The launch of Lupa, Freedom Fighter and Forest Circle Quest certainly went off with a bang last evening. There were flashes of genius, there was a-peal, a crashing bore it was not – although definitely with crashes – and there was a boom in sales.
All of which is to say that rather a distraction was provided by the visit of a thunderstorm.
Unfortunately, this adversely affected the Skype hookup. I could see and hear everything, but my communication back didn’t seem to be working too well. Marie Marshall in Scotland resorted to the SMS function, and in response to many eager questions texted up a storm to go with the thunder one in Pretoria. Her novel, which has an apparent simplicity, is extraordinarily thought-provoking, and it was clear that even the brief sample had provoked thought indeed.
I managed to answer a few questions during the short time communications were actually two-way – such as what made me think of the characters, and how I set about plotting my novels.
Most of the time I was able to hear the readings and gauge the good responses of the audience. I also overheard some (flattering) remarks to one another from people fairly close to the microphone who didn’t realise they were being broadcast to Durban!
Altogether it was a pretty satisfactory launch. When it works, Skype is great for linking public with authors who can’t be present in person, but perhaps for future such occasions a Facebook page could be placed on standby as a backup. Or would something else be better?
At least our weather is fine at the moment. The recent torrential rains caused lots of problems, and some of them are still being felt. This picture down our front garden is a sample of what has washed up on beaches after the floods had de-littered some of the informal settlements on waterways.
© December 2012 Colonialist (WordPress/Blogs 24)
Well done guys 😉
As for the hookup, gmail also has a video chat facility, but if that’s also not working there are quite a few instant messaging systems that can be used. Fb will probably be good for advertising as well, so maybe that’s the way to go forward…
As for the de-littering – I’ve always wondered why they insist on building their shacks so close to the water – don’t they know how mighty and powerful water is?
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Thanks for the tips!
As for the shacks – I suppose land on these waterways is often the only flattish spaces they can find to invade?
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Well, if I had to choose between being swept away or living on high ground, I know what I’d choose. Of course that makes the water far away, so I suppose it’s easier to just rebuild with help from the nation than to work out a pully system for the water. Or something…
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Oh, well done you guys. Modern communication is a bonus, in spite of the stormy glitches.
I read somewhere about the tons of trash having been removed from the beaches, including one train!
It was a bit of a scorcher today, wasn’t it? Not my kind of weather 😦
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It still is kind-of muggy! The sort of weather where one is pleased to have a pool. Strangely enough, that is rather cool!
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I’m so glad to hear it went well.
I would love it if you had a Facebook page as well as a Google+ page.
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I do have Fb, but use it mainly for Scrabble – and it repeats my WP posts.
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Well done Col! So good to hear it went well
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Ta! Sorry you didn’t manage to get your new wheels there!
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Next time, you need to give us more of a warning! I would have loved to go and check it out!
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The warning was, indeed, short as the venue was only sorted out very late. Next one, maybe! Only that may be Immy for which you are perhaps just a teensy bit overage! 🙂
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Nothing wrong with staying young at heart 🙂
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Congratulations Col!!!
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Many thanks! One official launch down …
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From a 34c Cape town again congratulations and you can’t in the end beat Skype regardless the hitches, I have tried many and Skype always came out tops.
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Thank you!
It was just bad luck about the thunderstorm, or Skype would probably have done a good job.
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