kindness – Sibo

Sometimes being the mom in this boomerang house of ours is not all that bad…

The other day Emma – aka Igz – asked if I had any scarves that I do not use.

Ummm… nope. I replied very quickly.

Since the big kids came to live with us – nothing, I repeat, NOTHING is safe anymore. Things get borne off to various parts of the house never to be seen again.

Aaahhhh come on mom – you used to have all those little ones that you NEVER use.

Begrudgingly got up to go and look. Had a plastic bag in my cupboard that I vaguely remember stuffing things into when we moved – things that I no longer wore or did not fit.

We emptied The Bag onto the bed… knickers of all varieties and a couple of saggy old bras. One or two new ones as well – of the boobtube variety that had sliced my body unattractively in half. I’d buried them in disgust rather than return them. Those were the days when my thyroid was busy attacking me and I had no idea – was just packing on weight and could not understand it.

We sifted through the stuff… not a single scarf.

She eyed the bras, What are you going to do with those?

I’d gone from too fat to too thin – so they were not likely to fit me now anyway…

What are you going to do with them? I enquired.

She’d use bits of them for other things… the underwire, the fastners and stuff. I tossed them onto the Em pile.

We ruffled through the heap and found some undies – never worns that I passed on to my skinny daughter, and some others that I had thought would never fit me again found their way back into my top drawer.

I spotted and pounced on my lucky knickers… green lacy ones that I had loved so much they had holes in the crotch in a very unsexy way. They became unlucky when I was wearing them and my suitcase went missing on a visit to the USA, only to be found 5 days into my 10 day trip.

Hot trip tip people – never pack HIS and HERS suitcases – mix your stuff up!

Hadn’t worn those knickers for years – not since I got divorced back in 2003 but could never bear to ditch them completely, so they had languished in a corner of my top drawer and then been relegated to The Bag.

Give those to me, said Em, snatching them out of my hand and stuffing them into her pocket.

Noooo… I started to howl – then realized I was being pathetic – she’d use the lace for some arty project. We shoveled the rest of the stuff into The Bag and stashed it back in the cupboard.

Early next morning, Chris and I were on our way to fetch my older daughter and her family from the Lanseria. They were coming from Cape Town and would be spending Easter with us, then going onto Sun City for a friend’s wedding. I encountered Em in the passage.

I blinked… What are you doing up and out of your flat so early?

Here. She said – grabbing my hand and filling it with something slinky. It’s your lucky bracelet.

She’d made me the most gorgeous charm bracelet – turning bits of lucky knicker lace into beads. This is the sort of thing my creative, quirky, tempremental, pain-in-the-ass Em does for a living. So if anybody wants something creatively recycled – give her a shout.

The Kindness Book is in the final stages of editing – we have 18 authors (from various countries) who have contributed stories. It will be available very soon.

The cover was done by Kaisa Koponen who is the most fabulous artist. You can follow her on Instagram to see more of her gorgeous work.

Here’s the back….

If you want to know how this project started….

Greetings and salutations fellow writers!

You are receiving this email because you want to write children’s stories… right?

I am continually inspired and enthused by all the people wanting to write children’s stories.

Imagine a storybook filled with short stories from different cultures and races – all on the same topic… KINDNESS!
Kindness makes the world go around! We have to start instilling this value in our children while they are young, and what better way than stories.

Would you be interested in participating in such a project?

How it works:

Write a story – no more than 500 words (excluding the title and your name) on the topic of KINDNESS. In English please.
You can write in prose or rhyme – it can be funny or sad or poignant – but it needs to have the message of kindness – something that any child would listen to, enjoy and then maybe pay it forward.
If you can illustrate your story – go for it – but please stick to black and white sketch type illustrations, and only one or two.
If you can’t draw – no worries – paint your pictures with words.

I will then compile all the stories into a book that will be printed and you will be able to buy copies – to keep, to sell, to read to your kids at home, in class etc.

Cost of the book will be determined by how many pages and the final quantities ordered. Thankfully digital printing makes this possible.

The result – a melting pot of short stories for kids about kindness.

If you are interested in participating – please hit reply and let me know.

This is NOT meant to be some sort of spammy stuff – but an opportunity to have your story published in an anthology called “The Children’s Book of Kindness” – for us all to share and read.

Answers to some questions you might have…

Due date for story submissions – April 15^th 2018.
Topic is kindness – nothing else will be considered.
500 word limit – can be less but not more.
Prose, rhyme or poetry welcomed.
Specify what age you think your story appeals to and we’ll have sections.
Yes, I will edit any spelling errors or glaring mistakes.
No I will not change the flavour of your story or the way it is written. I will do nothing without your permission.
Yes – your name will be prominently displayed next to your story and we can have a list of authors, emails & websites (if you have one) at the back of the book if everybody agrees. This will allow somebody who likes your story / style of writing to contact you.
Yes – you will always be able to order more books (but the price might vary).
Yes, you can share this email with other children’s authors who might be interested.
Maybe we could have a competition amongst the illustrators in the group for the cover artwork?
No, we won’t get rich from this, but it will be fun and we’ll be sharing our work and having it read in places we never imagined. Who knows what will come from this.
If there are too many stories for one book – we’ll split it into two or three books – age targeted.
Yes, if this works we can do story books on other topics.

Anything else – feel free to ask directly.

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You can stop reading here and start writing… but if you want to know a bit more about who am I and why I am doing this… carry on reading.

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My name is Ginny Stone and I am a published author. I’ve written 20 books – 17 of those have been published by reputable publishers. I’ve also gone the indie route and self-published 3 books.

People often say to me… I wish I could have my story published. I always tell them – don’t wish – just do it.

Problem is… many people dream of writing a story, having it published and becoming rich overnight.

Ain’t gonna happen!

I can tell you (and any of the published authors reading this will probably agree) that you don’t make lots of money writing children’s stories. My Sibo Series (14 different titles) are being read in schools and libraries all over the country. Same with the Sello series and yet I am still poor as a church mouse (financially that is – in other ways I am extremely rich!).

I know what you’re thinking… my writing is bad! But if you’ve read this far you might be just a little intrigued and feel free to go see for yourself:

The Sibo Series
The Dog’s Blog
Imaginaeries of Faerie Glen These projects all have FB pages too.

YES! I have made money but it is not really enough to live on.

Wrote a weekly blog in The Springs Advertiser for more than 8 years – from our SPCA dog’s point of view and am in the process of turning those blogs into books… however Indie books need to be marketed and that is my downfall (am working on this).

Currently write a weekly blog in the African Reporter from Sibo’s point of view on a variety of topics (runs as a real blog too).

Our latest book called “The Imaginaeries of Faerie Glen” is available as an eBook on Amazon and Smashwords, plus I’ve printed some copies. A genuine South African fairy story set in a nature reserve. I had great fun writing this in collaboration with my daughter, Igz, who also did the all illustrations.

I edited and produced a newsletter for the science centre community in Southern Africa for a number of years, as well as producing proceedings of conferences – so have experience in the graphic and editing fields. I also have access to a jazzy old pensioner whose command of the English language is awesome and flawless. (You could employ her services too.)

My main aim in life is to empower children with knowledge. I try to do this in any way I can. This is one of them.

Please do join in on this adventure!

Greatly looking forward to working with you.

Ginny