Who do you rely on? In the last two weeks, I have had to ask myself this very question. Trust is an important part of being human, as is faith. But there are things we can not anticipate that come our way that can shake our world. My daughter’s fiance’s flight was cancelled two hours before he was due to board and I have had several of my support team fall ill. This comes after I had been ill for over two weeks, following a spell of burnout, and then my bank rejected all my incoming Amazon royalty payments because of some change in code. The list is longer than I care to mention in this message, but one could say that I have had a spell of bad luck and I was certainly feeling fragile. If we want to move forward in life, making plans and setting goals is important and misfortunate has a way of challenging the viability of those goals. While we may have to delay some of our plans, we should never be tempted to give up or give in to despair or harden our hearts towards others. In th...

  It thrilled me to see that I remained at number ONE for an entire week in the New Releases in Teen & Young Adult Classic eBooks. A celebration that I could not wait to share with my editor. Yesterday I spent a few hours catching up with her. We had not seen each other since the beginning of the pandemic and it was a treasure to see her in the flesh again. As we sipped coffee and munched on chocolate biscuits, it reminded me of how much I have missed her companionship along the journey and I counted my blessings once again that I found a kindred spirit in her.  She reminded me of the day that we met. It was at a coffee shop in a nearby nursery. The heavens had opened up that day and we could not experience the greenery that I was craving. But despite the gloomy skies, I felt a renewed energy when we started chatting and somehow the naysaying voices of those people who questioned if I could write a book disappeared in that cocoon of our first meeting. Any victory that I ac...

  If you have children you know those dreaded words “Are we there yet?” In my case, as I am home schooling, I also dread the words, “Is the food ready yet?” I use this continuing theme to help my little ones, aged 8 and 6, to work on their time telling skills. So they have to come and tell me where the big hand and the little hand are on the clock. This tactic only marginally assists me in getting some peace and I feel more like a caterer than an author.  But I have to admit I feel the same way about my third book. Whenever I see my editor has made another comment or suggestion I think, “Really, are we not done yet?” I still need to get the ISBN number and complete the cover. But I am stuck on the title and that influences all the other bits and pieces.  Then the big thing that we are currently debating is that there are two “parts” in the book that initially seem like two different stories, but that link up in the end. Someone suggested putting a break in the book “PART ...

  This month I am working more aggressively on my over-all goals. I love writing. In fact, since May last year, I have completed 45 newsletters. All with bits of what I am up to, what new books there are out there, and snippets of my novels. But now it is time to up my game. I want to be a full-time writer. In fact, there is a scholarship that I want to apply for, but that requires up to 75 reviews on Amazon, just for me to apply. Being a full-time writer means I must consistently sell enough books to support a family of seven. I have included my elderly parents in the mix. It is an enormous responsibility, and I need new skills to make that happen and hence the application for the scholarship. If you have read my books and qualify as an Amazon reviewer, please head over to Amazon to give me a review. I need 75 of which 10 must be a 5 star review. I average at about 4.3 across all the platforms and one on seven reviews will give me a 5 star review. Which if you are percentage type...

It feels like we have had at least three quarters of the years dedicated to lock down. While we have had more freedom in my part of the world in the last few months, there have been some changes that have been long lasting. Many people have become more fearful, and that is difficult to remedy. This Christmas I wanted to invite someone I know who was alone for Christmas, but then I realised we have to restrict ourselves to just family. It is one of the many sad realities of living in a decade where there is a virus of this magnitude. My husband is 63 and in a higher risk category (because of age), which meant that I had to ask myself what would happen to my children if something were to happen to their father. That kind of distancing fear annoys me, because too many people were alone for Christmas. In my new Novella, A Mother’s warning, readers get to learn about Lady’s Christine’s mother Queen Isabella. King Radolf trapped Queen Isabella, manipulated her and silenced her until she had ...

Choosing your tribe is critical. You may be tempted to believe that your friends have to fulfil all your emotional needs.  But that is not true. They may be an excellent friend in one area, but not able to support you in another.   Choosing the wrong people for your tribe can kill your dream. So treat it like a fragile baby. When I had children, I stopped spending time with certain people. Not because they were awful friends, but because I was going through a season where worrying about my baby touching their glass table with their sticky fingers would fill me with anxiety.     Once I had a babysitter then, I could reintroduce that friendship into my life. When you are reaching for a goal, you may need to take a break from some people, or only speak to certain people about your dream. Choose your tribe carefully when building your dream. You want a group who had got your back, the ones you can trust.  The Chronicles of Nadine is in the medieval period where powe...

Feudalism flourished in Medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. It was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. Although the Chronicles of Nadine takes place around 800 AD, we used a range of medieval concepts that spanned across many centuries to create a world for the series.Under the feudal system, there were different groups with varying degrees of power and status. A king or queen owned all the land, which they broke up and gave out in exchange for military service. The Lord or knight who received the land was called a vassal and was legally obligated to provide services in exchange for that land.  In the Chronicles of Nadine, Nadine’s father, Nicolaus received Land from Lord Logan and had to resume his Knightly services.Knight service was military duties performed in exchange for the lands.  A King or Lord might require the military service for wars or expeditions or for riding and e...

What does the word destiny mean to you? People say that it a predetermined course of events that leads us to some kind of purpose in our lives. There are a lot of debates about whether life is a matter of choice or a matter of destiny. The argument is that destiny predetermines everything. If that is true, then why should we bother with any decision making. It almost takes the fun out of life. We want to believe that we have control over our lives. In the series The Chronicles of Nadine, this is a theme that Nadine struggles through. Does she bend to what those around her say is her calling, or does she make her own choices? For a stubborn and fiercely independently thinking young lady, that seems an impossible choice. In the beginning, Nadine made some decisions based on what she thought would be the fate of her parents when they were captured by the dragon… Come to think of it, what is the difference between fate and destiny? Are they the same thing? . Fate  is the preordained co...

What does the word destiny mean to you?  People say that it a predetermined course of events that leads us to some kind of purpose in our lives. There are a lot of debates about whether life is a matter of choice or a matter of destiny. The argument is that destiny predetermines everything. If that is true, then why should we bother with any decision making. It almost takes the fun out of life. We want to believe that we have control over our lives. In the series The Chronicles of Nadine, this is a theme that Nadine struggles through. Does she bend to what those around her say is her calling, or does she make her own choices? For a stubborn and fiercely independently thinking young lady, that seems an impossible choice. In the beginning, Nadine made some decisions based on what she thought would be the fate of her parents when they were captured by the dragon… Come to think of it, what is the difference between fate and destiny? Are they the same thing? Fate  is the preordaine...

My eldest daughter loves the charming, if somewhat eccentric Inspector Hercule Poirot from the Agatha Christie series. His famous words when working through a problem were “The little grey cells are working well today.” Well, my little grey cells certainly were active this week. I had to invent a coding system to reveal the location of something of extreme importance to three district groups in the third instalment of the Chronicles of Nadine. The code protected something precious, when the dragons faced possible extermination. The location of the hidden items could only be worked out by someone who had an intimate knowledge of the workings of their inner society. Coming up with the system was one thing. But creating the clues was an entirely unfamiliar process that challenged me far beyond what I expected. It rather reminded me of the Disney movie starring Nicolas Cage called National Treasure. The character Benjamin Gates thinks through a series of clues that lead to various l...

Diary of Dorothea Copyright Kim Vermaak 2020 700AD  Day 1 - Morning  Lockdown with a Dragon  The horror of the day lurks in my mind. When my children are not watching I feel a wave of fear rise inside me.  The deafening shriek of that fearsome beast ripped me from my sleep. Adrenaline surged through me and a kind of terror covered me as I watched the flames erupt from the beast’s mouth.  Nicolous had raced ahead to see what the danger was and ordered me to stay with the children.  But the fear of not knowing what was out there had compelled me to follow him.    Then I saw her.  Enormous, fierce and unyielding in her anger. As I recall her body now while everyone around me is asleep, I can see the ferocious beauty in her shimmering silver form as the light of the flames danced over her scales. There was grace in her flight as her massive form covered the sky.  But I did not perceive that when she first invaded m...

Muquin was the first dragon to appear in Book One of the Chronicles of Nadine.  She is a Silver Wing Dragon. These dragons are the spiritual leaders of all the dragons and with the help of their whisperers, they form the bridge between human and dragons.   What makes her my favourite? Muquin represents the multi-faceted dimensions of women.  She is a passionate and playful partner to her mate.  But like all strong women, Muquin tries to mother her mate.  She sees danger and wants him to stay away from it. But leaders can not hide in the shadows.  They must step out to lead.  And Megadeus is no different. Muquin decides that if she can not dissuade him, she must fight alongside him.  But this brings tragic consequences and Muquin has to survive a life of solitude, cut off from all other dragons. I think we have all faced trauma or guilt that stops us from embracing all that we are meant to be. In these times the ...