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News | Christina van Deventer
A short story about my home town, Rustenburg
When I was a little girl growing up in Rustenburg, I was the only girl living on our street. There were boys aplenty, though, and I soon understood that if I simply watched them play cricket and rugby and cowboys & crooks and cars, I was going to miss out on some of the best years of my childhood. So I was known as a bit of a tomboy. A girl among boys. Playing with their toys. Playing with Hot Wheels cars in the dirt or racing against them on ancient consoles while eating peanut-butter sandwiches. Those are the childhood memories that stick with me most: the way we looked at those cars and imagined the real thing, the speed at which a toy car could be launched into the air on a homemade ramp with a little bit of help from a rubber band, the cities we built with cereal boxes and plastic crates. I grew up loving those cars and what they represent, and at least in that way, my new short story, Hot Wheels, is an homage to my earliest associations with Rustenburg. The N4 highway came much later, and later still the ghosts of memories of those lost too early.
Hot Wheels is centered around a toy Hot Wheels car and the way such a small thing can sometimes touch a life or shape a future. It’s a story of loss, of grief and guilt, but more importantly, it’s a story about motherhood and it is now available on all major digital platforms for free for a limited time. Not too limited though, so share the news. There’ll be plenty of time for your friend, lover, brother, mother, grandmother, colleague and neighbour to download their copy.
Check out the links below to get your copy today, and as always, if you liked what you read, please rate and review at your preferred outlet!
Have a great weekend! Drive safely.
Posted in News, Work | Tagged Amazon, Apple iBooks, B&N, Barnes & Noble, Car, Christina, Goodreads, Grief, guilt, Hot Wheels, Indigo, Kindle, Kobo, literary fiction, loss, motherhood, Rustenburg, short story, Smashwords, teen boy, van Deventer, women’s fiction | Leave a reply
My short stories now available on Scribd!
If you’re a reader, which I sincerely hope you are, then you’ll have heard of Scribd by now. If you haven’t, here’s the low-down: Scribd is a subscription service for all things bookish and a lovely way to pay a little for a lot of reading material. Each month, for only $8.99 you get *unlimited access to their large catalogue of books, magazines, audiobooks and documents, which can be accessed from your phone, tablet or computer at your convenience! And now, to make the deal even sweeter, my short stories are available for Scribd subscribers both in Afrikaans and English! The full “Nuwe Stories” short story series (Afrikaans Edition) is available for your reading pleasure. The series consists of three anthologies: Nuwe Stories, Nuwe Stories 2 and Nuwe Stories 3, each comprising a collection of Afrikaans language short stories from millennial writers such as myself. And of course my own short stories are there too. Look out for “Onder die Brug” (Nuwe Stories), “‘n Kis vir Boel” (Nuwe Stories 2) and “Utopia” (Nuwe Stories 3).
Nuwe Stories, ISBN 9780798156448. Now available on Scribd!
Nuwe Stories 2 – ISBN: 9780798164627. Now available on Scribd!
Nuwe Stories 3, ISBN: 9780798167987. Now available on Scribd!
If Afrikaans isn’t really your thing, I have a special treat for readers of the slightly more widely spoken English language. My latest short story, “Hot Wheels“, is now also available on Scribd.
Hot Wheels: A Short Story. ISBN: 9780463642849.
So get clicking and start reading, and remember, if you liked what you read, review and recommend!
Get your Scribd subscription here. Click on the book names above to read each book on Scribd.
Posted in Daily Life, News, Work | Tagged 'n Kis vir Boel, Books, Christina van Deventer, Hot Wheels, millennial writers, Nuwe Stories, Nuwe Stories 2, Nuwe Stories 3, Onder die brug, reading, Scribd, short stories, Utopia | Leave a reply
“The Deermaster: A Christmas Novella” free ’til Christmas Day!
Posted on December 21, 2017 by christina
Christmas has always been my favourite time of year, not only because it brings together family and friends and reminds us to be humble, thankful and charitable, but because Christmas is that time of year when one can really feel the air crackle with magic. The magic, for most of us, lies in the Christmas spirit, the excitement that surrounds preparing to have friends and family over and, most importantly, the reasons why we choose to celebrate: what we believe.
In my new Christmas novella, The Deermaster, Chris Claussen wishes Christmas could be this straightforward, but for the inhabitants of Snow Falls, Christmas holds a different meaning altogether. Only one person can be The Deermaster, but what if he is completely ill-equipped for the job and non-committal to boot?
This Christmas, follow Chris Claussen and Carol Stern into the perilous North Pole, where nothing is what it seems and simple acts of goodwill can be more dangerous than a pack of starving wolves in sub-zero temperatures.
Get your copy free on Kindle from 21 December, 2017 until 25 December, 2017 and be sure to share! To make this Christmas extra special, I’ve designed a gift-certificate that will allow you to gift The Deermaster to friends and family for Christmas. Please remember though, The Deermaster will only be free for downloading until the 25th of December, 2017 at midnight PST or in South Africa until 10:00 on 26 December, 2017.
Click below to preview, “buy” and share The Deermaster. This book is also available in paperback format. Click here to buy it.
Click on the image below to open the gift certificate, which you can then download, email or print for friends and family! Do you live in the UK, Australia, Canada, or somewhere else? Send me an email to christina *(at) christinavandeventer.com and I will happily send you a gift certificate for your respective Amazon Online Market. *Replace with @
Last, but not least, have a wonderful Christmas 2017!
Posted in News, Work | Leave a reply
‘The Boy With The Coin: A Short Story’ Free on Amazon Kindle this Star Wars day!
Posted on May 4, 2017 by christina
Perhaps it would have been better if the boy had a lightsaber, but he doesn’t. Coins have greater value to fatherless children. Or perhaps it’s simply because lightsabers are probably, kind of, a little too sci-fi for this particular tale. Nevertheless, if you download ‘The Boy With The Coin’ today, or tomorrow, it is a sign that the force is strong within you!
Also, the story is about an old man, a young boy, and, maybe not very surprisingly, a coin! ‘The Boy With The Coin’ is free on Amazon Kindle on 4 and 5 May, 2017. It is always free on Kindle Unlimited.
Posted in Daily Life, News, Work | Tagged Boy, Cancer, Coin, dealing with death, dealing with loss, Unfinished business | Leave a reply
‘A Ghost In The Darkness: A Short Story’ free this weekend on Kindle and KindleUnlimited
Posted on March 4, 2017 by christina
We’ve all known that kid in school. Every school has one. An angel. A kid who is perfect, loved by the teachers, adored by the students. But if every school has an angel, there is usually a demon hiding in its shadows. At St. Joseph’s Academy for Boys it is no different. And the angel brings out the worst in the demon.
Read my new short story, ‘A Ghost In The Darkness’ to find out what happens. It’s available for free on Kindle today (03/04/2017) and tomorrow (03/05/2017). It’s always free on KindleUnlimited.
Posted in News, Work | Tagged A Ghost In The Darkness, amazon kindle free books, Angels and Demons, Free on Kindle, short story | Leave a reply
Bobby: Man’s best friend as you’ve never seen him before
Posted on May 26, 2014 by christina
I was introduced to Elizabeth Pienaar at the NB Books Authors’ Party earlier this year. A small, beautiful blonde woman with an open face and infectious smile. She was easy to talk to, even easier to listen to, as she is smart, well informed and a good conversationalist. That was my first impression, before we started talking shop.
What are you working on/getting published?
A new book, about to be released, she said. A Young Adult book called Bobby.
Young Adult? I had read only the week before that a multitude of American authors are suddenly finding themselves ranked as YA writers without ever having intended their work for that market. Did you write it as such? I asked.
She hadn’t, but it had become labelled during the publishing process. Labelled for teens, so it could be sold to teens.
It’s about a dog, told from the dog’s perspective.
Pretty much the perfect elevator pitch, I thought. She hadn’t even needed two minutes. One sentence had me hooked.
Fast Forward two months.
In a charming bookstore in the heart of Melville, the lights are on tonight. Laughter flows out of the two entrances to Love Books at the Bamboo Centre on Rustenburg Road. Leopard’s Leap wine glows in every glass. Beautiful food disrupts happy conversation. In the midst of it all is Elizabeth, taking it all in. They are all here for her, but what they really came for is the book. A book, based on true events, inspired by the life of one creature that many would count insignificant. A dog. An animal so easily taken for granted, overlooked, forgotten. For the lucky few who understand, an animal which should never be taken for granted, overlooked or underestimated.
She speaks with mirth about her method as a writer, about discipline and belief. She speaks about Bobby, the real Bobby, with great love, from heartfelt remembrance. She looks with reverence to the couple who gave Bobby his final home. Arthur and Ingrid. They are among the attendees.
When she reads from her book, my signed copy burns me through its brown paper bag. I could have bought it a few weeks ago on Kindle, but then I wouldn’t be reading the real thing. Then I wouldn’t be able to hold the paper copy in my hands with the same anticipation, the same first-read jitters.
The cover is beautifully simple. A girl and a dark-coloured Alsatian with hazelnut eyes. A book that every dog-lover would pick up. A book that everyone else might pass by, not knowing what they missed.
“People coming, people coming to look!” Elizabeth Pienaar – Bobby
I met Bobby on page one. I’d heard about him, read snippets about him, but until I met him I couldn’t have understood the immensity of his presence. Bobby embodies every look, every wag of the tail, every yelp, or bark or whimper of every dog who ever lived. Bobby is the book you read to your children so they can understand the importance of being kind to animals. It’s the book you give to someone who’s been unfortunate enough to have to deal with the loss of a beloved companion. It’s the book that was written expressly to remind us that dogs are not pets, or protectors or mere companions. Dogs are family. And if you treat them right, they’ll love you more than is humanly possible.
Bobby tells the story of a dog who loses his human to death. Afterwards he is repeatedly abandoned by his caretakers until he ends up in a care facility, awaiting adoption or death. Along with so many of his kind waiting for someone to notice them, there is no knowing which of the two will come first.
On the other side of the special barrier, a young girl finds it hard to overcome her grief after losing her dog to Cancer.
Elizabeth Pienaar understands the human condition. She understands what grief is, that everybody deals with it in their own way and that it often defines who we become. In Bobby we have to deal with a new form of grief, a new understanding of our own reactions to the grief of others, whether they are human or not.
This book is not just for teenagers. Young Adult is not an apt label. It should have been labelled more distinctly. It should have been labelled “For humans”. It should be sold in pet stores, at shelters, by breeders and vets. Anyone with a beating heart should get a copy of Bobby. And since you’re going to the bookstore anyway, why not grab one for your friend, sibling, parent, grandparent or boss?
Get Elizabeth Pienaar’s fantastic debut novel (R120) at your local bookstore or buy it from Amazon via Kindle. Also available in Afrikaans as Bobbie. To learn more about the author, visit her website at: elizabethpienaar.com
Posted in News, Recent Reads, Work | Tagged Alsation, Amazon, Animal shelter, Animal Welfare, Bobbie, Bobby, Cancer in dogs, Debut Novel, Dog, Dogs, Elizabeth Pienaar, Kindle, Leopard's Leap, Love Books, Melville, Pets | Leave a reply
Nuwe Stories 2014 Kortverhaalkompetisie kortlys: Eerste weergawes
Posted on April 30, 2014 by christina
Foto verkry vanaf litnet.co.za
Die eerste weergawes van die verhale wat die Nuwe Stories 2014 Kortverhaalwedstryd se kortlys gehaal het is nou beskikbaar om te lees op Litnet. Een van Christina van Deventer se verhale is ook op hierdie jaar se kortlys. Kortlyskandidate werk nou saam met twee van Suid Afrika se voorste taal-kundiges, Leti Kleyn en Suzette Kotze-Myburgh, om hul verhale af te rond vir publikasie. Die finale weergawes van die verhale sal in die Nuwe Stories 3 bundel opgeneem word. Die bundel word later vanjaar, in November 2014 deur Human & Rousseau gepubliseer. Klik gerus hier om die verhale op Litnet.co.za te lees.
The first versions of the short stories that made the Nuwe Stories 2014 shortlist are now available to be read (in Afrikaans) on Litnet.co.za. One of Christina van Deventer’s short stories are also on this year’s shortlist. Shortlist-candidates are currently working together with some of South Africa’s foremost language specialists, Leti Kleyn and Suzette Kotze-Myburgh, in order to refine their short stories for final publication. The final versions of their short stories will be published in the Nuwe Stories 3 short story collection. The book, which appears later this year in November 2014, will be published by Human & Rousseau. Click here to read the shortlisted stories at Litnet.co.za.
Posted in News, Work | Tagged Christina van Deventer, eerste weergawe, first version, kortlys, Kortverhaal Kompetisie, Kortverhaalbundel, Nuwe Stories 2014, Nuwe Stories 3, short stories, short story collection, Short story competition, shortlist | Leave a reply
PEN Afrikaans Jong Stemme Kompetisie wenverhaal
Posted on April 30, 2014 by christina
Foto verkry vanaf litnet.co.za
Christina van Deventer, was in 2013 een van die twee nasionale wenners vir die PEN Afrikaans Jong Stemme Kortverhaal Kompetisie vir skrywers onder dertig. PEN bied weer hierdie jaar die geleentheid aan jong skrywers om deel te neem aan die gesogte kompetisie. Die wenner(s) se verhale word ingeskryf vir die PEN International Young Voices kompetisie waarin meeste wereldlande se PEN verenigings verteenwoordig word deur een of twee jong skrywers binne hul verskeie landsgrense. Die PEN kompetisie vir Suid Afrika sluit eersdaags, op die 6e Mei, 2014. Meer inligting oor die kompetisie kan hier verkry word. Lees ook Christina se wenverhaal hier.
Christina van Deventer was one of the two national winners in the PEN Afrikaans Young Voices Competition 2013. This year PEN once again offers young writers under the age of 30 the opportunity to participate in this sought after competition. The winners’ stories will be entered into the PEN International Young Voices Competition in which most countries in the world are represented by one or two writers chosen by their local PEN organization. The PEN Afrikaans Young Voices  Competition is still open for entries until the 6th May, 2014. More information about the competition can be viewed here. Read Christina’s winning entry here (only available in Afrikaans).
Posted in News, Work | Tagged Christina van Deventer, Kortverhaal Kompetisie, PEN Afrikaans, PEN International, PEN Young Voices Competition, Short story competition, Wenverhaal, winning entry | Leave a reply
Nuwe Stories 3 kortlys aangekondig
Posted on April 15, 2014 by christina
Die Nuwe Stories 3 Kortlyskandidate.
Foto verkry vanaf www.litnet.co.za
Dit is vir my ‘n groot eer om weereens hierdie jaar deel te wees van die NB Uitgewers/Human & Rousseau Nuwe Stories Kortverhaal Kompetisie kortlys.
Die kompetisie word hierdie jaar vir die derde keer aangebied met die doelstelling om jong skryftalent (onder 30) op te spoor en te ontgin. Lees meer oor die kortlyskandidate asook die bundel by Litnet.co.za deur hier te klik. Baie geluk aan alle kortlyskandidate!
Posted in News, Work | Tagged Christina van Deventer, kortlys, Kortverhaal Kompetisie, Kortverhaalbundel, Nuwe Stories 3 | Leave a reply
Ek agter die skerms en Nuwe Stories 2 beskikbaar vir Kindle
Posted on January 1, 2014 by christina
Die Nuwe Stories 2 skrywers by die bekendstellingspartytjie in Kaapstad.
Hier volg ´n onlangse onderhoud met Litnet na die publikasie van Nuwe Stories 2 in November 2013.
Nuwe Stories-kortverhaalwedstryd 2013: Onderhoud met Christina van Deventer
Naomi Bruwer, Christina van Deventer
Vertel ons lesers meer van jou verhaal/verhale wat in Nuwe Stories 2 opgeneem is.
My verhaal, “’n Kis vir Boel”, handel oor ’n hond wat ’n jong seun doodbyt. Wanneer dit duidelik word dat die hond aan ’n swart man behoort wat sedert die gebeure vermis is, raak die hele gemeenskap betrokke en is die hond se lewe op die spel.
Ná die aanvanklike keuring het jy die geleentheid gehad om die kortverhaal persgereed te kry met die hulp van raad en keurverslae. Hoe het jy hierdie proses ervaar?
Ek het die proses geniet. Die keurder se verslae was op die man af en die voorgestelde leesstof was interessant en aktueel. My enigste “negatiewe” kommentaar op die proses is dat ek graag kritiek van albei keurders sou wou ontvang, aangesien dit moontlik die ontwikkeling van my verhaal verder
Wat is die beste skryfraad waarvan jy al ooit gehoor of gelees het en wat jy probeer om self toe te pas?
Lees. Dit is moontlik ook die grootste hindernis om te oorkom, want ’n mens is geneig om fiksie vir ontspanning te lees. Selfs wanneer ek ontledend lees, raak ek ná ’n hoofstuk of twee meegesleur deur die verhaal (as dit ’n goeie een is) en vergeet ek om op te let na die nuanses. Ongeag daarvan dink ek dat dít wat jy lees in jou onderbewussyn saamgesleep word en ’n uitwerking op jou skryfwerk het, selfs al is dit net deur taalgebruik. Ek het aanvanklik gedink ’n mens moenie so baie lees nie, want dan begin jy soos ander skryf. Ek het intussen my opinie verander.
Die ander skryfraad is die ou een “skrywers skryf”. Baie suksesvolle skrywers sê hulle kan bloot elke ses maande ’n boek op die rakke sit omdat hulle elke dag skryf. Om elke dag te skryf, klink maklik genoeg, maar dit is nie. Dit verg toewyding en dissipline. Ek raak al beter in hierdie opsig, maar dit is ’n roetine wat ’n mens moeilik aanleer, veral omdat die lewe geneig is om tussenbeide te tree.
Wie is die skrywers wie se werk jy die graagste lees, en waarom hou jy van hulle werk?
Ek lees graag die groot kokkedore van Engelstalige ontspanningsfiksie: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Crighton, ensovoorts. Ek is baie meer kieskeurig wanneer dit by Afrikaanse fiksie kom en lees selde of ooit ’n boek net omdat dit deur iemand geskryf is van wie se vorige boek ek gehou het. Ek word maklik visueel beïnvloed: As die boek ’n aantreklike buiteblad het, sal ek dit koop sonder om spesifiek op te let wie die skrywer is. Dan gaan ek huis toe, lees, en besef/besluit agterna dat hierdie skrywer meer aandag verdien. Dus lees ek in Afrikaans oor die hele spektrum, van Sophia Kapp en Isa Konrad tot PG du Plessis en, meer onlangs, Deon Meyer. Dit is vir my moeilik om iemand spesifieks uit te lig, want ek geniet amper enige skryfwerk wat goed afgerond is en maklik lees, selfs romanse en niefiksie. My enigste vereiste is dat die boek goed moet eindig – ek lees gewoonlik die laaste bladsy in die boek voor ek besluit of ek dit koop. Dit maak dit interessant om dan uit te vind hoe die skrywer en karakters daarby uitgekom het.
Het jy enige verdere planne vir jou skrywersloopbaan?
Ek weet nie of mens regtig in hierdie verband planne kan maak nie. Ek skryf dít wat my hart my forseer om te skryf en hoop dan maar agterna dat daar ’n ontvangslokaal daarvoor sal wees. Ek hoop om as skrywer te ontwikkel en dat mense byval sal vind by my skryfwerk, maar net die tyd sal leer of daar wel ’n skrywersloopbaan op my horison is.
Vind meer uit oor my deelname aan Nuwe Stories 2 deur hier te klik.
As jy nog nie ´n kans gehad het om die bundel in die hande te kry nie, gaan gerus na Amazon vir die Kindle weergawe, of na Kalahari vir die “paperback”.
Posted in News, Work | Tagged Afrikaanse fiksie, Amazon, Christina van Deventer, Kalahari.com, Kindle, Kortverhaalbundel, kortverhale, Litnet, Nuwe Stories 2, Onderhoud | Leave a reply
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