The Plaster Does Not have to stay on Forever A Day in the Life of an Author By Kim Vermaak Do you ever feel disconnected? This morning I did.  I completed my normal routine.  Get up, read my bible app, hydrate, eat protein and get down to work, while the children were still asleep. I had committed to writing an article for a new woman’s networking group and had to cover some extra work in for book three of “T he Chronicles of Nadine ” series. I put on some instrumental worship music because listening to songs with lyrics just overwhelms me when I am trying to form my own. But still I felt disconnected.  Then I realised what it was the plaster that I had on my finger. My flying fingertips on the keyboard turns my thoughts into the words that paint pictures in my readers’ minds. It is where sunsets cast their brilliant fiery crimson light over the brilliant green and delicate pattern of leaves of ancient gnarled oaks. Where despair blossoms into hope as th...

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 ...

Did you know that one of them is extinction? In a hierarchy of fears, extinction forms the base of all of our fears.  When confronted with and pandemic, this fear jumps out above all, and it is a time when people can make practical or dangerous decisions. Another fear is the fear of separation, and this is what happens when we are quarantined.  When governments protect their population, some of these decisions run into our fear of loss of autonomy. When our movements are restricted, this fear shouts out as us, as we cannot travel and feel controlled by our circumstances. These are some feelings I explore in my book series, the Chronicles of Nadine.  When Muquin the last Silver Wing Dragon attacks Nadine’s village, the villagers fear that they will all wiped out. Nadine’s friends, family, and fellow villagers are separated from help and are confined in tunnels with no way of communicating with the outside world. The written word, like the spoken word,...

Cabin fever is a claustrophobic reaction to being stuck indoors for prolonged periods of time.  It results in some mood problems. Some of them include irritability and lack of patience.  Patience? Yes patience.  Now I get it… I just self diagnosed my lack of patience without a psychology degree. But in all seriousness we have just come through a spell of rain and flooding in our area, so that can make you feel isolated and a little guilty for the kids being indoors so much.   Today the rain has started again.  If your feel the need to get out and experience some sunshine, so do your kids.  But what if there is no sunshine? For some people, depression, frequent napping and food cravings raise their heads as symptoms of cabin fever.  Reading can assist.  In fact, using your brain, is a known remedy for easing some symptoms of cabin fever.  That is the reason that we love books that create imagery and build ...

Are you a slave to debt? The old cliche that money can't buy happiness is a dreadful over simplification of facts. There is no joy to be found in not paying bills.  A study of 33,720 U.S. households published in the January 2016 edition of Psychology Science found that those with higher levels of unemployment were more likely to purchase over-the-counter painkillers. Debt has very real effects on the body. In medieval times, life was very cruel when it came to debts.  In medieval times, there was debt bondage.  This is what people did when they borrowed money and then offered their labour as security for the loan.They could pass this onto their children.   Debt slavery was when a creditor made you a slave in lieu of payment towards your debt. In some countries like Greece, there was a time limit for how long a person could be in debt slavery. There were beatings and Floggings that sometimes came with debt. But you could be put into the stocks ...

I was 15 when I felt afraid.  I knew beyond a doubt that someone had spiked the drink that I had just had.  I had a neighbour who I had popped in to say hello to. He was not there, but a group of friends were. I knew most of them. They were chatting and laughing, and I accepted the refreshment they offered. I did not know about spiked drinks then. But to go from a sober, nervous girl to someone so drunk that I was throwing up made me know something was wrong. It was when I felt fear.  I did not want my parents to know that I was drunk. I went to one bathroom and washed off the mess from my blouse. I thought if I could just let it dry on the balcony, I could go home and not have to answer questions about where I had been and with whom.  That is when he came,  To check if I was all right. He used words to tell me I would have to accept what was coming after all; I was the one without a blouse on.  Many of you will scream, “Foolish girl....

There is some protection in writing during the early hours of the morning.  That is for the protection to others and not to me.  Why do I say this?  Because that is the time that I do the least damage.  You see when I am in writing mode; I become the silent monster. It is the time that I am most likely to snap or say something inappropriate that will flood my body with guilt. My logical calm approach to steering people into a direction that will allow them to consider other people’s opinions evaporates with the steam that my fingers produce on the keyboard. Just this morning we had to get the cats ready for their sterilization appointment. So I did not complete my word count and knew that I would have to expand into normal working hours to meet my target. One of my tribe of fellow authors who has never met the silent monster posted a very endearing image and my critical gene stepped into the arena. Why?  because I was writing a scene in my book that had...