Wee Monk's Tale

Writer's Blog:

René van Zyl's diaries...

(Playwright, novelist, screenwriter... dreamer...)
from South Africa

This here is my book. To find a publisher, agent or whatever, is... difficult, but, this here is my BLOG. I am going to write down my personal thoughts on how to conquer this fierce jungle of publishing politics and try and make some sense of it - for me and my fellow wannabe-writers who fight this demon (a.k.a. the publishing business!)

Why do I write if it is so difficult to get published?

Because I must... It is who I am...

My dream is for Mel Gibson to make the movie of my screenplay... yes, I know, some will die trying to reach their dream... and they eventually do...

But if you shoot for the moon, you will land among the stars... and that ain't bad...

ABOUT MY MEDIEVAL ACTION/ADVENTURE NOVEL/SCREENPLAY:

WEE MONK’S TALEA novel by René van Zyl

Available on Amazon.com: 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=WEE%20MONK'S%20TALE

A MYSTERY, A QUEST, AN ARMY OF HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE TEENAGE WARRIORS…

A MYSTERY, A QUEST, A COUPLE OF GUTSY TEENAGERS AGAINST ALL ODDS
795 AD: A time of superstitious beliefs and dangerous forces. When Viking marauders burn the monastery on the Scottish Island, Iona, the orphaned Shaughn (14) is forced to flee the only home he ever knew in a desperate attempt to save a precious altar Bible. Not willing to be left behind, his cripple step-brother Connor (14) (with grand illusions of becoming a knight) and Heather (13), a superstitious, street-wise gypsy girl, accompany him on the adventure of a lifetime. 
Hot on the heels of the relic follows the fierce Viking, Thorvald, who is convinced that the Bible contains a secret recipe (a potion for eternal life). The escaping teenagers are cast into every imaginable medieval drama, from a bewitched castle to an encounter with a nasty Druid and even weird Viking Tournament Things. 
Shaughn, who passes the time reading Latin (a super-weird hobby for even a medieval teenager!) is clearly not equipped for this mission. Meanwhile, the cynical Connor, who harbours aspirations of becoming a famous knight, notwithstanding a lame foot and serious lack of valour, appoints himself bodyguard to Shaughn. But the brothers can barely stay on top of the spirited horse they fled on! 
Their only hope lies in the quarrelsome gypsy, Heather. Half Spanish and severely traumatised by the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepparents, her single wish is to find her mother who, according to her, was abducted by fairies when Heather was 6 years old. Skilled as an archer, she saves the naïve boys from various predicaments but her superstitious nature soon drives them crazy. Shaughn, who is focused on his mission, is determined to educate her, whilst Connor finds it hard not to believe all her weird superstitions. 
As if it isn’t enough that they are being harassed by a group of Vikings and their nasty offspring, an ‘undercover’ witch and each other, the teenagers also have to deal with Heather’s drunken step-father (an ex-communicated monk who wants the Bible’s bejewelled cover), the midget druid and his ogre-like twin brothers who plan to sacrifice the kids on the night of the all-dead, and an eccentric Pilgrim who appears and disappears like a ghost. Their greatest enemy, however, might just be their own insecurities.
Through this journey of outsmarting medieval foes, the bickering children, barely equipped to deal with the threatening choices of real life, touch the lives of many hurt and lost people and also find real friendship. The journey teaches them to trust God unconditionally and to find the heroes inside themselves.

A note on the Altar Bible:
Fact: The Gospel of Colmcille is considered the most important treasure contained in the Trinity College Museum, Dublin. During the Viking raids on Iona in 795, the Bible disappeared and mysteriously reappeared at the monastery of Kells, Ireland. How it ended up there nobody knows...
Fiction: Well, maybe three canny teenagers rescued it! 

AUTHOR BIO: RENE’ VAN ZYL

(Out of pure frustration I used my savings and published my first book: Wee Monk's tale; a lonely and frustrating path that cost-a-lot! But I did it and I am glad. I printed 100 and then another 100. And I am visiting the London Book Fair in April 2010 to look for a Literary agent: for a writer's life is not worth living without one of those. I am going to dish out my lovely book to every publisher or agent I can lay my dirty little hands on. Will it work? I don't know, but at least I will see Wales and a bit of Norway. Did I mention my book will be part of a trilogy - the follow up will hit Norway with its Ice Giants and trolls...)

(Here I am with Mel Gibson - at Madame Tussaud's in London, trying to convince him to make my movie of my screenplay: Wee Monk's Tale the Secret of Immortality! He still owes me an answer... He doesn't seem at all interested on this photo... Why?)

So, who am I?

René is a South-African born writer with an Honours degree in Communications, with majors in Journalism and Filmatography. Her husband, Anton, an ex-engineer, is now a full time reverend. Her children, Sean-Jacques (17, who is brain injured), Michelle (15) and Chantal (13) are her inspiration. She has spent four years researching and writing her first novel, a teenage action/adventure, Wee Monk’s tale (and is working on the rest of the trilogy). She’s been fascinated by the middle Ages since childhood and loves everything about the British Isles. She also writes children’s theatre (puppetry) and community plays combining old Biblical stories with modern day music to spark people’s interest in the Bible. She aspires to make God a reality in the daily lives of people.

First published in 2009 in South Africa by:
René van Zyl Publishers
PO Box 563
Hartbeespoort
0216
South Africa

Email: rene@kuierkerk.co.za or writemyassoff@gmail.com

Mobile: +27 82 396 4100