Saturday's Email of the Week: Getting a Nod

Here was one of the emails that put a pretty big smile on my face this week. I wrote a book review earlier this week on Playing the Enemy. If you missed it you can go back here and check it out. Well, I thought it would be a nice thought to advise Mr. Carlin of my review, just for his own knowledge, so I went to his website, collected his email, and sent him a brief link to my review. And guess what?!


Here was his response, with my original email to him;

Katherine:

Thank you so much for sending this piece.  You zero in on the essence of the story quite beautifully. Love your word "panache". Wish I'd thought of it! So apt for Mandela. 

You also make a point in passing that SO frustrates me. That women may not read the book because of the rugby angle. Inevitable, I guess, though there's hardly any rugby at all there, in sporting terms. 

Anyway, thanks again and so happy the story moved you. 

John

www. johncarlin. eu

On 8 Mar 2011, at 18:28, Katherine Krige <krigek@yahoo.ca> wrote:

Hello Mr Carlin

I just wanted to give you the courtesy to know that I wrote a book review on Playing the Enemy. I thought it was a fabulous book and it touched my heart. If you are interested, the link to it is here  http://krigek.blogspot.com/2011/03/playing-enemy-nelson-mandela-and-game.html

Katherine Krige

I was even so bold as to respond to his email, which he again promptly (within 2hrs) sent response to;  

Interesting, your SA past!

And thank you for the impending promotional work!

All the best,

John

www. johncarlin. eu

On 9 Mar 2011, at 20:29, Katherine Krige <krigek@yahoo.ca> wrote:

Hello John

Thank you so much for reading and responding to my post. I am glad that you liked my thoughts. 

As for the aspect of it being a "sports" book, I suppose that you will have that as a hurdle for readership. It is true that rugby plays a key character in your book (and I use character deliberately, as I think that the game is almost another character unto itself),  but the bigger story is obviously Mandela and the long-held rifts between the races in South Africa. Mandela purposely uses rugby as a leverage point, so it has a place in the book, but the marketing to a wider audience requires focus on the wider breadth of your tale. Of course, having a movie made about the book helps. 

I have to tell you that I have vested interests in the country myself, as my father was from South Africa. While he died when I was only five, the draw to the country stayed strong within my heart. I followed my heart and made a trek to South Africa in 1995, just a few short months after the rugby game that is the topic of your book. I have my own experiences of what the country looked like at that time, and heard many stories from various family members who were born and raised there. I loved how your book gave me more details of the political and socio-economic state of the country leading up to that point, and found myself re-evaluating my own experiences there. 

And as far as audience is concerned, your book will be discussed at my next (all-female) book club later this month. I for one will be giving it my thumbs up. Thanks again.

Sincerely,

 

Katherine Krige

Well, that may not be very earth-shattering for many, but it tickled me that the author appreciated my small, little two-cents worth. Heck, he got a movie deal out of his book! And he took the time out of his day to respond to me. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. 


Just wanted to share, as it put a smile on my face. 


Happy Saturday!