CORRECTION: Launch 20 December

Apologies about the details in the previous post.

The launch on 20 December 2012, at 18h00, takes place in the Glenstantia Library (in Constantia Park), c/o Chopin and Duvernoy Rds (you turn UP into Isie Smuts from Garsfontein, and round the circle at the end of Isie Smuts).

Hoping to see you there!

Launching 3 titles

When:  20 December 2012 (Thursday)
Where: Glenstantia Library, Isie Smuts/Duvernoy drive, Constantia Park.
Coordinates:  25°48'7"S   28°17'13"E

Time: 18h

Books:

 

All welcome. 

Author presence: 

• "Freedom Fighter" (Solar Wind 3): Lyz Russo will be present in person to meet people and sign books.
• "Lupa" : Marie Marshall can be contacted via the publishers.  As she lives in Scotland, she will not be present in person but P'kaboo will attempt to have Skype Chat available for readers to meet her online.
• "Forest Circle Quest":  Leslie Hyla Winton Noble can be contacted via the publishers. As he is in Durban, he will not be physically present but P'kaboo will attempt to contact him via Skype too, to attend the launch online.

MERCURY SILVER is LIVE!

This collection of short-stories was submitted by seven different authors:  Widely differing styles, ideas, and effects. 

The book can be bought in the Bookshop at P'kaboo.  You can also request a print-on-demand paperback copy; however please allow some time for production. Within the next few days, the book should become available on Amazon too.

Congratulations to all contributing authors, and thank you.

MERCURY SILVER

... is the title of the collection of great quality short stories we have received from various authors all over.

The stories are still available on our Freestuff Page until the end of tomorrow (the 7th).  After that they will disappear off Freestuff (leaving a few stragglers behind) and reappear shortly as ebook in our shop, and both ebook and paperback on Amazon.

We will keep you posted!

4 new ShortStories and a brand-new Poetry section!

P'kaboo has 4 more Shortstories up (and one still under revision).  Also, please visit our bookshop to inspect the brand-new POETRY division, with pearls of beauty, nature and life's-like-that by Marie Marshall.

Enjoy!

A Tale of Heroes - by Douglas Pearce

Settling Up - by Nick Legg

Get What You Can - by Nick Legg

Outside - by Dr Emma Briant

Naked in the Sea - by Marie Marshall

 

 

Naked in the Sea

...by Marie Marshall is the first book in our Poetry Section. 

Pearl 2:
you secret
enfolded
in salt-flesh
hidden
in a sea
of love-songs 

 ~

Enjoy this book!

7 tips for writing a good blurb - Blurb competition

Blurb-writing is like fly-fishing. Not angling. A reader’s attention in a bookshop or book site is limited, by time restraint, the overwhelming selection, and his attention span.

P’kaboo is running a blurb-writing competition:

Go to the “Freestuff” page of P’kaboo, at www.pkaboo.net/freestuff.html.

1. Write a blurb for any of the short-stories in the short-story project. The three best entries will win a paperback novel.
2. Alternatively, write a deliberately lousy blurb (specify this in the subject line). The three funniest entries each win an e-book from our shop, in pdf format (which every e-reader handles, even the intelligent phones).

Mail your entry to info@pkaboo.net, and specify which part of the competition you are entering for. You may email unlimited entries, and you may participate in either part.

The decision of the judges is final and no negotiations can be entered into.

 

7 Tips for writing a great blurb:

1. Start intriguingly.

2. End by leaving unresolved conflict in the reader. The more tension, the better.

3. Be specific to the story.

4. Include “hooks” (e.g. shoutlines and questions)

5. Spoiler-alert. Beware of telling too much.

6. Keep it short – under 30 seconds to read, between 50 and 100 words. Make every word relevant.

7. Go for the jugular – and leave the reader wondering whether it will be ripped .

Also read here http://www.scribd.com/doc/112540710/7-tips-for-writing-a-good-blurb-Blurb-competition for common mistakes to avoid.

Short Story Project and other Submissions

P'kaboo is inviting submissions.

If you have a short story ready, or want to submit something longer, please feel free.

Our short story project is still running:  At first we were only going to leave the stories up in "Freestuff" for a month (to gain a bit of readership for them) but have now extended this to December, by which point the project will close and the stories will be published, first as ebook, and depending on popularity, as a paperback.

This means you still have a month to submit a short story.  If you would like to influence us concerning which stories are included in the final collection, please contact us on info@pkaboo.net and voice your opinion.

Other submissions:

If you want to submit a full manuscript for our consideration, please do.

Be aware that your book, if accepted, will undergo the process of editing, layout, and all that goes with publishing.  Also be aware that it will first only be made available as ebook and online.  Popularity will determine if a South African paperback is produced.

P'kaboo Titles on Amazon

Forest Circle Quest by Leslie Hyla Winton Noble View on Amazon: Paperback / Kindle

Plump and pathetic "twins" Patsy and Percival Parker-Pyle are drawn quite by accident into a magical adventure...

Lupa by Marie Marshall View on Amazon: Paperback / Kindle What is reality, what is illusion? - A lost circus girl in late 20th Century Rome; a female gladiator in ancient Rome... Solar Wind I: The Mystery of the Solar Wind by Lyz Russo View on Amazon: Paperback / Kindle "I only have half of my crew, Paean Donegal!" The year is 2116. Captain Radomir Lascek sails his pirate ship, the Solar Wind, around the oceans... Solar Wind II: The Assassin by Lyz Russo View on Amazon: Paperback / Kindle "Remember who you are..." The voyage of the Solar Wind continues... A Tensional Guitarist by Iain Rossouw View on Amazon: Paperback This book is aimed to take your guitaring to a new creative level.

3 going on 5 new shortstories up!

P'kaboo's call for submissions on shortstories is yielding fruit!  There are already 3 new shortstories up on our Frestuff Page, with two more being formatted right now.

Click here to see them.  Enjoy!!  And please remember to click that "Like" button. 

Call for Submissions!

P'kaboo is calling for fresh short-stories for our Freestuff page. Our statistics show that our free downloads are quite popular; this means people will be reading yours. Anyone who would like to strut their skills can submit here, and if we like a short-story, we will post it for a month on our FreeStuff page. After that it is taken down, and the best of these stories will be collected for the future publication of a short-story collection by miscellaneous authors.

Sometimes it's time to say goodbye

We regret that Douglas Steward Pearce, author of the humorous metaphysical novel "Almost Dead in Suburbia", has decided to leave P'kaboo.

We wish him all the best for his further literary endeavours. 

Coming soon to our 'Coming Soon': Immy and the Dragon

Immy and the Dragon

From our prolific children's lit author Leslie Hyla Winton Noble: 

Immy is lonely and bored, and goes for a walk in the woods. There she meets a dragon who wants to cook and eat her.  She has other ideas though.
Then some really nasty goblins also fancy a 'little girl takeaway'.  
She should have stayed at home...

What readers say:
 

‘Wonderful story! Looking forward to the next episode.’

'Trust a child to find the loophole in something. I feel like

a kid when I read it.’ 

‘Such a satisfying ending to a lovely tale. Nicely done.’

‘I want a dragon!!! I do, I do!!! Love these ...’

 

The "Immy" series is aimed at preschoolers and early readers.  The series explores how a sassy little girl who isn't afraid of anything, deals with a huge dragon and various other threats.  Illustrations done by Amanda Fieldgate.

Leslie Hyla Winton Noble has two series of books out aimed at young readers:  The "Tabika" series is enjoyable for all from reading age 7 (but the quirky sense of humour is still good even for adults); and the Magic Circle fantasy series targets readers from reading age 10+, once again being funny enough and having enough deep themes to satisfy adult readers. 

Immy has been written with great love for his own granddaughter, and other children of her age group.

Immy stories are designed to let excitement carry preschoolers and early readers through to building a feel for creative language.

Vocabularies are extended in a fun way by including more advanced words here and there in contexts where they are readily understood – and adopted.

Also, words and illustrations are carefully blended towards stimulating young imaginations.

Versions of the books with CD/DVD provide a useful introduction to music on ‘classical’ lines through the orchestrated themes composed for each character or set of characters.

Review: "Almost Dead in Suburbia" (Douglas Pearce)

http://blogs.news24.com/Ennui

click for more Click for more details

It is always rewarding when a reader comes back with comments on a novel.  In this case, a reader posted a review at the above address.

Thank you for the feedback, Ennui (the blogname of said reader).  I'll take the liberty of quoting:

"Having read some of Pearce’s writings on his blog I was certainly expecting an entertaining story with a good deal of humour, and so it was. However, since, according to the blurb on the publisher’s website, the story revolves around the ubiquitous theme of one person’s spirit inhabiting another’s body, I wasn’t expecting much in the way of an original plot. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The book is original, funny, entertaining, and a very good read. The plot takes you through several unexpected turns and “red herrings” and leaves you guessing ‘til the end - and even after the end. The style reminds me of Terry Pratchett and Tom Sharpe with a dash of Douglas Adams.

As the saying goes, everyone has one good novel in them, but I suspect we can look forward a few more from Pearce. "


~Ennui, http://blogs.news24.com/Ennui/almost-dead-in-suburbia-by-douglas-pearce-a-book-review

News Flash - Music Books

Now available in CNA!

We also have an agent for the Scale Book in America, and are working on a "workhorse edition".  The current edition contains Prof Solomon's handwritten notes and "notes" (the ones being music notation and the others, annotations); while this is great to have for sentimental purposes and, for many violinists, adds the magic of owning the handwriting of the author, we believe from a purely commercial viewpoint printed notes might sell better.

This would mean that sooner or later the handwritten version will become a limited edition.

Viral problems sorted and prospects

Sudden viral statistics and unexpected visitors (looking for car parts):

April's statistics show that our visitors from Russia have taken their traffic away with them.  People visiting P'kaboo are once again our refined book crowd who have the good sense to browse our reads, place occasional orders for friends, fam and (in the case of music books) business, and download our free reads for their entertainment.



Not Another Scale Book!

Our violin expert Prof Solomon's scale book is available in some Pretoria music shops; but if you are a violin teacher intending to place a multiple order for your studio, feel free to approach P'kaboo for a teacher's discount.  There is no guarantee that this will last so place your order soon.

Violin Tunes, our local beginners' book, is enjoying wider distribution now by being available in music shops across all of South Africa as well as CNA.  If your local branch does not carry it, feel free to ask them to order it from another branch.






Pre-launch copies on sneak request (be prepared to organize your own autograph or come to the launch):

Forest Circle Quest (by Leslie Hyla Winton Noble) is READY FOR PRINT!  A delightful read, whether you are a busy working person who would like to escape into a world of fantasy, magic and music for a few good hours, or a youngster who loves reading about young heroes.  A lot of giggles and a few loud belly-laughs.  Kids and teenagers have rated it "the coolest".

To request or book a sneak prelaunch copy, email us (details on our contact page) or contact the author. 

Watch this space for updates on soon-to-be-launched novels.