I had several challenges this week and I have to say that I realise I have matured in my approach. I think few family members may disagree, as I was rather snappy during the week. But perhaps some context is necessary. This week my computer died. Just died, for no apparent reason. I had one child vomit all over the bookstore floor and after getting through his stomach bug, my middle child followed suit yesterday morning at 01H11. Amidst it all, I had to get over 40 authors processed for the upcoming book fair this weekend and considering that only half of them applied to be part of the event through the official channel; I had to play detective to find all their details. My nine-year-old decided this was the week to wage war on us and I got the ceremonial “I hate you, I wish you never existed,” routine. Making sure that I also do some of my own marketing has been quite a challenge. But here I am writing this newsletter and my children are still alive and a very nice lady at Matrix in K...

 Tensions have been high at home this week. I had several deadlines to meet and things felt a little overwhelming. I was struggling to manage my time, and I wondered which goals should be taken care of first. I am due to leave for Port Elizabeth, which is now called Gqeberha to visit my parents. But I remembered an experiment that one of my lecturers at my tertiary education did for us.  He placed a large glass jar, some large stones, and sand on the table. The task was to fit all the stones and sand into the jar. He first started with the sand and then followed with the stones. Unfortunately, not all the stones could fit into the jar. Then he emptied out everything and this time he started with the stones. When he poured the sand in, it all sifted through the gaps in the stone and every last bit of the sand found space in the jar. You may have already heard of this experiment, but sometimes we all have to be reminded of the simplest messages.  My friend Daleen reminded m...

 On the weekend, I started reading a book gifted to me by one of my clients. It is a book that plots out what new top levels in a new role should focus on in their first 100 days of their new position. One thing that struck me was the author’s advice that these executives should acknowledge their feeling of overwhelm. I often thought that executives of multinational companies had their act together and that it was only a few emotionally challenged few like myself, who struggled with this feeling of overwhelm.  I know I have often felt like throwing the towel in, especially when having to juggle homeschooling my books, helping other authors with their journey and reminding myself that my husband also needs some romance. Overwhelm is a massive challenge. And then there are people who will happily criticize your every move. Wondering what everyone is thinking can drive you mad. It can also be a very lonely place where you worry about where to turn. It is almost as if by admitting...

by Kim Vermaak Image by Willgard Krause from Pixabay On the weekend, I started reading a book gifted to me by one of my clients. It is a book that plots out what new top levels in a new role should focus on in their first 100 days of their new position. One thing that struck me was the author’s advice that these executives should acknowledge their feeling of overwhelm. I often thought that executives of multinational companies had their act together and that it was only a few emotionally challenged few like myself, who struggled with this feeling of overwhelm.  I know I have often felt like throwing the towel in, especially when having to juggle homeschooling my books, helping other authors with their journey and reminding myself that my husband also needs some romance. Overwhelm is a massive challenge. And then there are people who will happily criticize your every move. Wondering what everyone is thinking can drive you mad. It can also be a very lonely place where you worry about...

  I am thrilled that Spring has started, and it is a real Spring. In my experience, the promise of spring does not always bring the results that I had hoped for. For too many seasons, I have had to keep the winter woolies out for the first few days of Spring. But this year, the promise came with some genuine warm weather. I love the sunshine and it is so much easier to get my quota of Vitamin K when soaking up some glorious rays.  I am in a happier mood than I have been in quite some time. And it is not just the sun. I am finding more and more page reads for my books on Kindle Unlimited. I am unashamed to say that as an author; I need to have a bit of a boost to my ego once in a while. When you are writing in the early hours of the morning and hoping that your words will make their way to someone’s heart, it can be a very lonely place. Most authors, if they are honest, will ask themselves, “Is my work good enough?”  Of course, not everyone will enjoy the same authors’ wor...

  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...

Do we really want things to change? When times are bad, we crave, wish, and pray for a change. A change for the better. But change always comes at a cost. That cost is letting go of what we know and that can be painful for many people. Perhaps it is because I am adopted and spent some time in a home of safety that stability and setting down roots is a primary need for me. Every time I moved, I swore that this would be the last move. And yet, I feel very much like a member of one of the nomadic tribes. A bit like the movie Chocolat, a 2000 romantic comedy-drama film based on the 1999 novel Chocolat by the English author, Joanne Harris. The main character Vianne Rocher, played by Juliette Binochean expert chocolatier and her six-year-old daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol), drift across Europe following the north wind. But there are some changes that must happen and when we look back at our lives, we find that some of our greatest growth as humans have come in times of change. This past w...