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I am hoping that 2026 will be a productive and fulfilling year for everyone who is reading this blog.

For me, it is heralding some exciting changes: changes in my blog content and my messaging. While it’s not completely new content on which I will be focusing – my stated intention of ‘sowing good seeds in the world’ is very clearly stated on this website – I would like to be more intentional about the messages, specifically the Christian ones, that I write about in my blogs.

There is so much content that is based on biblical teachings that I want to share with my readers, especially as I feel that we’re frequently being swamped with the dark and depressing realities of the world around us. So instead, I intend to fill my blogs with uplifting messages of hope, with helpful messages of guidance, of inspiring messages of how to navigate the confusing and unfortunately very often destructive messages millions of people are being surrounded with on a daily basis.

A couple of decades ago while I was still teaching in Johannesburg, I attended a Cesa church in Wendywood where I was part of the music group. At one of our practices, the music director, a guitarist, shared with us a song he’d composed, then played a few cords and challenged us to come up with lyrics which I remember we all did with enthusiasm, one member coming up with one line, the next person with another line, a phrase or even a word and so on until the song was complete.

It was such an exhilarating exercise for me that as soon as I got home, I began experimenting with short combinations of musical phrases on the piano.  A caveat: I’ve never been very competent on the piano – it takes me ages to master a simple song after practising it repetitively – I’m certainly not a natural pianist, but I have to read every single note in order to eventually master a tune.

However, to my great surprise, I did eventually manage to come up with a basic tune I was comfortable with. Then began the satisfying exercise of matching words to notes.

Once again, after much experimentation, I composed a song with the title, ‘Go out into all the world’; the song was inspired by Jesus’ command to His disciples to do exactly that; to share God’s life-giving message of hope and redemption with the world.  My song was simple, both the tune and the lyrics, but I found it an incredibly satisfying activity pouring out my thoughts and feelings both into the words and into the music. Here is the first verse, plus chorus, of this very basic song:

Go out into all the world,
To share the good news with the lost,
That Jesus our Saviour is coming again
Who suffered and died on the cross.

Chorus:
Wake up, look up, and open your eyes
To Jesus our Saviour who offers you life. (Repeat)

The words of that song mirror my motivation for both writing my blogs in 2026 that will hopefully reach many interested readers, and my desire to indeed ‘go out into…the world’ as I visit Cape Town schools where I am offering to do readings of a selection of my books.

I am hoping that you, my blog readers, will be inspired by my positive message around the subjects of love, grace, forgiveness, prayer, hope and concern for other people, amongst others. A couple of years ago, I was writing regular blogs with similar content; I would now like to re-visit those areas of thematic Christian content in my writing.

Every time a hopeful message goes into the world it counters hopelessness; it gladdens hearts and overcomes sadness; it revives and restores faith in the future instead of ruining and quenching expectations about what tomorrow will bring.

So here’s to facing 2026 with hope in our hearts, with trust in the King of Kings and the knowledge that, as the Negro spiritual goes,

He’s got the whole world in His hands.

I have a question for you to consider: what do knee scooters and writing have in common?

Whoever would have guessed that my recent foot surgery would prompt me to think about the writing process?

But first, let me share my story, and then I'll explain what knee scooters have in common with writing.

Anyone ever propelled themselves around the house in a wheelchair, or on crutches, or on a knee scooter? If the answer is ‘yes’, you will probably be able to identify with my hiccups, challenges and modest, but feel-good sense of achievement, when I managed to crack the required skill of knee scooting successfully around my own house.

After recently, having an operation on my right foot, I was given strict instructions that the ground was off limits for my recovering foot, for six weeks.

From the first moment that I put my left foot on one side of my newly acquired knee scooter, tentatively balancing my right knee on the knee pad, I knew I was in for a rocky ride – or rather, scoot. My first foray into the tricky art of steering the scooter was launched with the help of a physio. In the hospital, I learnt to propel myself forward and to reverse, but what I didn’t learn was how to negotiate around tight corners.

That I learnt, by trial and error, at home. Picture a passage with a tight left turn into the bathroom. Imagine manoevering – or rather twisting – a scooter into that narrow space! Oops. You nearly knocked your foot against the wall. And whatever you do, don’t put your foot on the floor as you lower yourself into a seated position. And remember to slide gently sideways onto a box to avoid stabbing your foot into the scooter wheel. And when you wash your hair, make a cosy towel pillow on which to rest your foot before leaning over the basin, propped up by your make-shift towel pillow.

When all your ablutions are done and you scoot along to your kitchen, don’t be too eager: careful, slow movements are recommended.

Making a simple salad has never been more challenging: the bits of lettuce dropped on the floor remain exactly where they fell, together with the naartjie peel from yesterday that didn’t quite make it to the bin; the water to boil your egg has to gingerly slide across the counter onto the hob, and it’s a vigilant stretch to the switch on that stove; the olive packet which you’ve managed to retrieve from the fridge door has to be sliced open at the sink which, unless you’re a contortionist, has to be done sideways.

Success at last! Salad made. Seated at the dining room table. Foot up on an adjacent chair. Lean back to enjoy your meal. Until – it’s time to wash the dishes, so the skilful art of steering your knee scooter begins again.

I can’t help reflecting that knee scooters and writing share certain similarities...

Here's my take on the job of guiding a knee scooter and the process of writing a book:

1. You acquire your brand-new knee scooter (new to you that is, the scooter may actually be secondhand);
   - Similarly, you open your writing ‘tool-box’.
   
2. You tentatively practise your first few scoots - this way, that way, backwards and forwards;
   - Similarly, you haltingly write your first few words.
   
3. You face some obstacles, like menacing walls, and ‘scoot’ your way around tight corners;
   - When writing, you confront some barriers like writer’s block, which you force your way through to the next written word.
   
4. Whilst on your scooter, you drop something on the floor and leave it there;
   - Whilst writing your first paragraph, you ‘drop’ some words, editing them out of your piece.
   
5. Resting on your knee, you stretch across the handlebars to turn on the stove switch;
   - After pausing to rest your brain, you find yourself searching for a new idea as you exercise your imagination.
   
6. When, after all the challenges, your meal is finally made, you relax and enjoy your food;
   - When, after all your mental gymnastics, your piece is finally written, you feel a deep sense of satisfaction that your writing is complete – for now – until your next foray into the world of your imagination.

Happy writing!

Image courtesy of Free Images.com

The power of first lines in fiction is immense. After you’ve checked the cover and browsed through the back cover blurb, you open the book and read the first line – the first paragraph – the first page. By the end of the first chapter, you’re probably hooked on the book and will continue reading to the very end.

But what if you don’t like that first line? You really aren’t interested. Maybe you’ll persevere and continue to read the first paragraph, or even the first page to see how the story develops. If, on the other hand, you love the first line, you’re more likely to give the book a go.

I could test this theory against some of the great classics of fiction, but for the purposes of this blog, I’m going to restrict my discussion about first lines to my own teenage fiction.

Of course, there are all sorts of ways of beginning a book: creating an atmosphere from the start by describing the setting – not so often used nowadays; introducing you to a character or two – quite popular in teenage fiction; immersing you immediately into the middle of the action – very popular in teenage fiction. Your first line can be part of a dialogue, an intriguing statement which introduces the theme, or a stated problem which is going to take the rest of the novel to resolve.

I have used all three of these methods, amongst others, in my young adult fiction, and would like to explore with you the significance of first lines from three of my young adult novels.

The first is from my young adult novel, for slightly older readers, entitled ‘Brighter Than The Sun’ which was published by Thy Word publishers. Here it is:

"Nothing can be brighter than that!"

This short piece of dialogue, as my readers will discover later, introduces the main theme of the book, and the conversation that follows between Dan and his girlfriend, Mandy, immediately alerts the reader to a problem in their relationship. Mandy is a Christian. Dan is not. She is determined to convert him. Her dad scoffs at her attempt at ‘evangelistic dating’, warning her that it just doesn’t work. Enter Zack, and the situation becomes complicated. The classic love triangle, with its intriguing twists and turns. I used some of my favourite beauty spots where I live in Cape Town, as the settings for the protagonist, Mandy’s swirling emotions.

I don’t want to give the game away. I would rather you found out what that first line means by reading my novel for yourself. But trust me, "Nothing can be brighter than that!" is a very significant first line.

The second of my first lines, except in this case I’m going to quote three lines, is from my young adult novel, ‘The Seekers’, published in Singapore by Kingdom Publishers. Here they are:

"Balconies were supposed to be romantic places. But tonight, not for Courtney.
She had her Verona-style balcony, but no Romeo."

In this case, I’ve deliberately begun with an idea which is likely to resonate with young adults. Most of them have either heard of or read the well-known, tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet. And they will know about the beautiful love scene that was played out, with the balcony at its centre. In my novel, the reader is informed of the absence of my protagonist’s Romeo.

Does this mean that she is currently not in a relationship?

Judging by the slightly resentful tone here, clearly there is something wrong. Courtney’s boyfriend has actually broken up with her, just one of the problems crowding in on her that she has to deal with in the novel.

This is not a spoiler alert so hopefully you will read the novel to find out how the story develops. I’m just trying to motivate for an intriguing general statement which most teenagers will identify with, and which sets up the initial problem in the story. The seed has been sown.

My third example of a first line is longer than the previous examples. This is from my young adult novel, ‘Surrounded’, published by Thy Word publishers. Here it is:

"Until yesterday, Margaret had been soaring on eagle’s wings, blissfully unaware of the strategic attack
that would scatter her friends and destroy her joy."

In this particular case, I immediately set up the conflict between the protagonist, Margaret, and the antagonist, Jacky.

There is clearly a strong contrast in Margaret’s life between a time when things were going really well for her, and a time when they are now going really badly. And the person who is responsible for her fall from grace, her dwindling popularity and her increasing unhappiness is Jacky, her greatest rival.

Young adults will be able to identify with issues like jealousy, unpopularity, battling for peer approval, even meanness, spitefulness and bullying, themes which develop as the action of this novel, ‘Surrounded’, plays out.

So whether you’re writing a novel or a short story, spend time on crafting your first lines. They’re really important. They can create interest, intrigue the reader and provide mystery and fascination.

Happy writing, especially in creating those dynamite first lines!

Have you ever thought of creating a game of some kind? I had certainly never considered it, until I thought of Christian cards.

 One afternoon, I was flipping through the Buy and Sell WhatsApp group that I belong to, and I saw some 'Mindfulness’ cards for sale. I remember feeling very emotional about this, and decided that I wanted to create some cards with Christian content.

During the next few days, I thought a great deal about the Christian cards and basically decided to get to work immediately.

The concept I decided on was to create four card games of ‘bridge pack’ size – fifty-two cards per pack: one like ‘Snap’ the game for young children, with images from some of my Christian picture books: The Rainbow Game, Modern Manna, Trees full of Treasure and Celestia’s Dancing, Prancing Doves. I carefully selected the images I wanted to use, and that was my job done, the easiest job. Feline Graphics are the creators of the books featured. I alerted them to my choice and they did the rest. My job of choosing the images didn’t take long at all, and I had fun doing it.

The next three card games are intended for any age – slightly older children, teenagers, adults, families – anyone who enjoys quiz games. My aim was to create 104 questions per pack, 52 colour-coded ‘easy’ questions, and 52 colour-coded ‘difficult’ ones.

As I set about the task, I worked my way through all 66 books of the Bible, trying to divide the questions I chose between the Old and the New Testaments. Each of the three packs has quite distinctive questions: the first mostly based on factual information from the Old Testament, but some are also from the New Testament; the second focusing mostly on Jesus and His teaching; and the third entirely composed of quotes from Scripture.

Some of the questions ask which book in the Bible the quote came from; some of them ask who said the words; and others ask quiz-lovers to complete the quote. For these packs, I asked Feline Graphics for three different icons on the cards, depending on which of the three tasks had to be performed. They didn’t disappoint: a book for which book, a speaking mouth for ‘Who Said’, and a scribbled line for ‘Complete the Quote’.

A great deal of careful thought went into the creation of these Christian cards, searching, checking and cross-checking for accuracy. I wanted to give people a range of ideas from the Bible – ideas about people, places, events and quotes, and I had to work hard to distinguish between what I thought Bible readers would find ‘easy’ and ‘difficult’.

For example, I reckoned that most people would know the answer to the question, ‘Who built the ark?’  Noah, of course. And I thought most people would find the following question more difficult: ‘Who was Samson’s father?’  Manoah, not so obvious.

To play the games, for each card, you can choose to answer an easy or a difficult question. You score one mark for the correct answer to an easy question, but three marks is awarded for the correct answer to a difficult question. The catch is that if you get a hard answer wrong, you get minus three.

The aim of the games of course, is to have fun, while at the same time to learn something about the Bible. Perhaps the questions will lead to some stimulating discussions or readings of a passage. Most answers include biblical references.

When I sent all this information off to Feline Graphics, I hadn’t yet thought about the name for each pack. I was delighted with the names they came up with, such appropriate titles for the four different games: Match It, Faith Facts, Truth & Teaching, and Scripture Says. Each pack comes with instructions on how to play the games, with the questions on one side, and the answers on the other side of each card.

The cards are colour coded blue and yellow, with my logo and name on one side, and the name of the game on the other. Beautifully packed in boxes with rainbow colours to match the colours in my logo and website, hard cards that can easily be handled, each pack individually packed in cellophane.

As testers, I decided to ask for the production of twenty packs each, i.e. eighty packs altogether.

Want to increase your knowledge of the Bible, have fun with your family or group, or test your skills? I’ve been told by people who’ve tried the games that they’re perfect for church camps or small groups.

I really hope that these Christian cards, games with substance, will give the people who play them a great deal of pleasure and a desire to get to know the bible better.

Enjoy playing your Christian card games!