Author: KokkieH

Song Title Challenge #45: Storm the Sorrow – Epica

It’s time for this week’s Song Title Challenge.

Write a short piece of fiction, around 300 words, using the song title as your story title but don’t listen to the song. You can pick your own genre or use the one suggested to me. Remember to link back to this post so I can find yours.

If you would like to suggest a song title for a future post, you can do so from the challenge page. You can also leave a suggestion on the Facebook page.

This week’s song is Storm the Sorrow by Epica. Thanks to Matthew Wright for the suggestion. He didn’t give a genre, but we’re both fantasy lovers, so guess what I chose?

Storm the Sorrow

Continue reading “Song Title Challenge #45: Storm the Sorrow – Epica” →

A tale of two birthdays

Today is South Africa’s birthday (well, one of them anyway, depending on which history book you read). On this day, twenty years ago, South Africa went to the polls for our first democratic elections. Symbolically, it was the moment the people of SA attained freedom from oppression, thus it’s name: Freedom Day.

Today is also my niece’s first birthday. As she is the first grandchild in the family, it’s a pretty big deal (which probably means I’ll have to suffer through being congratulated again for something which is in no way my fault). Continue reading “A tale of two birthdays” →

KokkieH Reviews Firelands: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale by Piper Bayard

Firelands by Piper Bayard — Used with permission

Eighty years in the future, America has devolved into a totalitarian theocracy. The ruling Josephites clone the only seeds that grow in the post-apocalyptic climate, allowing their Prophet to control who eats and who starves.

Subsisting on the fringes, Archer risks violation and death each day as she scours the forest for game to feed her people. When a Josephite refugee seeks sanctuary in her home, Archer is driven to chance a desperate gamble. A gamble that will bring down the Prophet and deliver seeds and freedom, or end in a fiery death for herself and for everyone she loves.

Seeds are life. . . . Seeds are power. . . . Seeds are the only hope of a despairing people. What will Archer do for the seeds of freedom, and what will she justify in their name? – Online book description

Continue reading “KokkieH Reviews Firelands: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale by Piper Bayard” →

Winter is coming…

…to the Northern Free State. Or rather, it has come. Suddenly. So suddenly that I keep looking out the window for a sign of the White Walkers while fretting at the total absence of obsidian in the house. I don’t like it.

Just yesterday I was still walking around barefoot and in shorts. Actually I did today as well, but today I seriously questioned the wisdom of that particular choice of attire. Right now I’m sitting typing this with slippers on my feet and a little blanket covering my legs. One would think I’m living in an old age home, for crying out loud.

I have a feeling we’re going to pay this year for the very mild winter we had last year. Luckily we’re temporarily migrating to warmer climes for a few days before we have to surrender to the rigours of not-summer (and without the benefit of central heating and double-glazed windows, I might add).

It’s at times like these I wish hibernation was an option.

In two weeks’ time South Africa is having our national elections…

…and initially that was all I was going to say about that. I don’t want to sully this blog with local politics, which can really take anything good and utterly corrupt it (but I suppose that’s true of local politics everywhere, isn’t it?)

But last week there was a new development that piqued my interest. Someone said something that got me thinking about the meaning of words, and George Orwell, and the abuse of language to manipulate people. And my hammer started vibrating (and if you know anything about hammer-lore you’ll know that means it’s time to whack something).

What was said that awakened the urge in me to apply some percussive maintenance? Someone accused a group of people trying to bring about change of being counter-revolutionary. Continue reading “In two weeks’ time South Africa is having our national elections…” →