Friday, December 19, 2014
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
RESTORATION - what's it all about?
RESTORATION (also referred to as 8RESTORATION) is the 8th and final narrative in the Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial eBook Series. Written over the first three weeks of December 2014, before and after the state's successful application for Appeal, the authors examine a brand new narrative theme.
RESTORATION, in sum, seeks to interrogate hope in the face of #B$. How do we maintain course, how do we break out of the jails of our own making (even when these have become our home) and what gets us to change course when our world is far from perfect (and so are we)?
Over the course of the RESTORATION narrative, the authors - van der Leek and Wilson - draw on all their resources to tie the remaining loose ends together. No stone is left unturned; no character in the familiar cast is spared their scrutiny. The result:
HERE BE DRAGONS!
Unusually, in their analysis of the Heads of Argument (HOA) Gerrie Nel is targeted for dropping the baton in several instances whilst his courtroom adversary, Barry Roux, is ushered into an even harsher spotlight. Carl Pistorius, Oscar's pious brother [aka 'Titanium Hulk'] is also placed under a magnifying glass and tested for #B$.
Although the authors intended to touch lightly on evidence and unanswered questions, their investigations were so fruitful the majority of the RESTORATION narrative is 'all about Oscar'. Only towards the final chapters do the authors graduate the narrative away from secret whatsapp messages and updated scenarios to take the narrative outside, deep into the heart of the mountain.
Highlights include:
- the startling similarities between Dewani and Oscar's plea statements
- an in-depth study of the crime scene
- a much deeper contextualisation of social media and other communications
- a re-examination of motive
- a re-examination of what Oscar was actually thinking at the time he fired those shots
Doors will be blasted open, and in the still floating debris, the reader will be asked to walk on through the smoke to the other side. Do you dream, or do you dare?
Order your copy here.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Five Star Review of THE DEVIL SMOKES DUNHILL
Verified Purchase(What is this?)
This review is from: THE DEVIL SMOKES DUNHILL: The (un)inspiring (satirical) story of a man's journey into the mad bad world of South Africa's Media Milieu (Kindle Edition)
I love Nick's narrative style of writing. It makes me feel so inclusive and part of the story.
I was first introduced to his books through my concerns relating to Reeva Steenkamps murder.. (see my review of his book Transcendence).
I was first introduced to his books through my concerns relating to Reeva Steenkamps murder.. (see my review of his book Transcendence).
To date he has written 7 books relating to the issues surrounding the Oscar Pistorius trial so
And then Nick was unleashed from Lisa and wrote The Devil Smokes Dunhill!!
I agree with previous reviewer. It is an amazing book, so witty, acerbic, insightful and thought provoking. Reading the book can be a hard read. I laughed, was angry, frustrated and at times sad.
On Nicks first day at work he was told by his boss, His Devil that he could not write.
This controlling belief was drawn upon at every opportunity both from his boss and from Nicks mind.
A similar tactic was used when I worked in the health care business and heard people describing some nurses as unprofessional. Such a subjective phrase but one used to say you are not behaving like me so therefore you must be unprofessional. Its controlling undermining bullying and can be deeply wounding.
Now the best bit. I saved reading the book until I took a trip on the train from Brighton to Cologne. Thought it would give me lots of time to think and reflect on the books content.
On the Eurostar train from London to Brussels I shared a carriage with a group of banking and insurance colleagues who had to attend a meeting in Lille.
When I reached the section describing The Devil I couldnt stop laughing. Some of the laughter was a nervous giggle thinking Oh No Nick you cannot say that to My God I wish I had the vocabulary to describe what a dreadful boss I once had.
I wont repeat any of Nicks descriptions of his boss His Devil. Dont want to spoil it for you.But it is so worth reading. One member of the group asked me what I was reading. My tablet was then passed around for everyone to read the section. The carriage came alive! Everyone was discussing their experiences and wondering if a certain person who worked with them could be described in a similar manner! It got very heated at times!
Now back to the review! Whilst the book is focused on Nicks Devil it gives you an interesting snapshot into the world of journalism.
On a negative point. I thought the ending stopped short or to keep to the train theme ...it seemed to run out of steam. Still an excellent and must read tho.
Finally, throughout the book I kept wondering if The Devil had read the book The Set Up to Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail Syndrome: by Jean-Francois Manzoni and Jean-Louis Barsoux.
Maybe she did and disregarded it because she thought the authors couldnt write!!!!
Read THE DEVIL SMOKES DUNHILL here.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
First Review of #RS
The RS of the title of this book stands for Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old South African model and law graduate, shot dead by her new boyfriend, Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius. He is currently in jail, serving a five-year sentence for killing her which could see him released in less than half that time. Prosecutors are appealing. Readers should be aware that it's the seventh in a series of e-books on the crime and subsequent trial, and a certain amount of foreknowledge is presumed. Those looking for a straightforward, basic explanation of how, when and why Reeva Steenkamp was killed, might be advised to start with some background reading.
Even if readers are already familiar with the case, they should be prepared to go on an unpredictable journey that reaches to the stars and moon, and back. The book is a lesson in freedom, and freedom takes a wandering and often complicated path. 'It's complicated' is a phrase repeated several times in the narrative, and it applies to the way this book sets out to tell of Reeva Steenkamp, as well as of the world which made her and ultimately took her away. The black hole her killing created truly is complicated; Reeva could not escape it, but it absorbed all around it and continued to grow until its mass was felt by much of the world. The collapsed, darkened star of Reeva Steenkamp drew the world in to share her darkness and in doing so, brought in the light of freedom.
With her death, and the ending of her life, Reeva was also set free. No person in the world can catch, harm, hold or control her. Nobody can trample her dreams - or make them come true. Nothing on earth can touch her.
Perhaps Reeva might put up her thumb somewhere up there, as Neil Armstrong once did, and blot out the tiny star that is earth and its teeming humanity, if its light should ever pain her ageless eyes. For her loved ones left behind though, they must continue to live with the knowledge they cannot guide, help, comfort or laugh with her either. They cannot celebrate the milestones in her life she will never reach now. True freedom always carries an underside of pain and suffering, for someone, somewhere. Reeva Steenkamp's is no different. That her final cries for freedom were (most likely, in the opinion of this reviewer) terrified screams echoing through the South African night, is poignant, to say the least.
In writing what the authors intend to be a tribute to Reeva, rather than another narrative about the man who killed her, they have freed themselves too; I mention Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, because the book does too. At times it felt like Nick van der Leek pulled me reluctantly to the moon to place my trembling feet in the dusty footprints left by Armstrong, and I resented it. I'm interested in space and the universe the way I am in the vast tundra of Siberia or the great plains and prairies of Africa and the US - from a safe distance. I don't want to be there with even a fully-equipped SAR team on hand, let alone just ghosts for company.
But...the journey of the book covers the first landing on the moon, climate and the world economy, as well as South Africa - Reeva's home country. It also draws in Southern California, via author Lisa Wilson, and both her and van der Leek's personal journeys, as well as the crafts of writing, photography and movie making. It covers beauty and our concepts of it; money and what it means - and what it can do. It embraces Reeva's personal hopes, dreams and efforts, as well as South Africa's, and the world's. It touches upon, almost, the entire world, both past and future, and during the interludes, invites readers up to the moon.
Read the remainder of this review here.
Follow the reviewer on twitter here.
Even if readers are already familiar with the case, they should be prepared to go on an unpredictable journey that reaches to the stars and moon, and back. The book is a lesson in freedom, and freedom takes a wandering and often complicated path. 'It's complicated' is a phrase repeated several times in the narrative, and it applies to the way this book sets out to tell of Reeva Steenkamp, as well as of the world which made her and ultimately took her away. The black hole her killing created truly is complicated; Reeva could not escape it, but it absorbed all around it and continued to grow until its mass was felt by much of the world. The collapsed, darkened star of Reeva Steenkamp drew the world in to share her darkness and in doing so, brought in the light of freedom.
With her death, and the ending of her life, Reeva was also set free. No person in the world can catch, harm, hold or control her. Nobody can trample her dreams - or make them come true. Nothing on earth can touch her.
Perhaps Reeva might put up her thumb somewhere up there, as Neil Armstrong once did, and blot out the tiny star that is earth and its teeming humanity, if its light should ever pain her ageless eyes. For her loved ones left behind though, they must continue to live with the knowledge they cannot guide, help, comfort or laugh with her either. They cannot celebrate the milestones in her life she will never reach now. True freedom always carries an underside of pain and suffering, for someone, somewhere. Reeva Steenkamp's is no different. That her final cries for freedom were (most likely, in the opinion of this reviewer) terrified screams echoing through the South African night, is poignant, to say the least.
But...the journey of the book covers the first landing on the moon, climate and the world economy, as well as South Africa - Reeva's home country. It also draws in Southern California, via author Lisa Wilson, and both her and van der Leek's personal journeys, as well as the crafts of writing, photography and movie making. It covers beauty and our concepts of it; money and what it means - and what it can do. It embraces Reeva's personal hopes, dreams and efforts, as well as South Africa's, and the world's. It touches upon, almost, the entire world, both past and future, and during the interludes, invites readers up to the moon.
Read the remainder of this review here.
Follow the reviewer on twitter here.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
THE DEVIL SMOKES DUNHILL: The (un)inspiring (satirical) story of a man's journey into the mad bad world of South Africa's Media Milieu [First Edition]
The Media is Mad
"I am writing this book because sometimes, often, a young person who is motivated to perform, to better himself, is sometimes, often, frustrated not just by bad luck or circumstance or some personal deficit, but by a person. Sometimes that person is ourselves. Michael Jackson would know, so would Homer Simpson. But sometimes one person – other than ourselves - can sometimes flush away a person’s dreams. Think of God and the Devil, Cane and Abel, Delilah and Samson, Brutus and Caesar, Judas and Jesus, Joan of Ark and the Bishop, John F. Kennedy and whomever killed him, Al Gore and George Bush, Madonna and her husband, and the plethora of ordinary murderers out there who wipe out lives and dreams with the movement of the index finger on a trigger.
In all of those cases, someone either died or surfaced on the other end barely alive or badly beaten.
We can rationalize some of those losses, but sometimes they are profound. Of course, when someone dies it is hard to be philosophical if you’re the one that’s dead."
The mainstream media from the inside is a cesspool of insecure misfits and courtyard keepers. Everyone suffers from chronic attention deficit disorder. Everyone is addicted to something. Words are their weapon of choice, life an after-thought, terminal diseases - especially cancers, tumors and anal brown-nosing - a certainty. Nick van der Leek, in this brilliant satire, through his experience in a South African newsroom uncovers the real story behind who and what makes the media, and suggests we stop caring.
The folks who work tirelessly behind the scenes, splattering their bullshit on the front pages of newspapers - the sub-editors, journalists, the slackers, the internes, the suckers, the cubicle slaves and other subhuman characters - do they know what they're doing? In a word: Hell No.
'We live in a world where the news today is indistinguishable from spam, and spam [according to Wikipedia]'provides very little in terms of vitamins and minerals...it has been listed as a food that is a poor choice for weight loss or optimum health; it's a food that "is high in saturated fat and sodium".'
The news, the people responsible for writing it, editing it and stupid enough to read it get skewered in this devilish yarn.
[Disclaimer: NOT based on actual events.]
[Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: Or is it?]
[Disclaimer to the Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: Is it all a very *very* thinly disguised veneer of satire...aimed at blowing these poepols out of the water?]
[Disclaimer to the Disclaimer to the Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: Or not?]
Available here.
"I am writing this book because sometimes, often, a young person who is motivated to perform, to better himself, is sometimes, often, frustrated not just by bad luck or circumstance or some personal deficit, but by a person. Sometimes that person is ourselves. Michael Jackson would know, so would Homer Simpson. But sometimes one person – other than ourselves - can sometimes flush away a person’s dreams. Think of God and the Devil, Cane and Abel, Delilah and Samson, Brutus and Caesar, Judas and Jesus, Joan of Ark and the Bishop, John F. Kennedy and whomever killed him, Al Gore and George Bush, Madonna and her husband, and the plethora of ordinary murderers out there who wipe out lives and dreams with the movement of the index finger on a trigger.
In all of those cases, someone either died or surfaced on the other end barely alive or badly beaten.
We can rationalize some of those losses, but sometimes they are profound. Of course, when someone dies it is hard to be philosophical if you’re the one that’s dead."
The mainstream media from the inside is a cesspool of insecure misfits and courtyard keepers. Everyone suffers from chronic attention deficit disorder. Everyone is addicted to something. Words are their weapon of choice, life an after-thought, terminal diseases - especially cancers, tumors and anal brown-nosing - a certainty. Nick van der Leek, in this brilliant satire, through his experience in a South African newsroom uncovers the real story behind who and what makes the media, and suggests we stop caring.
The folks who work tirelessly behind the scenes, splattering their bullshit on the front pages of newspapers - the sub-editors, journalists, the slackers, the internes, the suckers, the cubicle slaves and other subhuman characters - do they know what they're doing? In a word: Hell No.
'We live in a world where the news today is indistinguishable from spam, and spam [according to Wikipedia]'provides very little in terms of vitamins and minerals...it has been listed as a food that is a poor choice for weight loss or optimum health; it's a food that "is high in saturated fat and sodium".'
The news, the people responsible for writing it, editing it and stupid enough to read it get skewered in this devilish yarn.
[Disclaimer: NOT based on actual events.]
[Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: Or is it?]
[Disclaimer to the Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: Is it all a very *very* thinly disguised veneer of satire...aimed at blowing these poepols out of the water?]
[Disclaimer to the Disclaimer to the Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: Or not?]
Available here.
#RS is Oscar Trial eBook #7... so what's it about?
Written between Halloween and Thanksgiving, the authors of #RS take the narrative of the Oscar Trial back to Reeva Steenkamp.
At the same time #RS became available the media have started a new tune...of how Oscar might rebuild his life and find love again. And just days after #RS was published, a few days shy of Oscar's 28th birthday (in jail) John Carlin's book on Oscar (Chase Your Shadow) was also published.
Yet despite exclusive access to Oscar and the Pistorius family, Carlin's book does not offer a view on the legitimacy of Oscar's actions. #RS does. This 7th book in the series bravely goes where no narrative has gone before on this topic.
#RS probes the authenticity of Reeva's life and love, it attempts to find a device, a tree or rocket or belief system, that we can use to bridge the desolation and loneliness that divides the Earth from the Heavens. And, #RS calls into question the dedication of her family and friends who - for the most part - have not lent their voices in support of Reeva.
More nagging questions are raised and answers mooted.
For example, why did the Steenkamps and their advocate so blithely accept the court's sentence when so many others did not?
Although #RS is an uplifting story, it does not shirk from the brutal truth that is part of life, sex and death on this planet. And the very last lines of this tome ought to shake even the most focused reader back to giddy alertness.
In the great chasm where so few have spoken on Reeva's behalf this narrative rages with Reeva into the dying of the night.
#RS is available on Amazon for less than $7. Buy yours here.
At the same time #RS became available the media have started a new tune...of how Oscar might rebuild his life and find love again. And just days after #RS was published, a few days shy of Oscar's 28th birthday (in jail) John Carlin's book on Oscar (Chase Your Shadow) was also published.
Yet despite exclusive access to Oscar and the Pistorius family, Carlin's book does not offer a view on the legitimacy of Oscar's actions. #RS does. This 7th book in the series bravely goes where no narrative has gone before on this topic.
#RS probes the authenticity of Reeva's life and love, it attempts to find a device, a tree or rocket or belief system, that we can use to bridge the desolation and loneliness that divides the Earth from the Heavens. And, #RS calls into question the dedication of her family and friends who - for the most part - have not lent their voices in support of Reeva.
More nagging questions are raised and answers mooted.
For example, why did the Steenkamps and their advocate so blithely accept the court's sentence when so many others did not?
Although #RS is an uplifting story, it does not shirk from the brutal truth that is part of life, sex and death on this planet. And the very last lines of this tome ought to shake even the most focused reader back to giddy alertness.
In the great chasm where so few have spoken on Reeva's behalf this narrative rages with Reeva into the dying of the night.
#RS is available on Amazon for less than $7. Buy yours here.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Resurrection, Book #3 in the Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial series - available now in print for $11
In Resurrection, a book that made it into the top 10 Amazon Kindle Bestsellers, is now available in print. What's it about? Resurrection asks a simple question:
Is Resurrection possible for Oscar?
The book analyses the authenticity of Oscar's story, including his 'able'bodied' narrative at the London Olympics. Personally I consider Resurrection the best book of the series in terms of research. analysis and insight.
The final three chapters provide compelling evidence for a possible motive. I have been interviewed on Jacardan FM by Rian van Heerden (and cross-examined by Piet Byleveld), and Piet and I agree on what triggered the shooting. But if they were arguing, what were they arguing about?
Right now, one of the most read stories (it was the most read until yesterday) on News24.com is this:
If Reeva's mother is right - and I believe she is - what truth was Oscar hiding? What was his motive in killing Reeva, and what were they arguing about? And was it premeditated murder after all?
You won't find answers to these questions in the mainstream media.
Resurrection (and includes interviews with his former agent, lawyers, a psychologist, sports scientists and various journalists) is rated an average 5 stars on Amazon Kindle. You can read those reviews here.
You can order Resurrection in print at this link.
Is Resurrection possible for Oscar?
The book analyses the authenticity of Oscar's story, including his 'able'bodied' narrative at the London Olympics. Personally I consider Resurrection the best book of the series in terms of research. analysis and insight.
The final three chapters provide compelling evidence for a possible motive. I have been interviewed on Jacardan FM by Rian van Heerden (and cross-examined by Piet Byleveld), and Piet and I agree on what triggered the shooting. But if they were arguing, what were they arguing about?
Right now, one of the most read stories (it was the most read until yesterday) on News24.com is this:
If Reeva's mother is right - and I believe she is - what truth was Oscar hiding? What was his motive in killing Reeva, and what were they arguing about? And was it premeditated murder after all?
You won't find answers to these questions in the mainstream media.
Resurrection (and includes interviews with his former agent, lawyers, a psychologist, sports scientists and various journalists) is rated an average 5 stars on Amazon Kindle. You can read those reviews here.
You can order Resurrection in print at this link.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
2 X Amazon Reviews of TRANSCENDENCE (Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk)
This is the best and most objective analysis of the trial evidence and ..., November 2, 2014
By
Verified Purchase
This review is from: Transcendence (Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial eBook Series 6) (Kindle Edition)
This is the best and most objective analysis of the trial evidence and verdict that we have read so far. Well written, objective and factual. A must read for anyone interested in Reeva Steenkamp's murder/crime, the subsequent Oscar Pistorius trial, and the outcome thus far. Thank you for tying up a lot of loose ends and asking the hard questions that were not examined in court.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, 1 Nov 2014 By P Mitchell
Verified Purchase
This review is from: Transcendence (Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial eBook Series 6) (Kindle Edition)
Have read all 6 of the books now and feel so enriched. I started reading the books with an interest in the judicial system in South Africa, rights relating to womens issues and the abuse of power. But the books offered much much more than that. Yes the hook/hinge is the Oscar Pistorius trial but what you get from Nick and Lisa is an honest well researched informative read. Eric Clapton once said of Robert Johnson ...."I felt he was the one that was talking from his soul without really compromising for anybody" Sums up the books nicely! Thanks so much! -- Penny Mitchell
Get your TRANSCENDENCE here.
Friday, October 31, 2014
First Twitter Reviews of TRANSCENDENCE
@HiRezLife I just bought Transcendence! Fantastic! Can't put it down, & happy to hear you have #RS coming too!
— Jane A (@ejav2) October 30, 2014@HiRezLife love your observations on Mendacity. Absolutely brilliant.
— Jane A (@ejav2) October 30, 2014@HiRezLife but I do love this book, Transcendence is stellar. Almost half way through, the best so far I think.
— Jane A (@ejav2) October 31, 2014Excerpt from Transcendence http://t.co/0ZnjxPTVpZ via @HiRezLife
— Lisa (@lisawJ13) October 29, 2014FIXION 3 Books 2 Authors 1 Justice http://t.co/Ojw9wiOg0i via @frican_man
— Nick van der Leek (@HiRezLife) October 28, 2014Thursday, October 30, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Latest 5 Star Review of REVELATIONS [posted October 29 2014]
By jackieg1313
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
Friday, October 24, 2014
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
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Friday, September 26, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
RESTITUTIO is Oscar Trial eBook #5. So...what's it all about?
The Short Version and the Long Version:
1. Short Description via Juror13:
"This book is not about sheer entertainment. It's really about reflection, and moving forward. I think anyone who reads this book is going to stop and think about how this ties into their own life."
2. Long Description (via Amazon):
RESTITUTIO was published on 19 September 2014, exactly 7 days after Judge Thokozile Masipa pronounced her controversial verdict; Oscar Pistorius not guilty on the charge of murdering Reeva Steenkamp in his home on Valentine's Day 2013. On the same day RESTITUTIO was published, the South African Police announced the latest crime statistics:
17 068 people were murdered in South Africa over the past year. That’s 47 people per day; 800 more than the previous year. Reeva Steenkamp, however, will not be counted among those numbers.
The question RESTITUTIO asks is: 'why not?’ And ‘where to from here’?
South African freelance photojournalist, Nick van der Leek, and forensic profiler and criminologist, Laurie Pieters-James, have teamed up for the first time to interrogate the subterranea behind the Oscar trial. Additional insights via the popular American analyst Juror13 provide international perspectives to the story. In sum, a trio of analysts means a singular narrative reinforced into an even more powerful, and thoroughly-considered story.
RESTITUTIO takes the reader on a journey through intellectual rivers and deserts, mountains and storms, until finally a guiding metaphor emerges...and presents us with an Abyss. Whether we float over it or plunge into it depends on how we respond to our own (individual and societal) 'wrongness'. Can we even acknowledge 'Being Wrong'?
The RESTITUTIO narrative seeks answers on this very central question and then probes an even darker mythos...our prospects for Ernest Becker’s brutal questions on the human condition. Is there an escape from evil for us? And from death (by crime in South Africa, for example)? Is there a way for us to find our way back to real reconciliation and true legitimacy?
The authors interrogate these questions using the Oscar Trial as a taking-off point.
Highlights of RESTITUTIO include stories by:
1. Sonja Raath. The last journalist to interview Reeva Steenkamp, writes candidly about her thoughts, feelings and firsthand experience when she met the couple at the Virgin Active Sports Awards, and her interactions with Reeva afterwards.
2. Criminologist and analyst for CNN, Laurie Pieters-James. Pieters-James, co-writer of Shattered Lives (the story of Dirk Prinsloo and Advocate Barbie) describes her impressions of Hilton Botha, who she had the opportunity to converse with during the bail hearings, which she attended in person. Pieters-James also provides insight into the (often disturbed) psyches of the fanatic Oscar followers, better known as the Pistorians.
3. Juror13. Over the past year and a half, South Africans have been in mourning, along with the grieving Steenkamp family. Has justice been done? Disappointment in the spring of 2014 is widespread following the verdict. US-based courtroom analyst and blogger, Juror13 interrogates the grief that societies suffer in the wake of such verdicts. Juror13 also describes her personal experiences of 9/11 and the Newtown Elementary school shooting in Connecticut. How can a nation move forward after such abominations?
4. Nick van der Leek. The author provides more poignant insights and analysis into the Oscar trial, into its ironies (the victim’s family being less emotional than the accused throughout), but also draws the reader further, far further than REVELATIONS, on a journey to the Existential Abyss...and beyond.
To order your copy go to this link.
If you don't have a Kindle, read this.
If you don't have a Kindle and need a step-by-step explanation that an eight-year old could follow, read this.
If you have a digital device, have an internet connection and simply need to download the free app, click here.
1. Short Description via Juror13:
"This book is not about sheer entertainment. It's really about reflection, and moving forward. I think anyone who reads this book is going to stop and think about how this ties into their own life."
2. Long Description (via Amazon):
RESTITUTIO was published on 19 September 2014, exactly 7 days after Judge Thokozile Masipa pronounced her controversial verdict; Oscar Pistorius not guilty on the charge of murdering Reeva Steenkamp in his home on Valentine's Day 2013. On the same day RESTITUTIO was published, the South African Police announced the latest crime statistics:
17 068 people were murdered in South Africa over the past year. That’s 47 people per day; 800 more than the previous year. Reeva Steenkamp, however, will not be counted among those numbers.
The question RESTITUTIO asks is: 'why not?’ And ‘where to from here’?
South African freelance photojournalist, Nick van der Leek, and forensic profiler and criminologist, Laurie Pieters-James, have teamed up for the first time to interrogate the subterranea behind the Oscar trial. Additional insights via the popular American analyst Juror13 provide international perspectives to the story. In sum, a trio of analysts means a singular narrative reinforced into an even more powerful, and thoroughly-considered story.
RESTITUTIO takes the reader on a journey through intellectual rivers and deserts, mountains and storms, until finally a guiding metaphor emerges...and presents us with an Abyss. Whether we float over it or plunge into it depends on how we respond to our own (individual and societal) 'wrongness'. Can we even acknowledge 'Being Wrong'?
The RESTITUTIO narrative seeks answers on this very central question and then probes an even darker mythos...our prospects for Ernest Becker’s brutal questions on the human condition. Is there an escape from evil for us? And from death (by crime in South Africa, for example)? Is there a way for us to find our way back to real reconciliation and true legitimacy?
The authors interrogate these questions using the Oscar Trial as a taking-off point.
Highlights of RESTITUTIO include stories by:
1. Sonja Raath. The last journalist to interview Reeva Steenkamp, writes candidly about her thoughts, feelings and firsthand experience when she met the couple at the Virgin Active Sports Awards, and her interactions with Reeva afterwards.
2. Criminologist and analyst for CNN, Laurie Pieters-James. Pieters-James, co-writer of Shattered Lives (the story of Dirk Prinsloo and Advocate Barbie) describes her impressions of Hilton Botha, who she had the opportunity to converse with during the bail hearings, which she attended in person. Pieters-James also provides insight into the (often disturbed) psyches of the fanatic Oscar followers, better known as the Pistorians.
3. Juror13. Over the past year and a half, South Africans have been in mourning, along with the grieving Steenkamp family. Has justice been done? Disappointment in the spring of 2014 is widespread following the verdict. US-based courtroom analyst and blogger, Juror13 interrogates the grief that societies suffer in the wake of such verdicts. Juror13 also describes her personal experiences of 9/11 and the Newtown Elementary school shooting in Connecticut. How can a nation move forward after such abominations?
4. Nick van der Leek. The author provides more poignant insights and analysis into the Oscar trial, into its ironies (the victim’s family being less emotional than the accused throughout), but also draws the reader further, far further than REVELATIONS, on a journey to the Existential Abyss...and beyond.
To order your copy go to this link.
If you don't have a Kindle, read this.
If you don't have a Kindle and need a step-by-step explanation that an eight-year old could follow, read this.
If you have a digital device, have an internet connection and simply need to download the free app, click here.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Latest Review of #Revelations: "Read this to the end!"
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Keep going to the end...the author has also provided a potential alternative account of the events which took place in the early hours of that bloody valentine's day. He acknowledges that this is speculation, but it does make you think...
More here.
Note: RESTITUTIO will be released on 18 September on Amazon. Remember you don't need a Kindle to read an eBook, you simply need to download the free app.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
South African MAN a *runaway* hit! >>> PLUS how to jump on the 'online traffic' bandwagon
Less than a month after launching on August 6, South African MAN, edited by freelance photojournalist and author Nick van der Leek, has attracted over 20 000 page impressions. The site, managed by a small team of designers, IT experts and content providers (the latter mostly from Nick van der Leek himself) is regularly updated.
South African MAN's hallmark is colourful, insightful, vivid diversity, with an edge. The sites mantra is 'Born to be bold' and many of its topics have an edgy quality. There is news, analysis, interviews with South African movers and shakers and yes, quite a few attractive women, all done to magazine-quality standards, but optimised for web/mobile acquisition.
Some of the personalities interviewed in the first three weeks since South African MAN went live, include:
- Professor Jonathan Jansen
- Kingsley Holgate
- Richard Murray
- Professor Tim Noakes
- Morgan Freeman
- Lauren Beukes
- Leonard Carr
- Willem -Dapper' De Wet
- Maja Debeljkovic
- Naomi Das
- Annette Kasselman
Some of the most popular stories on the site include:
1. Is Grey SA's Greatest?
2. Statement Analysis can show Oscar's lies
3. MANdate Willem 'Dapper' de Wet Q&A
Besides regular analysis on the Oscar Pistorius Murder trial (Nick van der Leek is the author of 4 bestselling eBooks on the subject) the site also showcases COUNTERSPIN (controversial behind the scenes news), MANtalk (news analysis and commentary) and tongue-in-cheek commentary on topical entertainment, for example True Blood on television and Guardians of the Galaxy at the cinema. Due to Nick van der Leek's current personal interest in Grey College at the moment, the site will receive a constant overflow of content based on an ongoing research project.
Besides a bulk of content written, edited and designed by Van der Leek himself, there are also contributions from New Zealand ("Podcasts from Kiwiland"), delivered once every two weeks, along with podcasts on fitness topics via America's Rob Roll, as well as US-based legal analysis from 'Juror13' and then regular nutritional advice via Megan Herriot, a UK-based doctor.
The FIXION section, run by crime writer Vernon Baumann, provides writing tips (including how to self-publish on Amazon), book reviews, news from the publishing and entertainment industry and movie reviews. Competitions and giveaways will be launched via this section in September.
Although the site has just been launched, and advertisers have not been approached yet, two clients have already been secured in two separate pay-for-content deals, which provides exposure online and via social media (Nick van der Leek's twitter account @hirezlife has over 13 000 followers).
Once the Oscar eBook series is complete, the site will provide ongoing snippets and special offers via its FIXION section, and focus will then turn to other man-type stuff, such as car reviews, gear and gadget promotions and travel content.
Companies or individuals interested in arranging paid-for magazine quality online exposure, including shoots, features, interviews, product or event promotions, PR or brand leveraging - including exposure through exclusive social media networks - can contact the editor here.
Visit South African MAN here.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Another Review of Revelations
Hi Nick,
I finished Revelations over the weekend.
That chapter where you give a fictional account of what happened that night, seemed so real and authentic,it made my blood run cold.
All the more effective because of the way you built up to it with the previous chapters.
I see now why a certain someone was bent on sabotaging your files through the internet!!!! - from a legal practitioner, via Email
More information here.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Praise for Resurrection: "[It] gets to the heart of this case."
To get to the heart of this case, it ..., August 3, 2014
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This review is from: Resurrection (Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial eBook Series 3) (Kindle Edition)
To get to the heart of this case, it is imperative to understand the driving forces behind what culminated on the morning of February 14th. The book provides a very well-researched, well thought out analysis of Oscar, behind the PR machine. It also delves in to where Reeva was in her career and life. For anybody following this trial and grappling with the whys and hows of this tragedy, Nick provides a very compelling recipe to what led up to that evening. I promise you, it's worth the investment of your time!
Get yours here.
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