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Category: writing
How to create better stories in three simple steps
Taking a well-known story and ‘reverse engineering’ it helps you to understand key elements of a solid plot.
2019 – launches, festivals and fun
My last blog post was in JULY!!! What is wrong with me? Did I get writer’s block? Did I become a recluse? Did I surf too much? NOOOO, none of the above. (I don’t believe in writer’s block, I love ALL the friends and it’s impossible to surf too much.) Instead, I was carried away on the crazy wonderful roller…
Shadow Flicker launched at Xpression on the Beach
“On Saturday mornings, Kate and her dad used to wake up early and surf for hours at Muizenberg.”
Kate, the protagonist of Shadow Flicker by Melissa A. Volker, grows up in Muizenberg and becomes a surfing champion before a tragedy puts a stop to her career. Years later, she returns to the sea to face her trauma and to find love and healing.
Last night, Shadow Flicker‘s author visited Muizenberg, the place where she usually catches waves as a SUP champion, to launch her novel at her local surf shop, Xpression on the Beach.
The launch was hosted by surf legend Gary Van Rooyen. Melissa was in conversation with surfer, writer and historian Glen Thompson. Many friends from the surfing and literary worlds joined us for the special occasion, a kind of homecoming for the author and her novel’s protagonist.
A scene in Shadow Flicker is set in the St…
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Barbara Erasmus reviews Shadow Flicker by Melissa A. Volker in the Sunday Times
Local eco-romance novel will blow you away There are no blurred lines between the good and bad guys who all get their just desserts – cynical readers must bear in mind that Volker’s genre is romance rather than noir By Barbara Erasmus Many South Africans will identify with the heroine of Melissa Volker’s debut novel Shadow Flicker – she experiences…
Book Launch, Interview and SA SUP Surfing Champs
Wow. What a busy week I had last week. First I had the pleasure of making a trip down to the Cape Talk Studio for an interview with John Maytham. To say I was nervous is the understatement of the year. My mouth was dry like the Sahara desert and my stomach was in knots. I’m not sure why because…
Shadow Flicker by Melissa A. Volker launched at the Book Lounge
It was quite a while ago that Melissa A. Volker and I sat at Jonkerhuis, discussing over cake and coffee a version of the manuscript that would eventually become her novel Shadow Flicker. During that conversation, I mentioned my dream of becoming a publisher. I also told her that I’d loved her novel; that it needed some work, but that I was convinced it would…
Book Review – Surfing With Sartre
Surfing with Sartre by Aaron James Did you know that one of the first casualties of climate change might be surfing as we know it? Desert Point could be the first to go. Even at current sea levels it only works on a low tide. Many other breaks could follow as rising oceans swamp reefs. What greater cataclysm could befall…
Book Review – The Woolgrowers Companion by Joy Rhoades
Debut Australian author, Joy Rhoades tells the story of a young woman who finds the strength to prevail through difficult economic and emotional times. Don’t we all want to read a story like that, especially when it so beautifully written? (And the physical book is also gorgeous.) It’s 1945 in New South Wales, Australia. The farming district is crippled…
Shark Open Online Course
I completed Sharks! Global Diversity, Biology and Conservation with Cornell University and the University of Queensland on the EdX platform and it was heaps of fun. (A little tricky, in places, I must admit, but nobody really expects Cornell to be a pushover, right?) So here are ten cool things I learned about sharks. Sharks are amazing creatures, incredibly designed. The course has…
Melissa A Volker 