing the covers for each of my short stories, and I must say they look amazing. I look forward to publishing my anthology. Obviously it involves a lot of work, but that’s to be expected.
I’ve also changed a couple of things on my Patreon page and will be starting that up again. If you have any suggestions for a December short story, feel free to send suggestions in the comment section below.
I’ll be continuing my book reviews as usual. A lot of the books I read, have been for Gamecca Magazine, and I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post those reviews on my blog too. Which is why my Wednesday Book Reviews have been a little slow. I’ve effectively been reading two books a week. According to Goodreads, I’m 6 books behind but by next week it should be down to 3 at the most.
Book Review requests are still coming in, and there’s an annual February event looming that I’ll be part of. So much reading, so little time.
If you want to know what I’m currently reading, here’s my Goodreads Reading List.
I’ll be guest blogging during December on a friend and fellow writer’s blog Life In Light of Eternity, with our focus on Christmas in our own little Advent Calendar. Different authors, varying formats and insightful stuff. Join us!
I’ll be revamping my website NthatoMorakabi.com. Design. Content. etc. I’ll also be starting up my monthly Newsletter with updates on everything happening. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
In last week’s post, The Creative’s Burden, I listed a number of things I wished I could do and didn’t have time for. Rather than do the whole “2017 Resolutions” thing, I’ll be kick starting a couple of those ideas this month.
In short, I’ll hitting the ground running. I hope you will continue to endure with me through the last remaining days of this month and onward to 2017.
Happy Writing!
It is the official first week of September, which means Spring has sprung here in the sunny southern hemisphere. As my sinuses get clogged worse than the M1 highway with a broken-down tuck in the middle lane, I’ve dedicated this month (and Patreon) to lurid tales sure to make you squirm. No red roses and blue violets tilting towards the sun’s rays here.
The goal for the month is to write ten, 3000 word short stories (30 000 words), that’s two-and-a-half shorts a week (we’ll make it three). One of these shorts will receive a sparkling macabre cover and PDF version for your enjoyment. More exciting stuff swirling to the surface later on in the month.
This first week is dedicated to Serial Killers. The who, what, when, why, how of it all, twisted into razor sharp tales twisting through your gut in the dead of night. I haven’t delved into true horror in a while so I can only wonder what will manifest.
Patreons, feel free to send suggestions, ideas, and what-nots for your own personal creation. It doesn’t even have to be related to my Spring Death theme.
Non-patreons, you have an opportunity to own an exclusively written short story of your creation to show off from just $1. *wink wink, nudge nudge*
I will be submitting most of these stories for publishing, while others will be set aside for my personal as well as my Patreon anthology. Fun times ahead. If you love horrors, you’re going to be in for a treat. I apologize in advance for my non-horror readers; please bear with me for the month.
Hey all!
It’s August already (wow how time flies) and I’ve participated and won two Camp NaNos, which has put my word count for the year so far at around 65,000 words, and this excludes side projects and any writing I did between May and June. And in a couple more months it will be NaNoWrimo to add another 50,000 words. That’s a lot of writing. That’s a lot of words but… it’s not enough. I mean, look at the word counts for all those popular books that make us cool in the right circles:
Harry Potter: 1,084625
Lord of the Rings: 825,045
And check out this infographic: Famous Literature Words by Numbers
You might be thinking,”but Nthato, you don’t need 1 Million words to be a successful author” and I will tell you, you’re absolutely right. And then you might ask, “So why get bogged down by those massive word counts” and I will stare blankly at you and walk away because I don’t have an answer. Rude hey? I know, I’m a horrible person.
No, actually I get bogged down because I realized I can write a lot of (unedited, grammatically disturbing) words in a day. But where are they all going? To the Drafts folder. Hence this announcement today!
That’s right folks, you heard it here first! I’ll be looking to publish two separate collections of my short stories, never seen before in the public eye. The first will be a Patreon anthology with short stories requested by patrons. The second will be my own personal collection of written works including poetry and, of course, short stories.
If you would like to be part of the Patreon anthology, please do visit my page on Patreon. I post both public and Patreon only short stories for you to enjoy. The last free piece I wrote was LRE TV presents…
I’ve also updated the rewards you can get as a patron. If you can support, please do.
$1.00+ Per story
$5.00+ Per story
$10.00+ Per story
Book Reviews
Nothing else has changed regarding all the other things I’m working on. Wednesday Book Reviews will still be going. Sometimes you gotta read when you’re not writing. If you’re an author with an upcoming book or a book already published, feel free to contact me for a review. You can use the form at the top.
Digital Art
I’m still working on my digital art for my July Camp NaNo work, which is a Fantasy story about… magic. Inspired by a series of things including Final Fantasy mage classes, JRPG awesomeness and storyline depths that would make anime watchers proud. Except, it’s African based. And I’m loving it.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
A Flash Fiction Anthology by South African Authors
There are no zombie-dalek-rainbow-unicorns in this anthology. Not for lack of trying – they just wouldn’t play nicely with the other characters.
Instead you’ll find a genie with a unique wish, a border post between worlds, a light romance, an alien recorder and a very special chair, amongst others.
This is what you get when you challenge five talented South African writers with a series of prompts and strict word limits: Jozi Flash – an anthology of 29 bite-sized stories with a huge amount of heart.
As unique as the narrators, these tales range from the macabre to heart warming in fewer words than it took to write this blurb.
The zombie-dalek-rainbow-unicorns ate the rest.
I am truly proud to present to you an upcoming anthology, published by a local Publishing house, of which I am a contributor. Following a successful and inspirational NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) last year, a number of us local writers decided to continue encouraging each other to write. With daily writing sprints, referrals to blogs, Twitter and Wattpad accounts, and flash fiction competitions, the combined effort of both those who contributed and those who encouraged, made Jozi Flash a reality.
Chasing Dreams Publishing
A special shout out to Nicky Stephens who is the founder of Chasing Dreams Publishing (website coming up soon) and the driving force behind Jozi Flash (including its cover). Dedicated in sending out weekly writing prompts, steadfastly asking for missing writing, tirelessly editing alongside Cecilia Dathis, all culminating into the anthology that is Jozi Flash.
Jozi Flash
Jozi Flash will be officially published on the 20th March 2016, that’s only 9 days from the date of this post. Excitement levels are very high!
This anthology will be available for free download in PDF or ePub format and I will notify you all once it is available. So when that happens, please download it, review it and share it. I would greatly appreciate it, and I know my fellow writers and editors would greatly appreciate it too.
If you would like a copy, let me know and I will ensure you receive one. Should you have any books or stories you would like me to read and give a review, feel free to let me know and I will do so.
A while ago ( a few months ago in fact), I received a message from a fellow blogger, S.R. Tooms, regarding an anthology that a fellow writer Vincent V Cava was going to work on. This was on the heels of another book that the two writers had worked on and published as an eBook – Decomposing Head: Frighteningly Funny Tales That Will Rot Your Brain.
Knowing S.R. Tooms to be of a worthy reputation ( and buying and then reading the Decomposing Head book above helped too), I followed up on the information and began communicating with Vince. Vince let me know that this would be for a charity and therefore none of the sales would be for the authors or for him – in other words, not for Profit. Not wanting to miss the opportunity I agreed anyway, glad to have an opportunity to get my stories published…and besides, it was for a worthy cause!
Scares That Care, is the charity that we have been writing for, a charity that is providing toys, money and other various items to help children. It has been great knowing that for every person who reads my short story, which has been included in this anthology, is a contributor to this charity and is one of the many helping these children improve their lives; worthy cause indeed! You can find out more about the charity here: Scares That Care.org
The book is available as we speak, has been since the 20th of July (My Birthday! Yay!) and can be purchased on Amazon here –> Dark Tales Anthology
It would be great if you checked the book out, bought it, read it, spread the word you know but hey if you can’t it’s all good, sharing the link or even reblogging this post to reach others would be awesome too. I really appreciate it! Thanks!
PS – An audio book is on the way too!
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