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La Vita Spa- Club Mykonos

Last week I had the good fortune of spending my time at a holiday resort in Cape Town called Club Mykonos. My family and I descended on the azure waters of this luxury holiday-makers spot (literally via the Cape-Namibia Route. I was treated to a spa treatment at the in-house spa: La Vita Spa.

 Italian Inspired Spa

La Vita Spa is a world-class spa boasting a wide range of wellness and beauty treatments from around the globe. From Swiss body wraps to relaxing in a Jacuzzi or enjoy the steam room.

 The Space

The spa was spacious and beautifully lit with golden hues interlaced with white to add a pristine glow to the space. The décor was luxurious contemporary meets Italian imaginings. There were colorful paintings, wall shelves where wellness books shared a space with aromatic and colorful flowers, imposing rich wooden cabinets that displayed an assortment of herbal teas and mirrors captured and reflected the light in its surroundings. The furniture luxurious and decadent yet perfectly suited to compliment the golden floral surrounding.

 Relaxation in Progress

I got a Roman Royalty Treatment which comprised; a full body exfoliation, followed by time spent in the sauna and a quick rinse off in the shower after. Next was a full body and scalp massage. I got to choose from 4 oils each with different health and relaxation properties. I am convinced that I shed all my dead, dry and old skin like a snake in the desert. I left the spa with skin as soft and rubbery as my 11-month year old baby. The massage was so relaxing that the 1:50 minutes time tag flew by and I was inconsolable when the little gong chimed and the masseuse said “We are done.” Why do all good things come to an end? There after, I grabbed a bite to eat at the spa restaurant.

 Thoughts

My experience at La Vita Spa Club Mykonos was by far one of the best uses of 1hr 50 minutes of my life. As a new mum I am constantly tired and hard pressed to find a minute to even shower some times… yes, it can be that bad. Taking time to go to La Vita Spa was incredibly rejuvenating and relaxing and definitely smelled of good decisions on my part. I even came away with the body scrub used during my treatment which I hope I can squeeze in the time to use soon J

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Marriages Frères

On a wintry February afternoon I met with my girlfriends at Marriages Frères for a ladies afternoon. Admittedly, I had no idea what this place was when I got the text message saying that’s where we were going… The name literally means Brothers Marriages so, don’t judge me.

 What Is It?

Marriages Frères is a French tea-house and restaurant founded in 1854 that boasts the largest tea menu in- wait for it- the world! Who would have thunk it? From Jasmine, to Earl Grey, perfumed to gourmet and chocolate. It has tea workshops, a tea museum, a tea library, tea club and locations in Tokyo, Berlin and London. And to think I thought the English were the tea people :)  

 On The Inside

The place has a Grand Budapest Hotel feel to it with its golden colored walls and eye-popping orchids (they are real and huge… really huge!). The décor was definitely that of a mini tea museum with pieces from the tea era that were showcased in delicate light, some in glass casing and other beautiful shiny intricacies. And let’s talk about the lighting, which was perfect; not blindingly bright but not a shade of we have to use the brightest filter on our phone cameras either. We chose to sit downstairs as the seating upstairs is not as spacious and was already quite peopled as the tea counter, area for buying tea and accessories) is part of the upper space. The effect of being at Marriages Frères is that it gets you unconsciously feeling sophisticated, sipping tea with pinkies in the air and all.

Once seated, we were greeted by a waiter in full 1850’s tea garden garb. He handed us what is the most extensive tea menu I have ever seen and more impressive still, when asked about the difference between teas, he knew everything, EVERY THING, about the teas. I have a sneaky suspicion that the employees there are all knowing tea masters.

 The Tea

The tea was served piping hot in individual tea-pots for every single person at the table. We then chose desserts that were equally as artistic as the interior décor and paired sublimely with the tea.

 Encore

If you want to get your sophistication on and enjoy something warm with something sweet, Marriages Frères is the place. It was an excellent afternoon spent in an establishment full of history, perfect service and, as is the case with most things Parisian, la classe. TREAT YOURSELF!

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Crazy Rich Asians

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFZpSM9-AxE)

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The Underrated Mailing List

This week I attended a webinar for writers. The person giving the webinar is a successful self-published author. How did he get so successful? He said he did it by building up his mailing list.

 I will admit, I’ve never really bothered with mailing lists. To be quite honest, with all the advancements in technology, I thought email had surely gone the way of the dodo. I was wrong.

 What Is The Mailing List?

It’s basically a compilation of email addresses you’ve managed to coax out of people so that you can keep them informed on your business’ latest developments or (if it's a product based business, it would be latest innovations and new products).

 Why Is The Mailing List Important?

Well, to quote the Daniel Craig James Bond movie 'Skyfall', “sometimes the old ways are the best.” This is true of mailing lists because despite technology having leapt forward at meteoric speed, email has endured and is checked by most people multiple times a day. In a way, your mailing list provides you with a captive audience.  It is also excellent for targeting only those people who are interested in what you have to offer therefore turning random browser searchers into direct traffic.

 How Do You Get Those Email Addresses?

You offer something of value in exchange for that precious email address. You can get sneaky about it by limiting options to escape offering page without giving up their address, much like how Instagram doesn’t let you put links in your posts in order to keep you on Instagram and not direct you elsewhere. Your page ideally should have one button = one option and if they think whatever you are offering is valuable enough, they will take the bait. If not, they’ll leave but not because you gave them an out.

  So, if you are looking to expand the reach of your online presence or business, the mailing list is the oldie but goodie you should definitely beef up. There are many tools to help you collect and manage your mailing lists such as Mailchimp, Activetrail, Listserv, etc. 

 Go forth business people, and get those emails in *eh herm" speaking of which...   

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Kewl bookish places in Paris that combine 2 things I’m obsessed with: books & fashion #bookmarc @marcjacobs #books #fashion #designer #marcbymarcjacobs #bookstore #bookstagram (at Rue Saint-Honoré)

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPR-IjDxMEs)

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What the Writers’ Retreat Taught Me

For the last couple of weeks I have been running around frantically trying to get everything ready and perfect for my writer’s group writing retreat. The weekend retreat was last weekend and when the day finally arrived I was far from ready and things were far from perfect. This wasn’t my first time giving a writers workshop but previously I was just invited, I wasn’t the host.

 However, that didn’t stop the retreat from moving forward and turning out to be a wonderful experience. It was a real opportunity to learn and participate in other writing forms outside of our traditional ones. One of our members is a poet and poetry master. I always joke with her about how, in our feedback sessions, I can’t give her anything useful because I don’t fully understand how poetry works. This member hosted a workshop on form poetry and by the end of it, I had written not one- but two full Pantouns! Who woulda thunk it?

 A workshop I was really looking forward to was the one on dialogue because as a writer of YA Fantasy Fiction, dialogue plays a role central in shaping character and even setting the scenes through the narrator’s monologue. It was a truly enlightening workshop that helped me see reason behind the factual rules I follow without even thinking. A screenwriter showed one of his independent films, "Love is multicoloured"(Matriculas Abertas, Vagas Limitadas), and some writers did readings in front of the fireplace.

  So often, as writers, much of our work takes place in isolation and it was encouraging to be among peers to do what we do as a collective- separately ;) The main thing that was useful about the retreat was that it was a time dedicated to our craft in all its forms. There wasn’t just one person leading or presenting, everyone got a chance to share their expertise and we all left with new or more knowledge and skills than we did coming in.

 Check out BookHQ to see some of the resources for competitions shared during the retreat and other fun and useful writing tidbits.

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Life in the Wild- Building My Kiddie Library

Someone told me that once I became a parent my interests would naturally shift in that direction too. Now that I am soon to be a parent, I am finding that that person was right.

 I visited my older sister who is the parent of bright, intelligent and beautiful 8 year old. During my stay I noticed a book she had called ‘The Busy Beaver’ by children’s author, Nicholas Oldland. I read the book to my niece one evening and found that I was probably more intrigued than she was to be honest. I absolutely loved the book, so much so, that I asked my sister if I could take it back to my parent’s house with me. I am not ashamed to admit that I read it several times in my own time and hoped she would forget that I had it so I could return to France with it. Book thief- right here! Unfortunately, I was found out and my sister had to pry the book out of my unyielding hands.

  What was it about this kiddie’s book that made it so appealing, even to me… a grown woman of three decades plus? The characters are an anthropomorphic group of friends: a beaver, a Moose and a Bear. They live their lives much like I live mine- wondering about existential questions and looking for the answers in similar places. They feel real and their concerns are as compelling and urgent as my own.

 Now that I am expecting, it’s no surprise that the first book that came to mind when I started pondering my baby’s library was none other than ‘The Busy Beaver’ and just imagine my bliss when I discovered that there are other books in the 'Life in the Wild' series. My little growing pea and I started with ‘Making the Moose out of Life’ with Moose as the protagonist. In both books, the protagonists go through some introspection and then experience some lie changing adventure that eventually leads to them changing their ways or growing in some way at the end. The character evolution is what makes Nicholas Oldland’s series accessible to not just his target audience (younglings) but grown-ups too. As a writer myself, this is especially the thing that fascinates me about these delightful and imaginative books.

 Walk on the wild side and discover the complete 'Life in the Wild' series below:

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What's worse? The evil character or the writer of the evil character?

I have often struggled with the deeply unsettling question: which is worse, the evil in a character I read or the mind that thought up the character?

 Right now I am watching the acclaimed Netflix science fiction series ‘The OA’ starring Brit Marhling and Lucious Malfoy (cough, cough) I mean, Jason Isaacs. Isaac’s character, Hap, is just… words fail. Seriously- the guy has zero redeemable qualities. He has that kind of Hannibal Lecter evil that is chilling because like Lector, he fully understands the wrongful nature of his actions and isn’t driven by some uncontrollable impulse. We can’t sympathise and say “oh but he can’t help it, he’s sick in the head”. He is extremely intelligent which makes him even more dangerous than say, a person with impulsive maniacal urges.

 In every story we need an antagonist in order to advance the story and for us to know where to align ourselves as the story progresses. Some are pure evil and their cold dead eyes help point out that truth. Like, if you couldn’t tell by the string of bloody bodies that seem to follow them around like flies on a dead dog, then you’ll see it in the eyes. In fact, I can think of one other thing that has cold dead eyes and was made for bloodsport… 

 However, I find myself at a mental impasse as to whether pure evil is real in storytelling. Our villain finds himself in a precarious situation where his death is imminent. He defends himself and manages to escape death’s clutches by killing his assailant. When he recants what happened, he says he had to defend the work- not himself (from mortal danger), but the work. Which got me thinking about how polarising characters as good and evil is too simplistic. The work Hap is doing is meant to benefit greater humanity after all. What was interesting about his response is that he sees no separation between himself and the work and if the work is meant to aid in the advancement of the human race, how could he possibly be the big bad?

 Don’t get me wrong, I still hate him and hope he meets a demise as gruesomely gratifying as Ramsey Bolton’s long awaited death. But, what is the writer trying to show us through a character like Hap? A bad guy who sees his evil as a means to an end for the good of the world? The only thing I can decide on is that we each could, arguably, be capable of great evil depending on circumstance and maybe the ‘evil’ writer is trying to get us to think more about cause and effect instead. Which in a way answers my own question about the writer. In an effort to open our eyes to new possibilities of perceiving complexity the writer, also a complex thinker, searches deep in themselves to unearth a good and an evil with which to tell their stories making the writer a bit of both, as are we all.

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Roswell

I have recently been reading the Roswell High series by Melinda Metz. If any of you reading this are 90’s kids, then you’ll probably know the hit teen Sci-Fi Drama TV adaptation ‘Roswell’. Picture

 Maybe like me, you too were obsessed with the show. I still remember that a good week in my life was determined by how the romance between Max and Liz progressed or regressed. Maria, a character from the book, described their love as “a look into your soul” type of love- and it was an emotionally intense romance that kept me hooked like a junkie on glue. I always felt that only three seasons of the show was not enough and my emotional heart was left quite sanguine when the series wrapped. Imagine my delight when I discovered, in 2016, that it was actually based on a book series! I devour the books at the speed of white light with insatiable rapture.

 What fascinates me is that as I read, I still get the same feels I got when I watched the show as a teenager. All these years later, the story is still compelling and intriguing. Obviously there are some differences between characters’ descriptions and even whether some characters were good or bad but at the core, it’s all still there. The mystery that quickened my pulse as the story moved from one point to another woven seamlessly with adolescent angst.

 Adolescent me was watching the series and found that so many of the everyday struggles of high school life were completely relatable and now as an adult so many of the insecurities expressed by the characters, the little triumphs and silent burdens also seem all too familiar. They were dealing with grown up themes like identity formation, covert government agencies operating under the auspices of national security, personal growth and leadership, loyalty and death. With the exception of a few, several of those themes are relevant throughout life. So could this be the recipe to creating a story that has a long and healthy readership life? I’m not sure but it certainly translates across many boundaries including age because like I said, more than ten years later I am still hooked!

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Frozen- keep on keeping on

I have been meaning to write or blog on a more consistent schedule for a long-long while. Before I worked from home so I had the time because time was mine to order as I saw fit. I didn’t do it then and now that I work full time for a social media digital agency, I have little to no time to do so. I can’t escape the needy clawing in the back of my brain telling me that I should, whether or not anyone will read the posts. You would think I would be used to it since I have been blogging since 2009. I will admit, it’s a bit discouraging to see people doing what you do and getting so much more response from their audience. The question always pops into my head: “How? How do I get to where they are?” The answer still eludes me.

 Let me identify the problem: I produce content both in written and video format by way of my YouTube channel but very few people read or watch me. Analytics are supposed to help by showing you how your content performed in terms of reach and engagement but all my analytics does is deject me. With so few people, I easily fall into the ‘why bother’ thinking. In writing this post I am challenging myself to write and make videos even if there are only five people who see my content (all family members) because at the end of the day I create because it is an innate part of me; a form of expression that needs release. It’s what I love to do! To modify Tyrion’s famous quote from Game of Throne’s: “That’s what I do, I write and I talk about books.”  

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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children SPOILER REVIEW

It took a painfully long time to upload this video, but finally managed it on the 7th of November!

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Suicide Squad Spoiler Free Review

Spoiler-free review of Suicide Squad movie

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Happy #bastilleday from the Dutchess with her #kindle copy of #narinhi #book #fantasy #fiction

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