Hello, friends and fans!
Welcome to my 62nd monthly newsletter!
Pull up a chair, let’s chat!
Let’s take a look at this months’ news!
Today’s my 49th birthday, and it’s also the last day of my vacation! Think of me when I go back to the ‘salt mine’ again tomorrow, will you? Well, it’s been a busy first month of the new year, and no mistake! Not only have I been making some significant and positive changes to my life, but I’ve been making changes to my environment as well – as I’ll be telling you about forthwith!
A Mish-Mash Of General News
January started off with a bang as the old saying goes.
A Fresh Motoring Start
Not only had I in the earliest days of 2022 rid myself of a heap of old troubles and problems in the form of having to perpetually work on a very old car, which was proving expensive and exhausting and was literally shortening my life, but on the 7th of January I took delivery of my first ever new car! Some may take this sort of thing for granted – especially in first-world countries – but for me this is a big thing! For example, neither of my parents was ever able to afford a brand new car.
When I was a child, I was a pedestrian, accompanying my parents on foot, or on busses – or in cases of extreme need, in a taxi, or given lifts by wealthy relatives in one of their Mercedes. As a teenager, I walked long distances fairly regularly while the school busses were on strike. Oh, I’ve grown up to appreciate the mobility and freedom provided by a good set of wheels, alright!
Having owned several secondhand cars previously, I’d started looking for a replacement used vehicle in December already. I had my eyes set on a late model Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto, and with occasional bouts of remorse and misplaced loyalty to the old car, I hovered between making the decision to sell it and keeping it and struggling on, and back again… In the end though, I realized, once I found a buyer for the old car at more than I’d initially expected, that I could actually afford to buy a brand new car instead of just another person’s problems – and hopefully less problems than the ones I had!
The car I settled on is a little red “crossover” from India by Mahindra. It’s the rather verbosely over-named Mahindra KUV 100 K2+… *pause for breath* …#Dare, but don’t let the convoluted name throw you – or the fact that it’s an Indian marques, it’s a flipping awesome little car! I’ve already put on 450 trouble-free km in the last month and I’m enjoying every moment of it! The car came with a big yellow bow, wrapped as a gift – to Tina, from Tina – LOL.
Not only has this car solved my transportation issues, but it’s also removed a huge chunk of stress from my shoulders. Not that my life is now entirely stress-free, but at least I don’t have to worry about A) going places, and B) actually getting there – or back again! I now also have a lot of extra time free to focus on things I love doing – rather than slaving over an ungrateful old car, getting greased-up over an old engine and trying to figure out how I’m going to fix this ******** thing!
Clearing up the Beetle parts as part of the sale process set me off on a belated spring-cleaning spree of note! Once done de-crapping the garage, I set about de-cluttering the rest of the house too! The main question I found myself asking was “where the fuck did I get all this crap???”! …but more about that later.
Another New Audiobook
As if all that wasn’t exciting enough, late last year I also released a novelette I wrote called “Opsaal“, which is now available on Amazon and various other places in eBook and paperback format – thanks again to Brandon from Moon Books Publishing! An audiobook version narrated by the awesome Darla Middlebrook was my first early new audiobook release of 2022! The audiobook is 53 minutes long. Opsaal is a frightening account of the experiences of a mother and her young children living in fear on a disturbingly haunted South African farm during the Great Depression. Since the story is based on a family legend, this book is based on a true story! (The main characters were my mother’s parents, and the children were my mother and her siblings). For that reason, this story has always held a special place in my heart, and I’ve always wanted to get around to retelling it properly – and so now I have!
Opsaal is also my 15th audiobook, and I’m extremely proud and thankful to Brandon of Moon Books for believing in me and supporting my career as a writer. Here it is for your spine-chilling audio enjoyment – Opsaal!
Changes At Home
One of the things I got up to in the last few weeks was to sacrifice our guest or spare room and turn it into a library! Both Kay and I love books, and so we figured since we get so few visitors and even fewer house guests, it was a far better use – space being at a premium at home. Besides, there’s a sleeper couch in there that’s great for sitting and reading on, as well as for guests to sleep on. I built a lovely Victorian/Gothic inspired book shelf out of the floor-standing book shelf that was in the hallway, and wall-mounted it. After, while repacking the books, we whittled out the ones we didn’t want anymore, and put them aside for the thrift store.
Tragedy At Moon Books Publishing
Unfortunately, 2022 – in spite of starting off on an encouraging high note, quickly delivered a thrust of tragedy. Brandon Mullins, CEO of Moon Books Publishing, and my friend, died suddenly on January 19. You can read more about that in the eulogy I wrote.
Meanwhile, I await news of what the future holds for Moon Books Publishing, but in the meantime there has been some movement on the Smashwords side of things, with a few sales coming along to perk me up. Whether or not things will go as well on the publishing side this year as they did last year, remains to be seen.
Again I’d like to add a note of thanks to all those of you buying and reading my books, the people leaving book reviews, those leaving friendly comments on my posts, or sending me messages of encouragement – it means a lot to me that there’s so many of you all still here with me!
Publishing
Currently Available Titles:
My books are available as eBooks, Paperbacks, and Audiobooks, and you can find them everywhere. Click the links in the slideshow below to view titles available in these formats.
If you’re still wondering where to find them in the format of your choice, you should read “Where To Get My Books – Specially For My South African Readers!“.
New Titles:
These are recent titles published in 2021:
The first 3 are academic papers, all written during January-February 2021, inspired by an invitation from the University of KZN to peer-review a paper by one of their students on a related topic. My response resulted in me being inspired to build three new papers on the subject. The fourth item listed is my updated Portfolio for this year, and number five is the updated, 2nd edition of “The Galaxii Guide To The Terran Space Fleet“. My sixth item for the year is my first fiction release for 2021 (a late offering, I know) called “Opsaal” which was released by Moon Books Publishing on the 13th of November in paperback and eBook, and the audiobook was released on January 15, 2022.
Audiobooks:
I have 15 audiobooks available on Audible and Amazon! Click the links in the slideshow below to view titles available as audiobooks.
New Audiobooks:
The audiobook for Book 5 in the Quantum Series “Prodigal Sun” was released on January 11. “Opsaal” was released on January 15, 2022 in audiobook form. Both were narrated by the talented and exceptional Darla Middlebrook.
Coming Soon!
Under the sub-heading of “Coming Soon!” here is the cover for the upcoming release of the audiobook for “High Steaks“. It should be available during 2022, pending delays resulting from the recent death of the CEO of Moon Books Publishing.
Stay tuned for more new releases and updates!
Feedback & Communication
Reviews:
I have one new review to show you this time! And what a review it is too!
“Mirror, Mirror” received a FIVE STAR review on the 31st of January!
“Mirror Mirror by Christina Engela is a science fiction fantasy that would have fitted perfectly into the old TV show The Twilght Zone if it were still around today. It’s the story of two men in two different dimensions, who are unknowingly swapped. One is Charlie, an actor, playing the role of the captain of a commercial space liner. The supposed starship that he is on is only a simulator, built to give paying customers the experience of flying around out in space. The man Charlie gets swapped with is named Andy, and he is a real captain of a real spaceship that transports tourists around the solar system. Andy and Charlie retain their memories and minds as they each wake up in the body of the other man in a strange new reality. In essence, the book is two stories in one as we watch both men struggle to make sense of what has happened to them.
Mirror Mirror is clever, quirky, intelligent, and frankly a lot of fun to read. The author purposely allowed the two stories to mirror each other with almost identical story arcs for both men, and the technique works extremely well. Seeing the men go through similar traumatic experiences and handle them in their own unique way is very entertaining. This is less of a science fiction story and more of a study of life choices and how they can affect a person over time. The author, Christina Engela, has a whimsical way of telling her story that makes an otherwise out-of-this-world plot feel very relatable and human. I highly recommend Mirror Mirror to anyone who likes a well-told “what if” story with lots of heart. FIVE STARS.” – Reviewed by Scott Cahan for Readers’ Favorite, January 31, 2022.
You can see all my previous reviews here.
Interviews:
I have no new interviews to show you this time, but all my interviews are linked to from this page.
What The Readers Say:
I have no new reader comments to show you this time, but all my reader comments are linked to from this page.
Videos:
You’re welcome to browse through the videos on my YouTube video channel! I’m not really the performing seal type, but I do my best! There’s also a 13 minute movie on there, called “Bang, Splat!“, based on characters and settings from “The Time Saving Agency“.
Latest Articles:
Below are links to a few of my most recent posts or articles since my previous newsletter:
- A Peek At My Week! #39
- Writing Advice: A Few Military Terms & Concepts For The Writer
- A Peek At My Week! #38
- Tragedy At Moon Books Publishing
- A Peek At My Week! #37
- “Opsaal” – Now Available As An Audiobook!
- “Prodigal Sun” – Now Available As An Audiobook!
- A Peek At My Week! #36
- A Peek At My Week! #35
- Christina Engela’s Monthly Newsletter: #61 January 2022
In Closing
Well, that’s all for this time, folks!
Thanks again for all your support, sharing, friendship and interaction!
As always, feel free to email or message me via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn if you have any comments or questions!
Cheers!
Catch me on social media!
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All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2022.