MarethMB

Featured Fauna Park Tales

Rave Reviews Book Club 4th Annual Writers’ & Book Expo August 2019

Featured Fauna Park Tales

Fauna Park Tales Book Trailer on YouTube

Featured Fauna Park Tales

Three Years at Rave Reviews Book Club

Featured Fauna Park Tales

My Five 2018 PAGE-TURNERS by Maretha Botha

Featured Fauna Park Tales

RRBC November Spotlight Author – Mark Bierman

Featured Fauna Park Tales

Rave Reviews Book Club Moments

April 27, 2019July 27, 2019 Fauna Park Tales

Our great Writers’ Conference and Book Expo has been running for a few days, and I hope you have a chance to stop by and check some of the marvelous works, book trailers, FACT or FICTION Quiz and much more! Here is the link to my Author Booth: https://rrbcwritersconferencebookexpo19.wordpress.com/author-booths-rrbc-wcbe19/author-maretha-botha-marethmbotha-rrbc-wcbe19/ Here is the link to the […]

Happy 2019 RRBC Clubaversary to Me!

I’m happy to tell you that the month of May Always seems to be a special month for me, especially when it comes to writing matters and books. I’ve also been a member of Rave Reviews Book Club for three years. Thank you Rave Reviews Book Club President, Nonnie Jules, the RRBC Team and all […]

Fauna Park Tales Series Book Trailer – YouTube

Read more about our African Adventures in the first four published books:
Flame and Hope: An African Adventure
Friends: An African Adventure
The Orphans’ Plight: An African Adventure
Trails and Trials: An African Adventure
All stories are available in eBook and black and white illustrated paperbacks. Visit our page at: https://www.amazon.com/Maretha-Botha/e/B00MOORJAO

Fauna Park Tales

Maretha is a South African Italian, born in a small town called Montagu. She grew up in nearby Worcester in the Western Cape – a town reminiscent of living in Switzerland among the snow-capped mountains. Worcester had a small library. Young Maretha’s visits were limited to three times a week, because the librarian told her, “You spend too much time with your nose in a book and neglect your school work.” Nothing much has changed, because she's still a confirmed bookworm who constantly strives to raise more bookworms who enjoy reading, not just as a pleasant past-time, but as an excellent tool to be used when grown-up. Before immigrating to the UK to settle in Lancashire, Maretha worked as a librarian in a private school in Botswana, where one of her tasks was to encourage children to enjoy reading. That was a labour of love for this bookworm, providing valuable help in carving her own career as a children's author/illustrator. It brought her face to face with the literary industry’s toughest critics – children and preteens. She saw that many students also enjoyed reading about birds and animals, their care, habitats and general well-being, especially when a few added catchy rhymes here and there made reading sessions interesting and alive. In 2012 her job was localised and as things often happen, this unforeseen occurrence led to a new chapter in her life. To remain motivated, she wrote down everything she could remember about her family's pets – their little habits and characteristics. For example, the character of the working-dog hero in Fauna Park Tales is based on the different traits of every single dog her family ever owned. Researching habits, habitats and interesting titbits about martial eagles and eagle owls, as well as many smaller birds such as crimson-breasted shrikes and hoopoes,made it easier to illustrate them and tell a believable story. Her illustrations appear throughout Fauna Park Tales. Maretha Botha admits to being a chocoholic and unreformed coffee addict, a keen gardener and bird watcher, who likes to walk on the moors where the stiff breeze coming in from the sea, quickly clears her head, making way for more inspiration.

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Writers’ Conference & Book Expo August 2019 #WCBE

Happy 2019 RRBC Clubaversary to Me!

Fauna Park Tales Series Book Trailer – YouTube

Series Notes #10 – “The Orphans’ Plight” In Sound – Short Video

The air was cool, the stars were bright, a few fireflies continued buzzing around and the cicadas made a terrible racket in the acacia. Before going to bed, the three friends – Kgabo, John and Maisie James – sat quietly drinking another cup of espresso on the porch. Then Kgabo took an old worn envelope out of his top pocket. He removed a letter, looked up at John James and handed it to him.
In his strange-sounding Humanlang Kgabo said, ‘John Moleele, you’ve been my friend for a long time. The people at the post yard said this letter is written in the Queen’s language which I cannot read or understand. I want you to explain this letter’s words to me. It lay there at the post yard in Mua-Mua for many days. As soon as I received it, I prepared without delay and set off on our long journey to Molodi. My dog, Bibi and I trekked through the desert for many days, following the course south, along a dry riverbed. (The Letter – The Orphans’ Plight: An African Adventure).

A Little Dog Called Chicki

This friendly face belongs to Chicki – she is one of the favourite ones in the life of her human, Australian author, Margaret Lynette Sharp, who writes sweet romance novels, as well as Regency period dramas based on our favourite characters from “Pride and Prejudice”. Here is a link to her website: https://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Lynette-Sharp/e/B00834SYCQ as well as […]

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MarethMB

An extension of Fauna Park Tales, this blog highlights general book reviews and interesting writers' titbits.

Rave Reviews Book Club 4th Annual Writers’ & Book Expo August 2019

Fauna Park Tales Book Trailer on YouTube

Three Years at Rave Reviews Book Club

My Latest Reviews

My Reviews

My Five 2018 PAGE-TURNERS by Maretha Botha

Talking Trees

RRBC November Spotlight Author – Mark Bierman

My Reviews for October

A Small Reminder Of Fonty

Rave Reviews Book Club Moments

My Reviews for April 2019