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Hi all!
Okay, here is chapter 3 of “The Dragon and the Serpent.” Maybe 10R2007’s soul will now rests as Zhen reveals WHO she is and all the little clues fall in place for Rob. But Rob has a little reveal of himself that stuns Zhen and make her realize that Rob is not just a scruffy dusty gunslinger... Someone that fell in love with long distances and an un-curable wanderlust.
All the best and God bless!
Bye 4 now!
Jody.
(2026-11-12, 06:51 SAST. 04:51 ZULU)
Hi all!
Well, with “Playing Solitaire” finishing and chapter 1 of “The Dragon and the Serpent” going live last week, it is only fair to give you chapter 2 of the story today.
Here, in this chapter, Rob gets more and more suspicious of Zhen. Things don’t add up in his mind. Is she really a slave? And why would he, Rob, not be allowed into her city...
You’ll have to wait for chapter 3 to get that answer. (Oh, devious, despicable, Jody... Evil laugh!)
All the best and God bless!
Bye 4 now!
Jody.
(2026-11-09, 07:37 SAST. 05:37 ZULU)
Hi all!
So this was one of those weeks were I just had to sit back and let fate dictate where to go, what to do when I got there. But I did survive the rat race as well as standing 3 hours in a line to vote. Yeah, but not to bring a change to our esteemed ANC ruling party in parliament. No, just local municipal elections.
Like I remarked to one of my aviation buddies: “Remember to EAT your vegetables – not ELECT them!”
Here is Chapter 19 of “Playing Solitaire.” And unfortunately – the final chapter. Enjoy!
All the best and God bless!
Bye 4 now!
Jody.
(2026-11-09, 07:05 SAST) (05:05 ZULU)
Hi all!
I have written the Angel Series. I have written standalone stories. I have written a ghost story... Now let us try something else...
The places are all true. Some of the places is still there today. The history is true, but the story is fiction, although the people met at Ann’s Villa did really exist! This is telling the story of the wild, wild... Afrika... Yes there was a diamond rush. Yes there was a gold rush - all historically true.
Imagine the year is 1874. Imagine the open plains of the Karoo, The savannah of the Orange Free State. The hills, mountains and valleys of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. Horses, Ox-wagons, Colt revolvers. Winchester rifles. Malaria and how to dodge it. African Horse Sickness and “salted horses.”
Imagine a man named – “Anaconda”...
A shot upset the bar room, then he stepped out of the dark. SHE said: “Well, here we are. Whisky for me, for you - Tequila...”
The Wild West Has a Twin.
When most people think of the 1800s frontier, their minds go straight to the American West—pioneers pushing through uncharted territory in covered wagons, dust-choked trails, boom-towns springing up overnight, and the feverish madness of the Gold Rush. It was an era defined by raw grit, where law was often measured by the length of a gun barrel and survival meant relying on your own hard-bitten wits.
Meanwhile, in South Africa...
Halfway across the world, a strikingly similar drama was unfolding across the rugged expanse of the interior. The Voortrekkers were rolling their heavy ox-wagons into the untamed wilderness of the "Wild Northeast," carving out routes through treacherous mountain passes and thorn scrub long before established law ever caught up with them. It was a frontier every bit as lawless, dangerous, and majestic as the American West—replete with diamond and gold fever, border disputes, hardened opportunists, and wide-open spaces where a person’s reputation was forged in gunpowder and iron.
Today you can visit the Kimberley Big Hole, right near the center of the City of Kimberley. The biggest manmade hole in the world that was dug with shovels and pickaxes. If there are still diamonds under the water that now covers the deep hole, I would not know. But that hole stands as a monument to the diamond rush in South African history. The town of Pilgrim’s Rest as equally a monument to the gold rush is still there today and now a tourist attraction. And the ruins of the town of Schoemansdal is still there today in the Soutpansberg...
It is into this fierce, beautiful world that Roberto Albert Van Der Wouw, the Anaconda, sets off on a perilous quest—tasked with tracking down an outlaw to retrieve a stolen treasure. But Rob isn't riding alone. Along the way, he acquires a somewhat peculiar travel companion, and together they head straight into the heart of the frontier.
While legends like Louis L'Amour, Larry McMurtry, Elmer Kelton, and Zane Grey brought the romance, grit, and drama of the American Wild West to millions around the world, very few people outside our borders ever realized that an almost identical chapter of human history was playing out at the exact same time in South Africa.
The motivation was strikingly similar: just as the American Pioneers headed west across the plains to free themselves from government oversight and chase a new life, the “Voortrekkers” hitched up their ox-wagons and struck deep into the northern interior to escape British rule in the Cape. It was a time of immense hardship, incredible bravery, and raw, untamed wilderness.
The South African frontier story deserves to be told on that same epic stage.
You asked for it—56 of you made it crystal clear in the emails! So, by popular demand, here is your exclusive preview of Chapter One of The Dragon and the Serpent.
All the best and God bless!
Bye 4 now!
Jody.
(2026-08-02, 11:01 SAST)
Hi all!
Well, what can I say? The trolls are doing their best to drive the score down. But thanks to the loyal readers that get the story, the trolls don’t do much damage. There is only 35 of you. Really, just a drop in the ocean.
Like my mother used to say: “If-a you don’t-ah like-a da people... Don’t-a break-a da furniture!
Here is Chapter 18 of “Playing Solitaire.” Enjoy!
Question: Do you want a sneak preview of the new story? If more than 10 people say “Yes”, I will publish chapter 1 of “The Dragon and the Serpent” during the week.
All the best and God bless!
Bye 4 now!
Jody.
(2026-11-02, 07:20 SAST) (05:20 ZULU)
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