A couple of weeks ago my friend and writer Judith van Vugt called me. I knew she made a living writing for different clients and projects, and now she had written a novel, together with her sister; Sabine van Vugt. The book is called “Colombiaans Carnaval” (Colombian Carnaval), and partly based on / inspired by their own experiences (I have seen proof in the form of a secret movie!).

I don’t know about you, but I like to read. When I was a little girl, my mother always joked I was eating letters, which was probably not far from the truth, since I never really got into literature for literatures sake. The thing I liked about reading (and still like a lot), is that it satisfies my hunger for knowledge, my curiosity, and I like how books can bring you into a new world, that is not yours, perhaps you could have never imagined this world, but now it is in your head, and it is also your world, since you can imagine a lot of it. Unless movies, many books leave loads of room for imagining your own world. Also, I really like writers who can play well with words.

You should definitely check the sisters Van Vugt blog, where you can read all about how to get your book sold. Well, published first, to be honest. I know they would be very happy if, when you like what they are up to, join / like / become a fan of the Facebook profile for their book.

I like the book. Although it is not my own reading taste, it ís well written, funny and fast, and as I tried to describe it to a friend yesterday: “It is not an intellectual book. It is a book for intellectuals that do wish to read in order to relax, since the book builds on quite some general knowledge, but it maybe also could be described as a mixture of chicklit and a thriller.” (Disclaimer: I am not an official critic!)

A couple of weeks ago the sisters van Vugt asked me and other proof readers to enter a Twitter contest and take 140 characters to say something about the part of the book that you think is best.

I did not write anything, but ever since I read the book I have this image in mind, and I decided to create that. Voila.

So if you like the image, if you like Colombia, if you like books, if you are a publisher, if you like frogs, if you like gold, if you like drugs, if you like guerrilla wars, if you like innocent (?) dutch girls getting mixed up in weird stuff in Colombia (think Tanja Nijmeijer!) or anything else that is in the book, connect to the Van Vugt sisters and let them know what you think!

Questions anyone?