Writer’s Quote of the Month
There always comes a time when you have to choose between thinking and acting. It’s called growing up.
~ Albert Camus (b. 7 November)
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Contents
1. News
2. Guest Speaker / The Write Co Function
3. Courses & workshops
4. How to Become a Subscriber
5. Book Reviews
6. Author Interviews
7. The Star Struck Writer - Scorpio
8. The Write Co Competitions
9. Students Write
10. Classified
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1. News
We have moved office.
The Write Co, Emses Office Suites, 128 10th Street, Parkmore, Sandton
Tel: 0116664778
Fax: 0112528890
Cell: 0798753719
Email: info@thewriteco.co.za
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Prickly Pear Books - New Literary Agency launches December 2008
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New Competition!
What are the 10 things that every romance writer needs?
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Screenwriting Competition
ASA - 12th Annual Competition
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The silly season is almost upon us...
Does the author in your life want a writing course for Christmas?
Write Co gift vouchers can be purchased by mailing info@thewriteco.co.za
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1 November 2008
What happened at the SANC? by Amanda Patterson
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Amanda Patterson: On Writing
Graphophobia - Do you have it?
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2. Guest Speaker November 2008
Magazine publisher, Jason Aarons
Date: TBA
Time: 18:00 for 18:30
Venue: TBA
Cost: R120, 00 per person, includes Cocktails, Talk, Q & A’s
RSVP: info@thewriteco.co.za
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3. Coming up in Writing
Creative Writing Courses & Workshops - Call 079 875-3719 for queries
Writers Write - 38 published graduates (4 weeks):
8 November 2008: Saturday Mornings: 08.30 – 12.30
11 November 2008: Tuesday & Thursday Mornings: 09:00 – 11:00
19 January 2008: Monday & Wednesday Mornings: 09:00 - 11:00
20 January 2009: Tuesday & Thursday Evenings: 17:30 – 20:00
&
1 - 5 December 2008: Weekday mornings: 09.00 – 13.00 (Johannesburg & Durban)
10 - 14 December 2008: Weekday mornings: 09:00 - 13:00 (Johannesburg & Durban)
Creative Writing One-day Workshops
8 & 15 November 2008 / 8 & 12 December 2008: How to write for Mills & Boon: Romancing the Dollar: 09:00 - 15:00
9 November or 11 December 2008: Short & Sweet 2008:09:00 - 15:00
16 November 2008 / 9 December 2008 : Plot LUCK: Learn how to plot a novel on Sunday: 09:00 - 15:00
13 November & 29 November 2008: Editing Edge: 09:00 - 15:00
6 December 2008: Music & Lyrics: 09:00 - 16:00
Business Writing One-day Courses
Anton Joubert heads up The Write Co's Business Writing Division
Contact anton@thewriteco.co.za for all business writing / commercial correspondence enquiries, or call him on 0834469632
5 November 2008: Send & Receive: 09:00 - 15:00
6 November 2008: About Face: 09:00 - 15:00
12 November or 19 November 2008: Reports & Proposals: 09:00 - 15:00
13 November or 29 November 2008: Editing Edge: 09:00 - 15:00
Office Politics: TBA
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4. How to Become a Subscriber
Please click here: subscription form
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5. Reviews
Our reviewers rate books from 1 – 5
1 - For use as a doorstop only
2 - Keep for publishers’ & booksellers’ strikes
3 - A great holiday read
4 - You’ll remember this with enthusiasm a month later
5 – Unforgettable
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A Certain Age by Lynne Truss (Profile Books) ISBN 101861978790
Lynne Truss presents the reader with twelve monologues, which she wrote for BBC Radio Four. The series was broadcast in 2002 and 2005.
Truss introduces the reader to each of her characters. Six men and six women, ranging from the father, the mother, the other woman, the cat lover and more. Each tells a story; be it poignant, funny, touching or mundane. The monologues allow insights into sibling rivalry, grief, love, loyalty, romance and the self-delusion of pride.
Truss has the ability to observe the finer minutiae of living. Meet the wife: “I got this biscuit tin on the way home today; they were having a sale at the Trumpet Major tea rooms.” The biscuit tin has a woodland design. No mice. Her husband cannot abide cuddly cute mice crawling over teapots and aprons. He also sweeps the lawn for landmines and checks the fridge door during sex.
This book, by the author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves, is witty, perceptive and a memorable read. The voices will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
Jill Marais
Rating:5/5
Amenable Women (A novel of sisterhood and survival) by Mavis Cheek (Faber) ISBN 978-0-571-23953-5
The Tudors are always ripe for a merry tale, especially the much married Henry VIII. So what better than a colourful blend of history and Cheek’s romantic comedy?
When her overbearing husband dies in a bizarre accident, Flora Chapman is liberated. His death uncovers infidelity and a half written history of their local village. Once home to Anne of Cleves, Henry’s fourth wife, unkindly dubbed the Flanders Mare. He preferred the Holbein portrait and Anne was dispatched with little fuss!
Flora sympathizes. She’s no beauty herself but like Anne knows how to keep her head. She continues with the history determined to elevate her place in history. If the “daughter of Cleves” could talk all would be revealed!
It’s a clever send up of English country life, capturing strained relationships, and the tribulations of middle age. A fascinating slant on an obscure Queen gives Anne a new lease on life!
Jackie Kelly
4/5
by Janet Evanovich (Headline) ISBN: 9780755337613 R214
Bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, is back. Just when you think that she’s seen and done it all, her creator, author, Janet Evanovich, proves you wrong.
Stephanie tries to re-bond Loretta Rizzi, a distant cousin of her boyfriend, Trenton’s best-looking cop, Joe Morelli. But Loretta, has run out of financial options and Stephanie agrees to supervise Loretta’s Goth-gamer 14-year-old son, Zook, until she gets out of jail.
In the meantime Joe’s cousin, Dom has been released from jail. Dom wants the loot he stashed from a bank robbery. Everyone thinks it is in Morelli’s house, which could be why people are breaking into Joe’s home.
Stephanie is also helping the dangerous and gorgeous, Ranger, as a bodyguard for a sexagenarian singer named Brenda. She and her partner in crime, the spandexed ex-hooker, Lula, somehow also end up being filmed in a reality “bounty-hunter/ cop meets The Simple Life” TV special.
Read it. You won’t be disappointed. No 14 features all of her fans favourite characters, including Lula, Grandma Mazur, Tank and Ranger. I love this series. Fearless Fourteen is that literary rarity. A funny, quirky, guaranteed good read.
Buy it.
Amanda Patterson
4/5
The Whole Truth by David Baldacci (MacMillan) ISBN: 9780230706026
The world is at peace, more or less, and business is booming. But not in the Arms industry. This is a problem for Mr Creel of Ares Corp. He wants a war and he knows just the man for the job. To Creel, The Cold War was the best of times. He wants desperately to show the world that the West and East are still where the power lies; not in the oily dust buckets of this world.
But how to start an MAD type of rearmament?
Simple.
Find one out of work actor. Use some make up. Hire a couple of Geeks with broadband. And, presto, Russian troops are committing genocide. Wonderful! Well not quite. For a war you need two players. Maybe someone with a dislike for human rights who’s making more money than is good for them and benching 140? Let’s see which lasts longer - the iron or the bamboo curtain.
All is well in Creel’s world until kills one man’s last chance at a normal life, and his wife.
That might just be motivation enough for one A Shaw to find the whole truth.
Clever, witty and fast paced. 4 thumbs up!
Christopher Dean
4/5
A Death in Tuscany by Michele Giuttari. Translated by Howard Curtis. (Abacus Publishers) R180 ISBN 978-0-349-12007-2
Although this is a novel, it has the elements of a biography. The author is drawing from his actual experiences, which gives the book an edge: Giuttari was the head of the elite Florence Police Force where he was responsible for sending mafia members to prison.
The story starts with the murder of a young girl; which ties in with the mafia eventually. However, the loose ends are only tied up near the end, which is the author’s clever way of drawing readers in. It is unclear who the hero and who the villain are, but as the story unfolds, the evidence brings the puzzle pieces of the story together into a complete picture.
This is a day-in-the-life view of a detective, which involves danger, hard work and sweat, without the glamour that has been portrayed in most detective novels.
I recommend this intriguing book to those who enjoy true-to-life criminal investigations.
Reviewer: Dawn Blankfield
3.5/5
Death on a Branch Line by Andrew Martin (Faber & Faber) ISBN 9780571229673
Death on a Branch Line is the latest in the popular Steam Detective thriller series. Starring likeable Railway Policeman, Jim Stringer, and his forceful wife, Lydia.
It’s set in the sweltering summer of 1911 when half the country is on strike and the other in flames. A special train rolls into York station carrying a young aristocrat found guilty of murdering his father.
A brief encounter with Jim and he has a firm ally. With only 48 hours to find the real culprit, Jim and Lydia board a weekend excursion to a neighbouring village. This brings the suspects together in Christie style. It’s better luck than judgment when they uncover wartime conspiracy.
The story is quaint and quirky and grounded in railway memorabilia. Like the steam locomotive it chugs along at a steady pace. Stopping only to pick up an assortment of odd passengers. Take an armchair seat, and enjoy the ride.
Jackie Kelly
4/5
The Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri (Picador) ISBN 978-0-330-44224-4
This detective novel is about a kidnapping. It is a light, entertaining read sprinkled with humour, yet there are moments of deeper insight. One immediately gets drawn to the main character, a detective who thinks outside the box, to the annoyance of his compatriots. The detective then leads the readers through the twists and turns of the story.
Although translated, there is still a distinct Italian flavour and expression, which is refreshing. One gets a good feel of the setting through the writing.
Having come across the glossary of terms only after reading the entire novel, I found it enriched and enhanced my understanding of the story.
Overall, an enjoyable read, and one looks forward to the next story in the series.
Reviewer: Dawn Blankfield
4/5
More reviews
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6. Interviews
Amanda Patterson answers 17 Questions
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7. The Star Struck Writer
Scorpio
Ruler: Pluto
Key Phrase: “I Desire”
Water Sign, Fixed, Feminine, Negative
October
25 Anne Tyler
26 Pat Conroy
27 Dylan Thomas
Sylvia Plath
28 Evelyn Waugh; Hilary Rodham Clinton
30 Paul Valery
31 John Keats
November
1 Amanda Patterson
3 Terence McNally
5 Sam Shepard
7 Albert Camus
8 Margaret Mitchell
9 Carl Sagan
10 Friedrich von Schiller
11 Kurt Vonnegut Jr; Winston Churchill
13 Robert Louis Stevenson
14 George Bizos; P J O Rourke; Prince Charles
16 Chinua Achebe
18 Margaret Atwood
20 Nadine Gordimer
21 Voltaire; Marilyn French
22 George Elliot
Read on...
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8. The Write Co Competitions for Subscribers
Monthly ‘What’s on your mind?’ Competition
Theme for November: Is this real?
Write 400 words and win!
2 Books from The Write Co and Publication on our web site, in our newsletter and in Off the Cuff.
Conditions: 1 Entry per Person, 400 words.
Closing date: 25th of every month
To enter: Send entries to info@thewriteco.co.za
Winner for July: Jackie Kelly To Bare or Not to Bare
Winner for August: Angela Auld - Where have all the good men gone?
Winner for September: Adheesh Budree The World Seems Different
Winner for October: Renata Dry About Face
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Monthly Poetry Competition
November's theme is: Office Politics
Prize: A case of Leopard’s Leap Wines
Conditions:
1. Only 1 poem per month per subscriber is allowed.
2. The poem must not be longer than 30 lines.
3. The poem must be about the given topic.
4. If you are not a subscriber please pay an entrance fee of R50, 00 per entry.
Closing date: 30 November 2008
To enter: Send entries to amanda@thewriteco.co.za
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Winner for The Colour of Secrets: Dylan Kerr Balkind. Congratulations!
Winner for I don't know how she does it: Jamie Sutherland. Congratulations!
Winner for Stairway to Heaven is:
Winner for Dangerous Liaisons is:
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Choose your winner for: Stairway to Heaven, Dangerous Liaisons , Scary Men & Desperate Women, and send the poets' names in the subject line to amanda@thewriteco.co.za
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9. Students Write
10. Classified
For sale:
Perfect for a writer's retreat...
Iron Washed Dining Room Table with six chairs: R2 500, 00
Mail info@thewriteco.co.za and we will forward details
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Books need a home too...
Need custom made bookshelves?
Contact Rod 083 750-6854 or mail colleenrw@telkomsa.net
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