Ena Murray: 1936 - 2015

Blog post by Marie Dry:

Last night when I heard on the news that Ena Murray passed away from natural causes my first reaction was, I’m not ready yet. I still wanted a world where she creates these wonderful books that grips the imagination. That transported me to adventures in the Amazon, Europe, Mozambique, Hawai and many more exotic locations. To read about pirates and noblemen who had their titles stolen by unscrupulous family.

When Romy Sommer asked me to do the blog for ROSA, at first I thought to research her life and where she was born etc. To try and give a detailed account of her life from the moment of her birth. But to me Ena Murray means wonderful stories so I will tell you a bit about her life but I want to talk mostly about her books.

Ena Murray was born in Loxton in the Karoo on 27 December 1936, the middle child of three daughters. Her father was a doctor in Loxton and Ena Murray attended school in Loxton and Victoria West and then became a nurse after she matriculated. She married Boet Murray and they made their home in Loxton but after twenty years they divorced and she moved to the Wilderness in Southern Cape where she married Jaques Mostert.

Eventually they moved to a retirement village in Mossel Bay where he passed away five years later and she stayed on until she passed on 4 June 2015.

Two of her books were made into movies, Vrou uit die nag (Woman of the Night) and Plekkie in die Son (A place in the sun). The latter was the story of a leprosy shelter and a woman contracting leprosy and falling in love with the doctor working at the shelter. Revolutionary romance writing for the times. Ena Murray was well known for doing thorough research and not writing the story until she had all the details needed. She also wrote suspense and thrillers but are best known for her romance novels. I remember reading her books from age eleven and those same books are still best sellers. That takes some doing.

For some reason the first book I thought about last night when I remembered how much I enjoyed reading her books were Rabbedoe van Rietkuil (Tomboy of Rietkuil). I was about thirteen and read this book about a woman who went to work as a farm manager who at the end of the book turned out to be a glamorous socialite who fell on hard times and had to work to bring in money to save her family. Wow I was impressed. Imagine at a time when there were still discussions about whether your husband would one day allow you to work being able to read something like that.

Paspoort na gevaar (Passport to Danger) was a Cape Dutch historical romance. I loved the period costumes and the bit that started in France. And as you can see from the cover of the book a rather forceful hero. My teenage self, thought him very dashing. Paspoort na gevaar is the story about Nicolette de Lille a French noble woman who make a marriage of convenience to get out of some trouble caused by her fiery spirit. She thought she would go back to France and forget about the rough free burger she married. I think you can guess how well that went for her. Have a look at the cover of this book and guess what happened to her plans to return to France.

Junior in saal sewe (Junior in Ward Seven) was one of my absolute favorites. I liked it so much I made my poor little brother and sister sit still for hours while I read it to them. This is the story about a young nurse who doesn’t have a boyfriend and fed up at being teased for not having a boyfriend she pretends she is secretly engaged. She regularly goes to visit one of her old patients and take a photograph of the woman’s grandson and show it to the other nurses. Except the photo turned out to be of the new head surgeon at and all her shenanigans to hide her lies are hilarious.

Eensaam op wegdraai (Alone on Wegdraai) is another story my brother and sister were forced to listen to and is the story of twins who make a plan when it looks as if their father want to marry their least favorite teacher. One who wants to make them wear dresses and sit around with their ankles crossed like little ladies. They place an advert on behalf of their father in a dating magazine and quickly get into a correspondence with the heroine of the story. I want to reread this one simply to see how they received actual letters and how things worked without internet and cell phones.

I can keep going until this blog is a hundred pages long and still have some Ena Murray books to talk about. She will be missed.

Related links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ena_Murray
http://www.liefdesverhale.co.za/authors/341
http://www.springbokboeke.co.za/html/ena_murray1.html http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/569459.Ena_Murray http://www.netwerk24.com/vermaak/2015-06-04-ena-murray-koningin-van-liefdesverhale-sterf-op-76
http://skrywers.blogspot.com/2008/07/ena-murray.html

Peter's review of 'The Rewrite'

Thank you so much to ROSA member Peter Barker for this review of The Rewrite, the new romcom which ROSA Johannesburg were invited to view at an advance screening courtesy of Ster Kinekor:

One may be tempted to stifle a yawn at the arrival of yet another 'chick flick' featuring naughty boy Hugh Grant. The typical Romance structure Boy meets girl, boy dates girl, Boy and girl break up, boy and girl reconcile and all live happily ever after while the arch-feminist in the sub plot is able to stand her ground.

Whereas the arrival of THE REWRITE featuring Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei soon to be distributed through the Ster-Kinekor chain falls into this category, it is worthy of a more stricter test. Firstly, does it entertain? Is it interesting, (or does it educate)? Finally does it inspire?

On all three tests it certainly meets the criteria. The story is based at a University campus where Hugh Grant as a washed up one hit wonder script writer is sent to teach screen writing to a class of university students. He is spotted by single mother mature student played by Marisa Tomei. Hugh Grant's character treats the job with disdain until his mistakes start to catch up with him. Marisa Tomei's character is in the background guiding him through towards the right choices. Youth and its uncertainties and enthusiasm which comes through the students in the screenwriting class certainly provide entertaining viewing. The story line is enlightening for aspiring writers and gives a perspective of what writing and getting material published is all about. It is not a writer's guide but it does illustrate some of the tricks and pitfalls of the trade. Finally, there is in the cast of characters someone for everyone to identify with. Enough material for everyone to be reminded that your dreams and ambitions are obtainable no matter what your background is.

For an evening's entertainment which albeit in a familiar genre, will leave you entertained, enlightened and inspired. THE REWRITE is well worth a visit to the cinema.

Advance screening of 'The Rewrite'

A very big thank you to Ster Kinekor for inviting ROSA Johannesburg to view The Rewrite in advance of its release at their own private cinema in Sandton. We had a wonderful evening and everyone who attended loved the movie.

Here's what a few of our ROSA members had to say about it:

Maggie:
Thank you to Sterkinekor for inviting ROSA to the pre-screening of The Rewrite. The movie was hilarious. Hugh Grant is so droll and one is always well entertained by a movie with him in the lead. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Tanya:
The movie was excellent, light-hearted comedy. I would recommend that they write "A Sequel to The Rewrite", or make it a "Series" as I love Hugh Grant's sense of humour. It would have been better if he had danced in the one part, instead of just watching the dancing.

Adele:
Delightful! Humorous insights to the inner struggles of a writer…must see for any wanna be, still is or was writer…it will get you going again.

Peter:
Very enjoyable story, also useful for aspiring writers. Go and see it when it comes on circuit.
[More to follow]

Check out where it's showing here.

If you aren't already convinced to go watch this movie, here's a teaser:

#ROSACon2015 Conference Fees Announced

ROSACon2015 takes place at the Devon Valley Hotel in Stellenbosch on 25-26 September, and will be even bigger and better than last year's event. Two full days, with even more options for talks and workshops in both English and Afrikaans, and more pitch opportunities, all set against the stunning backdrop of the Stellenbosch vineyards.

There will be an Early Bird special rate again this year, available to anyone who books before 15 July. After that date Full Prices will apply. A further discount will be offered to registered members of ROSA.


The fees for #ROSACon2015 will be as follows:

Early Bird Special	ROSA Member	Non-Member
Full 2 day conference	R 1,530	R 1,630
One day conference only	R 820	R 900
Full Price	ROSA Member	Non-Member
Full 2 day conference	R 1,680	R 1,780
One day conference only	R 900	R 980

There will be a gala dinner (partners and friends welcome) on the evening of Friday 25 September. Costs and venue for the dinner will be announced in due course.

For a registration form, or if you have any queries, contact Romy on romy@romancewriters.co.za, and watch this space for news on guest speakers and all the action planned for this year's event.

ROSA Membership is now open

In May 2014 ROSA was registered as a non-profit organisation. This year we are formalising the organisation's membership. If you would like to become a registered member of Romance writers Organisation of South Africa, please contact Romy on romy@sommer.co.za for a membership application form.

There is an annual membership fee to cover administration costs, set at R200 for the 2015/6 year. Bank details are on the membership application form.

As a member, you will:

• be eligible to use a ROSA membership badge on your website/blog/social media sites.
• be eligible for a discount on the conference fee. receive a quarterly newsletter.
• be listed as a member on the blog and/or website.
• have the opportunity to promote your work on the ROSA blog.

We welcome volunteers, so if you would like to assist with management or administration, setting up contests, managing social media, or contributing to the newsletter, please let Romy know or contact us via our website: www.romancewriters.co.za.

Note: The ROSA Constitution and Certificate of Registration are available to download from our website here.

#ROSACon2015

The second annual ROSA Conference will take place on Friday 25 and Sat 26 September 2015, at the Devon Valley Hotel in Stellenbosch. To keep updated on conference news, please sign up for our newsletter here.

Conference Report: Rachel Morgan on Self-Publishing

ROSACon2014 closed with a chat with Rachel Morgan, possibly South Africa's most successful self-published author to date. Thank you to author Kathy Bosman for this report back on Rachel's talk.

Report by Kathy Bosman

Rachel was truly inspiring. She’s a successful author who has self-published several series of books and is able to live “comfortably,” as she put it, off of her sales. Many of us aspire to reach this point.

Her talk was given in the format of question and answers, and Rachel was thorough in answering the questions forwarded to her.

To start with, she stressed the importance of investing in a good cover design and how that’s essential to selling a book on Amazon. Series are also vital to attract readers. Publish quickly – don’t leave long periods between books. The good thing about being self-published is you have control over the time periods between your releases.

If you self-publish, you must be flexible and open to change as the market and rules are always changing. You have to be able to format or hire someone to format your book for several platforms. She suggested using Sigil (which is free and makes Epub files) and Jutoh where you don’t need to use code and is the easiest for Amazon and Smashwords.

A participant asked where she gets her editing done. Rachel sends her books to trusted beta readers before she publishes them so she doesn’t lay out large amounts on professional editors.

She said the best way to do promo is to advertise on email subscription services like Booksend, Best Bug, The Fussy Librarian, Read Cheaply and Free Booksy. Putting her books for free gains exposure and having the first book of a series for free helps gain readers.

She uses social media to promote and only sends newsletters out to those who are her genuine readers. There’s nothing more off-putting than sending a newsletter out to those who didn’t subscribe or don’t want to receive it.

To obtain reviews – she asks those who liked her previous books to review for her. She finds them on Goodreads.

Another good promotion opportunity is to combine events with other authors like Facebook parties and blog tours. Put a free book on Wattpad – it helps to improve sales as people read it and then want her other books.

Rachel Morgan

She spoke about tax and how you have to keep a record of your sales and expenses and also how you have to organise an ITIN number with Amazon so you don’t have to pay tax with them although that seems to have fallen away now. You can claim for some of your expenses from SARS as a business would.

With her print books she works with independent bookstores as they’re more open to selling her books. Most of the time, they sell her books on consignment. To sell to the major bookstores requires an expensive distributor.

It was a great session to listen to as it inspired us to work toward that goal of living off our passion. It was very informative for those aiming to go the self-publishing route. I don’t think I managed to get down half of all the information she gave us.