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Author: missmelissawrites
A Hibiscus Coast
Book Review: A Hibiscus Coast by Nick Mulgrew (Karavan Press) In these turbulent South African times of violence and disquiet, many conversations have turned to emigration. In that context I found A Hibiscus Coast to be an honest, compelling and soothing look at family, migration and dispossession. The author takes us to Durban North, 1997, where a suburban murder rocks…
Write, pitch, love – #ROSACon2020
(This post first appeared on the Romance Writer’s Organisation of South Africa blog) 2020 has been the year of the parties that weren’t. Weddings canceled. Theatre shows. Dream trips. Family reunions. But there’s one show that is going on, and it will, as usual, bring all the feels: the love, the excitement, the joy, the camaraderie, all the good stuff…
Book Review – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
I am sure many of you have already read the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I know it was written in 2008 so I am very late to this party. Yet what a party it turns out to be. But perhaps, like me, you didn’t read it in 2008 (I suddenly remember why I didn’t. I had two…
Book Review – Death Other Happy Endings.
Way back in the olden days – Also known as Early March 2020 – when we still had Bookclub – I took out Death & Other Happy Endings by Melanie Cantor. It took me a while to knuckle down and read it because I didn’t feel like a death book, especially in the midst of a pandemic. I eventually decided,…
Staying Stoked
I’ve been overwhelmed by the support and goodwill out there in the surf community, after I shared my experience of an unpleasant encounter in the water. Thank you. I am also gratified that these difficult conversations about conflict and surf rage can be had in such a spirit of mutual respect. It has been interesting to read a variety of…
When surf rage overrides stoke
‘Don’t be sorry. Be better,’ said the surfer, after I apologized for my role in a collision with him. He didn’t look back. I watched him paddle out, his head high, back arched, shoulders squared, with the tips of his toes perched on the tail of his board. Be better? That seemed unfair. I’ve certainly made my fair share of…
How to create better stories in three simple steps
Taking a well-known story and ‘reverse engineering’ it helps you to understand key elements of a solid plot.
Tickets available for WOMEN IN A FRACTURED WORLD: Melissa A. Volker and Dawn Garisch in conversation with John Maytham
27 February 2020, 18:00-20:30
Karavan Press authors Melissa A. Volker and Dawn Garisch will talk to John Maytham of CapeTalk about the divisions and connections between humans, animals and the environment in the Rosebank home of writer, editor and publisher Karina Magdalena Szczurek.
Dawn’s latest novel is the evocative meditation Breaking Milk, and Melissa’s are eco-romance thrillers Shadow Flicker and A Fractured Land. As a writer, medical doctor and founder of the Life Righting Collective, in her writing, Dawn explores the fascinating relationship between art and science. As a writer, blogger, environmentalist and SUP surfer, Melissa includes environmental themes in her stories to increase awareness about such topics as fracking and renewable energy in a palatable way that will not make readers feel disheartened. Both write about independent women and their relationships with the land in their home country, South Africa.
To…
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2019 – launches, festivals and fun
My last blog post was in JULY!!! What is wrong with me? Did I get writer’s block? Did I become a recluse? Did I surf too much? NOOOO, none of the above. (I don’t believe in writer’s block, I love ALL the friends and it’s impossible to surf too much.) Instead, I was carried away on the crazy wonderful roller…
Melissa A Volker 