ROSACon2020 - Annual Conference of Romance Writers Organisation of South Africa

2020 has been the year of the parties that weren't. Weddings canceled. Theatre shows. Dream trips. Family reunions. 

But there's one show that is going on, and it will, as usual, bring all the feels: the love, the excitement, the joy, the camaraderie, all the good stuff you know you need right now. 

Of course the party I'm talking about is The Romance Writers Organisation of South Africa's annual conference.  And you don't even have to but a plane ticket or book a hotel room. 

Because #ROSACon2020 is a virtual event, and it's open to all levels of writers.  

Wait, wait. Don't log off. We know you've done a huge amount of virtual things in 2020.  We know you might have digital fatigue. So, we have prepared a programme for #ROSACon2020 that has such an intriguing array of speakers, topics and events, it will only leave you inspired and empowered. The conference will flow from local speaker to international, from workshop to presentation, from pitch to writing sprint with space in between to relax, or fetch a coffee or network, depending on your mood. 

Are you a beginner writer?  Have you started your first manuscript ever? Or are you a fledgling? Do you have a manuscript that is ready to fly the nest? Are you already down the road, manuscripts out and about, but the road has a few potholes? Are you a seasoned writer, with contracts and bestsellers? 

Each conference day includes a writing sprint or a writing exercise to keep out reason for being in focus. But, this time, you won't be alone at your desk. Find the full program HERE

Kickstarting the conference on a high note is international guest speaker, Julia Quinn, the bestselling author of the Bridgerton historical romance novels, which is coming soon as a Netflix series. We are so excited to hear what Julia has to say in the Keynote Address on Day One.

Are you writing YA? Or a high concept novel? Then make sure it's not your turn to cook dinner on 20 October 2020 because those two genres are on the programme between 17h30 and 19h30 at #ROSACon2020.

Interested in pitching your manuscript? There are six opportunities over the course of #ROSACon2020 to pitch to editors and publishers. (You need to pre-book for these.)

What about marketing? Is that your nemesis? Then Day Two is for you. In one of the presentations, Skye Warren, bestselling author and marketing maven, will share cost effective marketing strategies that work.

Stephen King said, 'To write is human but to edit is divine.'  Editor Joanne Grant will tell you more about editing, what editors expect from authors and what authors can expect from their editors. 

How about writing romance in South Africa? Do you set your books here? Do you write Afrikaans?  If you said yes to either of those, then please join us early on Day Three to hear a number of guest speakers, including Izak de Vries, who will share data about current local book sales and marketing trends.

Indie Authors, Day Four is for you, from Cover Design to Self Publishing tips. Don't miss it. 

On Saturday, we have the wonderful experienced local writer, Elsa Winckler, sharing her wisdom at the start of the day. Later on we have a talk by New York Times Best Selling author, Shirley Jump, on scenes and sequels, and then the inimitable fountain of knowledge, Jane Friedman, will talk about the thing that plagues most writers: self doubt. 

On Saturday evening all the writers who entered the 2020 Imbali and Strelitzia Contest will be on the edge of their seats at the Awards Ceremony, when the winners will be announced. Have your bubbly ready to celebrate all our published and unpublished authors at the event. 

Sunday will include a session about writing the male point of view, and #ROSACon2020 will close with an inspiring talk by bestselling author and Entangled Managing Editor, Candace Havens. She will help us to keep on dreaming big. 

Please join us. Even if you don't write romance. Yes. You. The person in the back writing Cozy Mysteries. Or Fantasy. Or Crime. Whatever you write. There is so much to learn about the craft of writing at #ROSACon2020.

But you know what the best part is? Love is not just a genre. You will find it in this tribe. A tribe who will support you, cheer for you, push you, advise you and most of all, be kind to you, throughout your journey as a writer. 

Wouldn't you agree, in the year 2020, that this is what all of us need?

ROSA's first ever anthology is now on sale!

What do a rugby player, a biker with a gift for hacking, a Scottish Duke and an alien from the future have in common? They're just some of the heroes in ROSA's first ever anthology.

Ten of ROSA's published members have contributed short stories to Wedding Season, which released on Mandela Day 2019 (18 July). Available internationally as an eBook through Amazon, the book will also be available in print in South African book stores through Lapa Uitgewers from September 2019.

This anthology is not only the first English romance collection exclusively by South African authors, but it's also ROSA's way of paying it forward - all proceeds will be shared between ROSA's scholarship fund to develop new writers, and the Athol Williams' Read to Rise literacy charity.

Support our local authors, and a very worthwhile cause, by downloading your copy now, exclusive through Amazon.

Love over the cultural lines

Today's post is a guest post from Cliffordene Norton, editor at Lapa Uitgewers.

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Diversity has been a hot topic since I started working in the publishing industry and probably a long time before that. We live in a society where our racial and apartheid past has a huge influence on the way we currently view relationships between different races.

Image courtesy of Looks Like Me

In Afrikaans mainstream books these relationships are often not reflected or still representative of before 1994. From my point of view, diversity seems to be gaining momentum. I am a huge Marvel fan, and was so excited when Black Panther was released this year. I went to watch it three times in cinema and started following the #BlackPanther on Instagram. Since than I have seen countless posts on Instagram about why representation matters. These posts recently spiked again with Crazy Rich Asians.

Black Panther was a major influence and inspiration on the next generation of black kids. Looks Like Me, a UK talent and casting agency dedicated to raising the profile of underrepresented groups, commissioned photos where kids recreate the Black Panther characters.

It was evidence of the power of representation. I like to tell this story about my grade 8 class who got excited when we read Diekie Vannie Bo Kaap by Zulfah Otto Sallies. Everyone read, finished and enjoyed the book. We later performed scenes from the same book and it was the most interactive I’ve have ever experienced my fellow class mates with a book. It was also the first book where I could see my town, my people and some of my culture being authentically written about.

But for me the power of Diekie doesn’t just lie in its authenticity, it lies in the diverse characters in the book. There wasn’t just the maid cleaning the kitchen and cooking. Or the irresponsible taxi driver cutting you off or the blue overhaul worker making the main character feel unsafe. These characters were people I knew – people who were both right and wrong, educated and uneducated, successful and unsuccessful. They were just people, not stereotypes.

At the LAPA Uitgewers Writer’s Indaba in June this year Sophia Kapp cautioned Afrikaans writers about not just creating characters of colour that they know and are mentioned above. I want to add to that. Writers need to be careful about how their main characters interact or even think about other races. With the #BlackLivesMatter movement I think we’ve all become more vigilant about racial profiling. If your heroine, who forgot to lock her car doors, suddenly remembers when a group of blue overhaul workers crosses the road in front her, I immediately judge her. While safety must always come first, why does she associate danger with the race or class?

In the past (and I'm glad I haven’t read such characters in recent years) I’ve read romances where people of colour represent the negative aspects of humanity: laziness, self-entitlement, unattractiveness. It is a method sometimes used to show how the white hero or heroine possesses these traits – is the good in the world. I have come to ask myself: Does the character really possess good traits if it has to be compared to stereotypical version of another race? To me as a reader of colour it shows a lack of maturity in the character and the writer, because I never assumed every white man I have ever met is a racist or slave owner.

In her TED Talk, The danger of a single story, Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, talks about how one story creates stereotypes. Representation is a necessity, but diversity in the portrayal of racial characters is a bigger necessity.

There is a spectrum of diverse white characters in books. That is why we don’t see Mr Darcy or Voldemort in every white man we encounter. And that is where a writer’s power lies, they show not to judge a book by the colour of its cover.

Source: Jasper, M. 2018. Kids Recreate the Black Panther Character Posters in This Awesome Photo Series

Romanse en skeptiese feministe

Thank you to Cliffordene Norton, editor of Lapa Uitgewers, for today's guest post on feminism in Romance novels. This post is especially apt today, as we celebrate Women's Day here in South Africa.

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’n Genre wat fokus op die liefdesverhouding tussen ’n man en ’n vrou laat gereeld wenkbroue lig, nie net by meeste mans nie, maar ook by vroue wat selferkende feministe is.

Volgens die patriargale sisteem is ’n vrou eers ’n volwaardige persoon nadat sy die titel van mevrou bygekry het. Indien sommige vroue dus romantiese fiksie wil vermy is dit te verstane.

Maar ons bevind ons nou in die 21ste eeu waar feminisme nie meer ’n vloekwoord is nie en feministe ook nie meer hulle bra’s verbrand en hulle beenhare laat groei nie. Kaalvoet en pregnant is by die deur uit saam met die siening dat ’n butch-voorkoms jou onafhanklikheid beklemtoon.

Janice Radway, ’n kenner op die gebied van romantiese fiksie, se navorsing bewys dat feminisme eintlik ’n subversiewe genre is omdat die skrywer (en die leser) mans skep soos vroue hulle wíl hê en nie soos hulle werklik is nie.

En nee, die lesers is nie almal treurige oujongnooiens wat alle hoop op liefde begrawe het en nou maar ’n genadige einde met nege katte inwag nie. Dié genre se heldinne is sterk vroue: besigheidsvroue, onderwysers, joernaliste, prokureurs - noem maar op. En so is die lesers, want die heldin is die leser se alterego.

Die romansegenre is onlosmaaklik verbind aan die evolusie van die vrouebeweging. Vroue is weer vroue sonder om hulle identiteit prys te gee en te probeer om soos mans te dink en te doen. Die moderne vrou voel sy is geregtig op haar eie tyd met ontvlugting soos romantiese fiksie wat haar emosioneel versorg. Want hoewel die kontemporêre vrou in teorie meer voordele het as haar susters van lank gelede, is sy steeds hoofsaaklik verantwoordelik vir die hele gesin se emosionele versorging terwyl sy op haar eie reserwes aangewese is vir haar eie versorging.

Geen moderne vrou kan identifiseer met ’n sorry-Suzie wat te dankbaar sal wees om haar man se skoensole te soen nie. Dus is die heldin sterk, onafhanklik, trots en hoewel sy nie, in die woorde van Romanzaskrywer Madelie Human, “haar bra hoef te verbrand om op haar regte te staan nie” – kry sy haar spreekbeurt.

Die held daarteen is haar gelyke. Hy vul haar aan en aanvaar haar ware self, sonder om ’n vloerlap te wees waar sy haar stiletto’s kan afvee. Hulle is lief vir mekaar en waarom kan die liefde en feminisme nie hand-aan-hand loop nie?

Die feministe vergeet gerieflikheidshalwe dat romantiese fiksie ’n genre is wat deur vroulike skrywers oorheers word. Of dat dit vroue toegelaat het om hul eie geld te verdien in ’n era voor vroue die arbeidsmark kon betree.

Vurige heldinne lewer beslis ’n bydra tot die opheffing van vroue. Of dit so direk is soos die heldinne van die Davelvroue-reeks of meer indirek deur rolmodelle te wees.

Die Amerikaanse skrywer, Suzanne Brockmann, sê oor haar heldinne: “Ek dink die boodskap wat ek deur my boeke stuur is dat vroue sterk kan wees. En dat vroue sterk moet wees. En dat die liefde nie gaan oor die verlies van jouself nie, maar eerder om saam met jou geliefde te werk. Dit gaan nie oor ‘Eendag sal my prins kom en my volledig maak nie’ eerder ‘Eendag gaan ek iemand ontmoet, en ons sal langs mekaar werk om saam ’n toekoms te bou."

En dis die kern van die romanse: Vroue word op ’n subtiele wyse bemagtig.

Image courtesy of pixabay.com

Die moderne romanses: ’n gesonde cupcake

Today's post is by Cliffordene Norton, editor at Lapa Uitgewers.  Thank you, Cliffordene!

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Sprokies vir volwassenes, dis hoe romanses dikwels beskryf word.

Maar ’n leser van romantiese fiksie weet dat dié genre en vroulike issues dikwels saam stap. Die dae van ’n vrou wat met haar nommer drie-skoentjies, onmenslike skoonheid en kraakvars onskuld wag vir ’n man om haar van oujongnooistatus te kom red is gelukkig verby.

Maar in ’n tendense wat al hoe meer in Afrikaanse romanse voorkom is dat voorheen taboe temas soos depressie, onvrugbaarheid en kanker meer in liefdesverhale na vore kom. En as ’n ywerige leser en uitgewer van romanses, kan ek net sê: Hier kom ’n goeie ding!

Die donker kant van die lewe begin sy skadu saggies oor romanses gooi, maar in plaas daarvan om die sprokieselement van die verhaal weg te neem, skep dit ’n verhaal met diepte, wat meer eg en meer emosiegedrewe is. Lig en hoopvol maar met ’n goeie skoot realisme in.

Een boek wat kenmerkend is van hierdie soort verhale is ongetwyfeld Sophia Kapp se Oorlewingsgids vir ’n bedonnerde diva. Wie ken nie die diva nie? Die hoofkarakter word soos volg bekend gestel: “Dit is Simoné se annus horribilis. Op vier en veertig stap sy vir die tweede keer uit ʼn huwelik, bankrot, werkloos, moedeloos, verbrysel.” Hierdie vrou en die lewe het duidelik mekaar al ’n paar rondtes aangevat.

Die diva is ’n karakter wat min in vroue- of romantiese fiksie voorkom: eg menslik, modern met bagasie. Hierdie egtheid en die struikelblokke waardeur vroue vind al hoe meer hul plek in boeke.

In Romanza het dit begin met Didi Potgieter se ’n Tweedehandse hart (Julie 2016) waar die held en heldin hul verhouding beëindig na die miskraam van hul kind. Helene en Cronjé is alledaagse mense, vriende wat jy ken, en daarin lê die mag van die verhaal.

Die Romanza-skrywer, Marilé Cloete, het verlede jaar begin om ernstiger temas in haar verhaal aan te spreek. In haar novelle, Man met ’n hart (RomanzaLiefde, Augustus 2017) is die heldin, Jackie, in ’n rolstoel. In Marilé se Oktober 2017-Romanza, Moed vir die liefde, het sy oor nog ’n ernstige tema geskryf. Die pragtige held, Dawid, het depressie. My kollega, Marlies Haupt, het die verhaal uitgegee, en gevra: “Sal jy verlief kan raak op ’n held met depressie?”

Die antwoord was nie net ja nie, maar ja met hartjies in die oë. Dawid se siekte is met empatie en egtheid aangepak. Hy was vir my dapper, want sy siekte, was net dit − ’n siekte en dit het hom nie minder manlik of aantreklik gemaak nie. En hy is die woord ‘held’ in alle opsigte waardig.

Boeke wat hierdie temas aanpak is nie heeltemal nuut nie, maar dit is dun gesaai. Dit het gelyk soos slegs ’n gelukskoot toe verskyn daar meer boeke wat vroue issues en aktuele sake aanspreek. Karlien Badenhorst se novelle Jy het my hart (RomanzaLiefde, Julie 2018) spreek onvrugbaarheid aan en hoe ’n vrou haarself beskou as sy nie kan kinders kry nie.

My kollega, Charlene Hougaard, het ook manuskripte ontvang wat ernstiger temas aanvat, soos Marilé Cloete se Logika van die liefde (Oktober 2018) met borskanker as tema en Elsa Winckler se Vir ewig my altyd (November 2018) wat deur die #MeToo-beweging geïnspireer is. Dit het my laat glo dat boek wat lekker lees én moeiliker temas aanspreek dalk die norm sal word.

Hierdie boeke is nie net vir ons as uitgewers lekker nie, maar die lesers is mal daaroor. Amelia Strydom skryf op GoodReads: “Hoe wonderlik om ʼn romanse met soveel diepte te lees! Marilé Cloete – een van my gunsteling Romanza skrywers – bewys in Moed vir die Liefde dat swaarder, donkerder onderwerpe sinvol hanteer kan word in hierdie lekkerleesgenre.”

Wat inspireer dit? Wel, ons kan kyk na die internasionale mark. Die Amerikaanse historiese romanseskrywer, Sarah MacLean, het openlik erken dat sy nie meer haar hertog in The Day of the Duchess kon vat na Trump se verkiesing nie. Vrouefiksie boeke soos Gail Honeyman se Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine is topverkopers en die beweging het selfs nou ’n naam: up lit.

Is hierdie beweging doelbewus? Miskien, maar dit is ook vir my ’n gevestigde karaktereienskap van die romansegenre: Dit spreek vroue se issues aan. In ons huidige tydgees en land is daar baie issues wat vroue in die gesig staar. Hoekom dit in romanses uitlos as dit deel van ons alledaagse lewe en liefde is?

Lapa Uitgewers Writers Indaba

Image courtesy of Izak de Vries

Last week I attended Lapa Uitgewers’ Skryfindaba, held in a gorgeous thatched lapa in the Pretoria botanical gardens.

Thanks to the heavy traffic from Johannesburg, and me getting lost in the botanical gardens (at least I got a scenic tour of the gardens!) I missed most of the first talk of the day, a presentation by three of Lapa’s editors giving an overview of South African fiction over the last fourteen years.

What I did hear of this talk was very interesting, though, and I also discovered something I really should have known (since it’s on their website!): that Lapa stands for Lees Afrikaans, Praat Afrikaans, and that the publishing house is owned by the ATKV (Afrikaans Taal en Kultuur Vereniging). Which explains why they only publish Afrikaans books! Their editors aren’t just passionate about books – as all editors are – but they are also devoted to growing readers, not just as markets to sell to, but in order to promote language and reading. How awesome is that?

The next speaker, editor Joanita Fourie, gave practical writing tips and advice for improving writing, including everything from creating believable characters to grammar to showing vs telling. I was amazed at how much she managed to pack into just half an hour!

Image courtesy of Didi Potgieter

After a short tea break, it was the turn of Izak de Vries, Lapa’s marketing guru. For me, this was the most fascinating talk of the day, and I wish I could have recorded it (or at least that I’d taken better notes!). Izak shared data and statistics on South African book sales, and revealed some interesting facts, including how the market share is split between internationally published and locally published books. Izak also looked at new forms of media, at the new digital world we live in, at South African publishing trends, and how publishing house budgets are shrinking. According to Izak, readers are getting younger, and the “Afrikaans market is younger than everyone thinks”.

It was also interesting to note that while everything appears to be ‘doom and gloom’ in the South African book market, Lapa has managed to actually grow its profits!

Izak ended his talk emphasizing that authors need to be actively involved in marketing themselves, especially digitally, and that writers can no longer sit back and leave this up to publishers – which dove-tailed perfectly into my talk.

Romy Sommer, courtesy of Izak de Vries

My presentation was on Building a Brand, including using social media. This was a greatly compacted version of a recent webinar I taught, and I still have no idea how I managed to fit everything into my 45 minute time slot (I probably ran way over!) They kindly let me speak in English, since my Afrikaans isn’t quite up to managing marketing and publishing terminology (and I would have taken twice as long if I’d had to mentally translate everything before opening my mouth!). The audience was encouraging and supportive, and I hope they got good value out of the talk.

We ate a delicious lunch in the pretty, treed garden, before heading back indoors for crime writer Madelein Rust’s talk on ‘Tydgees in inhoud van boeke’ – i.e. ensuring that our books reflect the zeitgeist of their times, whether we write historical, contemporary or futuristic. Her talk included psychology, literary examples, and ended with a fun exercise that got everyone writing – and laughing!

The last session of the day was a panel discussion with Izak, a couple of Lapa’s editors, and author Sophia Kapp. This lively debate got everyone involved, and I was impressed at how open and forward-thinking the conversation was, and how the authors weren't afraid to ask really hard questions. The main topics discussed included diversity in our books, the erotica market, and how to develop new markets.

A few of my favourite quotes from this discussion included (please excuse that I’ve translated them into English – any mistakes are all my own):

• Izak de Vries: You won’t get new readers in if you don’t write for new readers.”
• Sophia Kapp: “There is a concept that a book written by a white writer is written only for a white audience” – which led to a interesting discussion on cultural appropriation.
• Izak de Vries: “We are all immigrants in this new digital world.”
• Sophia Kapp: “Don’t get sucked into thinking the stereotypes in your head are the way everyone is.”
• Cecilia Britz: “Erotica is very misunderstood. It is often lumped together, but actually covers a very wide spectrum.”
• Following on from this, Izak said “There is a very big market for [erotic romance] but it must be done well.”

Didi Potgieter and Romy Sommer

After the panel discussion, we headed outdoors for a glass of wine and the opportunity to network with other authors. The writers present reflected a mix of genres but with a heavy emphasis on romance. For me, this was the best part of the day, meeting and getting to know other writers. As always when I meet with other romance writers, I felt uplifted and proud to be among them. These are savvy, intelligent professional women, willing to learn and share, and always friendly and welcoming. Even if I didn’t love romance novels, I’d probably just write in this genre to be surrounded by writers like these!

The day ended with an event to celebrate the career of Lapa’s retiring editorial director Cecilia Britz. First up was a short talk by Olinka Nell, chief buyer at Exclusive Books, who explained how the retail chain works and also how their market demographics are changing.

Cecilia Britz, courtesy of Izak de Vries

Lapa editor Charlene Hougaard then introduced Cecilia Britz. This talk, and the chance I had to chat with Cecilia afterwards, inspired me more than anything else on this entire day. As I shared on social media afterwards, when I grow up, I want to be Cecilia. She is a tour-de-force, a woman whose passion and determination and vocal support of the romance genre has left a huge imprint on South African publishing. She has worked hard to overcome the stereotyping of the genre, and I believe it is thanks to her drive that Lapa is as successful as it is. This is a publishing house that has embraced Romance, not as its guilty secret, but as a reason for pride.

I’ll admit that I tend to think of South African publishers as stuck in the dark ages, but Lapa Uitgewers impressed me with how forward-thinking they are, how committed they are to books and storytelling, and best of all, with their willingness to raise eyebrows and push boundaries. This event, and the people I met, gave me hope for the future of South African publishing.