Spontaneous Letter 1

Scribbled in a frenzy

Dear Rheeda,

Phew! I almost forgot that tomorrow is Saturday; that there ought to be a despatch for tomorrow. Thank God I remembered. Interestingly, I remembered while riding in a cab to visit a friend. I thought tomorrow is Friday. I am writing this on Friday, 5th August 2022 and the time now (at this very instance) is 02:53 p.m. My timer is counting down for 42 minutes. I will be letting words out—without a guideline but unorganised thoughts about things I want to tell you about and things I intend not to.

Image source: Bayt.com

Based on the calendar, this despatch is supposed to be a book review. I had to put that aside for the coming weekend; that is if another narrative doesn’t take up that space. I am not done reading the book for the review. The book has so much that I cannot dare say I have collected enough threads to weave a fine piece. So bare with me.

The past three weeks has been crazy and filled with frenzy. RANDOM DESPATCHES, at the time of this writing, has 473 subscribers. 473, Rheeda. The growth startles me. It is just so fascinating to see that a task envisaged to be accomplished in years can be attained in less than a month. It is just exciting, Rheeda. It is.

I am also excited to tell you about this too. My book is almost ready. I just acquired the ISBN for it on Wednesday, 3rd August 2022. The waiting to this point was quite a long one, filled with many lessons. For example, the content would not have been arrayed across the fine electronic pages if not for the delay. Initially, I opted for an A4 paper size to produce the electronic copy. As time progressed—from 2021 to early this year—I thought of a paper size with a smaller area. When producing Levography and Grace, I got a new and fancier choice. I still thought of a better choice after. Eventually, I found the one on which the content is layed. You can’t wait to get your own copy.

This is the sample cover design for my book.

Secondly, I used to be one among the fellows who used to think a book, say that of 200+ pages, is written in a day. (Whatever made me think that way.) Producing this book revealed otherwise. I commenced writing it in 2020. A chapter took me a day to write. Yet, the first draft spanned from then until mid-2021 or so. I thought to publish it on my 21st anniversary, last year, but it didn’t turn out as intended. Just around that time a friend made a post saying that it is not a rule that your debut e-book must be released on your birthday or any other “special day” as such. I was consoled. I didn’t have any other date in mind afterwards. Then I shared the project with Mr Brown, a senior friend and another father. He came with his irresistible influence: he altered the title (the working title of the book was In the Library), a few tenses and paragraphs. He did not stop there. He insisted that I should acquire an ISBN code for the book. I mean, why the pressure and delay? By then, I was envisioning 1st July for the release. I had to neglect that until I acquired the code. It wasn’t funny. However, I am happy the book has the code. In summary, it means the book has a distinct identifier in the global market space.

If the subscriber count hits 500 by next Saturday, God willing, I will definitely dedicate that despatch to the report. The narrative is too inspiring to be delayed longer.

I have learnt quite a lot in the past three weeks. Chief among them is the value of relationships. The lesson on consistency cannot be overlooked either. More on these, in the next despatch, when we hit 500.

Until I write to you again, I remain your Letter Man.

Sincerely,

Tongjal, W. N.

PS: At this point, the timer says I have just about 2 more minutes left out of the 42 minutes.

PSS: This is the edited version of what I wrote in 42 minutes. While the countdown was on, I just wrote away. You can request the unedited piece via e-mail: wungakhatongjal12@gmail.com

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You can purchase your copy of Levography and Grace by KaatNanret with CinplangNan via this link: Click

In Levography and Grace are letters from an elder sister, Mandla, to her younger sister, Lindiwe. Mandla graciously writes to her sister, with the aim of helping her make the most of social media; she points to the numerous benefits, from financial to spiritual benefits while not leaving out the ills. She writes from a place of experience, understanding, love and care. In between these letters are notes written with levography, an innovative scripting which can be read normally (only) with a mirror.