Packing up your life - As briefly touched on before, we are moving to Germany. I am so excited! Watching the XGames this weekend, I couldn't help but ooh and aah every time they showed a shot of Munich in the background (quickly followed by chortling laughter at the idiot who went all that way just to fall on his face).
I am desperately trying to learn German, but so far ich bin ein very confused little person. Still, this is not the biggest of my worries. I am in complete agony over what to pack. I have gone so far as to design a little weighing game in my head whereby I mentally place items on opposite ends of a scale to see which has the most value. Cookbooks vs cookie-maker? Cookie-maker (duh, I can always make up the recipe as I go). Clothes vs fantasy books? Fantasy books (yes, I said it). Shoes vs hairdryer? Erm....
But now, this little game creates another conundrum all on its own. You see, mental value does not equal actual value. So I might not necessarily get away with airline weight restrictions if I pitch up with a bag filled with cookie-makers, story books and hairdryers stuffed into shoes.
The whole packing thing creates such a moral dilemma, too, because your friends and family are keeping a close eye on what you decide to take with you across the waters. 'Are you taking that heavy sweater I gave you? How about that massive picture frame with all our photos in it?' Scary.
In the end I'll probably just say 'stuff it!' and wear all my clothes at once, books hidden in pockets and clamped under arms, pictures taped inside my handbag and the cat hidden in the carry-on.
The trouble with having characters in your head - So there I was, thinking I was on a writing holiday for a month after my first ebook was published. I would read every day, wake up late and do nothing but lounge about. Meantime, my characters were thinking, nah!
Without warning, one night as I was innocently drifting off to sleep, they started popping up in my head.
'Don't forget to kill me in the next book!'
'Hey! Psst! Forget about him, what about letting people actually see me?'
'Oh come on! I'm the main character, she should start the book with me and not some snobbish nymph!'
You think that's frightening? Try keeping sane like this.
So against my better judgement, I got up and started making lists. Plot lines, random ideas, people to add, people to kill off, possible fights, cool little scenes...
And there you go. Officially started Book II of 'The Pages of the Blade'.
Kruger! - I am blessed enough to have grown up just outside the Kruger National Park, and to still be visiting it at least once every year. There's nothing like it.
The minute you drive through the gate, it's like you enter another world. A sudden quiet descends on you and nothing else matters but mopani trees and dodging dung beetles. I love everything about it. The rich, dusty smell; waving at fellow park-goers; the slightly stale pies at the restaurants; the frozen yogurt lollies; the early morning drives to look for animals...
At night, I love to sit by the campfire and listen to the bushveld waking: hyenas whooping, lions calling, the odd hippo grunt.
This weekend, we are heading out to the park for the last time before we move to Europe... Ah, crap. I promised myself I wasn't going to cry over my keyboard.
Don't be afraid to take on challenges, never stifle your own creativity, and make sure to visit the Kruger at least once in your life.
PS the above photo was taken during a supervised visit. Don't get out of your car in the park and go off trying to pet cheetahs. They WILL eat you.
PPS Remember to check out the Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale... 'The Unsheathed Key' at 50% off (use promotional code SSW50) https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/323926
