In TV land this time of year becomes very fraught as everyone realises that there are only *9.5 weeks left until Christmas and we have ninety billion trillion scripts to produce. So that is me at the moment, listening to Christmas music and writing my mielie off trying to get scripts out.
Yes, dear Reader, you read that correctly. I am mainlining on Christmas music to get me through these next nine weeks before I can take a break. I used to have the decency to wait until after Halloween before I broke out the carols, but with loadshedding and everything being a bit shit, I decided to go for it. And why not? I saw crackers in Woolies last week (no, not white trash, the paper kind).
Every time one of the family members come into my office, I sing something along the lines of:
- Me: Laaaaast Christmas, I gave you my heart—
- Fam: *starts backing out the door* Noooooo. Please no.
- Me: And the very next day you gave it away…
You get the picture.
All this work is good news though because it means lolly for Christmas and just, you know, to live and to pay varsity fees. Yes! The lastborn has been provisionally accepted to study drama at UCT which we were very relieved about. She will (as she gets higher up) possibly be taught by a fab lecturer that taught the husband and I, so that makes me a little misty-eyed.
In other news, I got feedback on my sober curious memoir back and…
*in Sally Fields’ voice*:
THEY LIKE IT!
THEY REALLY, REALLY LIKE IT!
Big whew as I had visions of trying to rewrite the thing in 2 weeks. Very excited because the artist, Minky Stapleton, who did my book covers for Ms C and Delilah and who encouraged me to get published in the first place has done this cover, can’t wait to show it to you.
Had the launch for the third book in the Sex, Lies trilogy on Tues night, sooooooo lovely to catch up with bestselling author, Eva Mazza, who is a joy to interview and at fave spot, Exclusive Books at Rosebank Mall.
It was a very literary chat, points of discussion included:
- Which character would you shag in this book?
You know like a celebrity shag thing. What is a celeb shag? This is where you give your partner a free pass to shag the celeb of their choice. Mine always used to be George Clooney but I also very much like the Ryans (Gosling and Reynolds).
The husband’s celebrity shag has always been Scarlet Johannson/Johansenn/Johansson, who let’s be honest is gorg. Then she started being problematic, and I was slightly worried about him having a problematic fantasy shag, so I did mention it to him.
- Husband: it’s okay, she won’t be required to talk.
FYI…my shag in the book was Barry the PI with the dad bod and Eva’s was the hot, young Leonard.
On Wednesday night we went to the art exhibition for the Lastborn. There have been no exhibitions at the school due to the dreaded rona so it was a real treat to go and check out all the art. Am totally blown away by the creativity and talent of these youngsters.
Also, the vulnerability expressed in the work which only made it more powerful. Shout-out to their teachers who did a magnificent job of guiding them through this process.
This really was our last event at the school, but I have cried all my tears and now am ready to be a grown-up and move on.
Except for being removed from the First Team Water Polo Parents’ group.
THAT was a hard pill to swallow.
Also, it’s not all doom and gloom as I will get to go back every year for the Kingsmead Book Fair, another reason to choose a school with a book fair!
TV/Film recommendations: watched The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the Nicolas Cage spoof on Box Office. HILARIOUS! Basically, it’s a crime caper where Nick plays a version of himself. He loses out on a part and accepts a big fat fee to attend some Spanish dude’s party in Mallorca.
Spanish dude turns out to be the head of a crime family, the CIA get involved, Nick becomes a spy…it’s all beyond silly and very, very funny. If you’re needing a larf (and with the state of the world at the mo, who isn’t?) this is the one for you.
Book recommendations: obvs the Sex, Lies Trilogy by Eva Mazza. These are solid, rollicking yarns. Yes, there is sex in them but it’s not as much as you imagine. It’s certainly not Fifty Shades where the chick is having an orgasm every second page (which irritated me after a while), these books have just the right amount of sex and they are very well written and FUN.
Next week on Tuesday is the launch of fave, Sue Nyathi’s much awaited next book, An Angel’s Demise. It is at Exclusive Books, Rosebank Mall and Sue will be in convo with Mona Monyane. Don’t forget to RSVP to events@exclusivebooks.co.za.
(That reminder is for me. I mustn’t forget to RSVP.)
It’s jacaranda season now in Joburg, they will be on the floor soon after the storms so make sure you get to a spot with a view tout de suite to check them out. Or you can book a tour HERE. Also, if you are writing exams, you MUST stand around until one falls on your head. Studying is important but a jacaranda on your head is importanter. We usually go to the Westcliff Hotel to check out the purple haze but the Hyde Park Hotel, Marble, or the Copper Bar are all great options. Take a book along with you for extra enjoyment. Happy reading! Xxx
* Remember that movie “Nine And A Half Weeks”? Kim Bassinger had the best ass. Just saying.