Monthly Archives: January 2013

CAN YOU CONTROL YOUR DESTINY - OR IS YOUR FATE ALREADY DECIDED?

Posted on January 31, 2013 by [email protected]

Can we control our fate - or is our destiny carved in stone? It’s the basic question of life, of all philosophy and religion. Those who believe in Fate say that we only find peace through acceptance and that struggle … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

800,000 BOOKS IN ONE DAY

Posted on January 29, 2013 by [email protected]

8½ THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT BARCELONA Barcelona is my new home town. No one understand a single word I say, but I love it already. The coffee is brilliant and there are little bars everywhere filled with people still … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITING | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

MY NAME IS FLEMING. IAN FLEMING. 007 things you can learn about writing from James Bond

Posted on January 27, 2013 by [email protected]

Yes okay, he was the ultimate chauvinist. About as politically correct as Hugh Hefner, he lived in a time when men were men and smoking jackets were not ridiculous. His private life was every bit as glamorous as those of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, WRITING | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

THE QUEEN WHO WOULD BE KING

Posted on January 26, 2013 by [email protected]

It was once written of her: “To look upon her was more beautiful than anything.” But these days Hapshetsut is not the beauty she once was. Her eyes are black resin, her nostrils plugged with linen. She is bald. But … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

HOW TO MAKE A LEAP OF FAITH

Posted on January 22, 2013 by [email protected]

Like most fears, my phobia about heights is irrational. Throwing myself off the 216 metre Bloekrans Bridge in the Western Cape of South Africa was not something I did for fun. It was a dare I made to myself. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL

Posted on January 20, 2013 by [email protected]

Many books succeed without a really great title. Just look at this week’s top five paperback fiction in the New York Times: Safe Haven, Odd Interlude, The Columbus Affair, Big Sky River and Catch Me. Not much that jumps out … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITING | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

WHAT IF YOUR PARENTS HAD MURDERED YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER?

Posted on January 17, 2013 by [email protected]

Some time past your thirtieth birthday you discover that your godfather arrested and possibly tortured and murdered your mother. You also find out that your parents are not your parents at all, that they have hidden your real identity from … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

HOW GREAT AUTHORS DEAL WITH REJECTION

Posted on January 15, 2013 by [email protected]

Rejection hurts. As writers we have to become hardened to rejection; but it’s sometimes also good to know that We Are Not Alone. In fact, if you’ve had a piece of your work rejected, you are in very good company. … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITING | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

WHAT MAKES A WOMAN GREAT?

Posted on January 11, 2013 by [email protected]

Is it sex appeal, like Marilyn Monroe? Is it saintliness, like Mother Theresa? Is it political ambition, like Cleopatra? Or is it something more elusive than any of these? It is now fourteen years since Diana, Princess of Wales, died … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THIS HAPPENED TO YOU?

Posted on January 8, 2013 by [email protected]

What would you do if you discovered the daughter you had raised for 12 years as your own actually ‘belonged’ to someone else? Irina Belyaeva and Anya Iskanderova were born just 15 minutes apart at a maternity hospital in Kopeisk … Continue reading →

Posted in THRILLERS | Tagged , , | 11 Comments