Meet Maretha Botha — RRBC Spotlight Author

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Maretha Botha is an Italian National, born in South Africa in a small Western Province town called Montague and grew up in nearby Worcester – a town reminiscent of living in Switzerland among the snow-capped mountains in winter. Worcester had a small library. At the time, the librarian limited young Maretha’s visits to three times a week, because “You spend too much time with your nose in a book and neglect your school work.”

Maretha Botha has remained a confirmed bookworm and constantly strives to raise more bookworms who will enjoy reading, not just as a pleasant past-time, but as an excellent tool to be used when grown-up. The area around her birthplace and hometown is often a source of inspiration. She had this landscape in mind when describing the Molodi valley “as an out-of-the-way place, somewhere in the grasslands of Southern Africa.”

flameandhopecvrExcerpt from “Flame and Hope: An African Adventure – Fauna Park Tales” 1, Chapter 1 – “Friends”.

MY FRIENDS LIVE ON A free-range cattle farm in Molodi, an out-the-way place, somewhere in the grasslands of Southern Africa.  Should you visit there and search carefully, you may well notice many of us.  Some are slippery and slithery; others are striped, snub-nosed, long-eared and short-tailed, long-horned and round- eyed, furry or feathery.  I think you’ll fall in love with us, no matter what we look like! On a frosty morning in May, Flame stormed through the doggy trapdoor with a loud bang.  He jumped up against my tree and yapped, ‘Are you still sleeping, Hope?’

Flame had startled me, but I whistled, ‘Not any more! I’m awake now, but you’re very early. Naka[i] is still hanging on the horizon.’ He woofed, ‘I have a brilliant idea which I want to bark to our furry and feathered friends, but for them to accept my plan, they must hear about my life as a puppy in the Kalughari, first.  It’s tough for me to bark about certain events, so would you mind telling my story? Besides, you’re very wise; knowing Faunalang and whistling to the birds in their own songs.  You even know some Humanlang too.  So, you’re just the one for such a story-telling job!  Perhaps you might even enjoy telling us more about yourself?’

I fluttered my pink eyelids and whistled, ‘Thank you for asking.  I suppose I can try.  After

dog

Flame – aka Jack Old Boy – has a promise to keep and a quest to complete.

all, not only humans like stories.  I’ve heard that animals and birds also enjoy them, whether they are eyewitness reports or hearsay.  Just like you, I find it difficult to talk about my life before coming to the farm, but when the time’s right, I’ll whistle all about it.’

[1] Naka = a bright early morning star which appears before dawn towards the end of May in southern parts of Africa.  It’s a sign of the onset of the coldest time of the year and signals the time for the goats to breed.

Maretha Botha has written a series of four books in the series, “Fauna Park Tales”. Featured here is Book 1, “Flame and Hope: An African Adventure”.

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Connect with Maretha via Social Media:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Maretha-Botha/e/B00MOORJAO/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarethMBotha

Fauna Park Tales Twitter: https://twitter.com/FaunaParkTales

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarethMB

Flame and Hope Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flameandhope.co.uk/

Maretha’s Blog: https://marethmbotha.wordpress.com/

Maretha’s Child-Friendly Blog: https://marethabotha2013.com/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/marethabotha/pins/

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maretha-botha-976191b8/

37 thoughts on “Meet Maretha Botha — RRBC Spotlight Author”

  1. Pingback: RRBC Spotlight Author in May – Maretha Botha – About Fauna Park Tales

  6. Reblogged this on mallie1025 and commented:
    Enjoy your tour. Your books are adorable. I am tying to decide which one I want first. A belated thanks for your review of my book, And the Whippoorwill Sang. I have been in the hospital and still refined to home. Loved the review–definitely one of my favorites

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks so much for your kind comments about your book, And the Whippoorwill Sang. I read most of it again, and the second half of it, just stayed with me, Micki. So I wrote another review and posted it on amazon.com. I hope they accepted it. These days I’m never sure what to expect from them. Thanks for reblogging this post too. Kind regards.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Micki I wrote another review on 2 March 2018, and I went to amazon.com instead of back to amazon.co.uk. The first part of the review is similar to the original one, but I felt compelled to write more about my feelings after reading again how deeply hurt you and your family were after Noelle’s funeral, and what stood out for me from Chapter 40 onwards. I’ve taken a mugshot of the review and will send it to you via twitter messages in case you can’t find it. Your book touched me deeply. Thanks for writing it. Best wishes. 💐💐💐

        Liked by 2 people

  9. Congratulations on being the “spotlight” of the month. How does THAT feel? I’d be giddy. Your covers and that painting that I have up on my blog are lovely. Do you do your own art work?
    Enjoy your tour.
    pg

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks Patricia, Most of the illustrations are done by me. The one with the red-roofed farmhouse is an anniversary gift done by my younger daughter as part of an art project when she was still at school.
      I’m feeling light-headed and almost in a state of shock to be SPOTLIGHT Author this month! Thanks for your wonderful tweet support, too. Best wishes for May.🌺🌷🌺

      Liked by 1 person

  11. I just love your illustrations, Maretha. Cheers to you and this well-deserved recognition. Wishing you a fabulous month in the Spotlight.
    Thanks so much for hosting, Marcha! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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