Clive Cooke

Biography

Worked for thirty years in the petrochemical industry in production and marketing, recently retired. Published ten books. Intends to devote more time to writing and to travelling.

Specializes in small-scale human dramas rather than in epics. A shrewd observer of the complexities of human behavior. Loves contradictions and uncertainties. Health warning: there are unexploded land mines buried in my writing. The reader is advised to tread warily.

Traveled extensively in Europe, North, Central and South America. Speaks four languages. Photograph: I'm the one on the left wearing the hat.

Books

Short Stories, Tall Stories
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 167,810. Language: English. Published: May 13, 2021 . Categories: Fiction » Literary collections » European / General
This collection of short stories continues the themes begun in previous volumes: Stirring the Pot; Heard it on the Grapevine; Big Companies for Dummies; It Never Rains in Paddafontein. All the stories are new, although you might meet some old friends. They range from humorous to serious.
Vol. 4 Streets Paved with Gold
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 92,540. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: October 5, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
These 15 short stories continue the African themes of the others in the series. Some have a strong ethnic flavour (Xhosa legends, polygamy) some have historical settings (the 1921 miners’ strike) and modern social issues (xenophobia, working class religious sects). A few are humorous (bureaucracy).
Vol. 3 Streets Paved with Gold
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 90,020. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: October 4, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
Johannesburg, the city of gold where the streets are literally thought to be paved with gold. This collection of 18 short stories continues the African theme. Most of the stories have a strong ethnic flavor (lobola, myths and legends). Some are contemporary (life in a squatter camp, scenes from a literacy center, gangsterism). The stories range from serious to humorous.
Vol. 2 Streets Paved with Gold
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 90,150. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: October 3, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
These twenty short stories are set in Africa. Themes range from: historical (the Anglo-Boer War, The Bambatha Rebellion), relocating Shakespeare to Africa (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), stories with a strong cultural flavour (legends, witchcraft, lobola), modern settings (illegal mining, street vendors in the city), and political (forced removals). The stories range from serious to humorous.
Vol. 1 Streets Paved with Gold
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 89,390. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: October 2, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
This collection of 19 short stories has Africa as a common theme. They range from stories with a strong ethnic flavour (a day in the life of a Zulu herd boy, Xhosa burial customs, Khoi Bushmen of the Kalahari) to historical (Anglo-Zulu War), to political (Apartheid) and to modern settings (street vendors in the city, the scourge of Aids). The stories range from serious to humorous.
Gutter Press
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 90,490. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: February 26, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Anthologies » Short stories - single author
Gutter Press is a scurrilous publication. Our mission is dirt. It is unpleasant work and sometimes dangerous, but someone has to do it. We strip off the veneer from the rich and famous. We shine the light of honesty into dark corners. Did you know that Elvis Presley’s last rock show was in a mortuary and that the Russians were the first to land on the moon? Extra…. extra…. read all about it.
It Never Rains in Paddafontein
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 86,870. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: March 6, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
Let me introduce you to the residents of Paddafontein (Frog Fountain in English) a remote village in the semi-desert Karoo district of Southern Africa. The people could be described as: rustic, quaint, garrulous, conservative, suspicious of outsiders and at times more than a little strange. Most of the stories are humorous, a few are serious and all have a strong ethnic flavour. Please enjoy!
Stirring the Pot
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 94,320. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: September 4, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Anthologies » Short stories - single author
This collection of short stories ranges from Sci Fi to murder and from humour to satire. The Sci Fi stories are at the human level rather than epics. The stories in “Big Companies for Dummies” continue the series about life in the corporate world. Some are serious and some are humorous, although, the reader might well laugh through gritted teeth.
A Girl's Best Friend
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 95,250. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: June 3, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Anthologies » Short stories - single author
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend; just ask Marilyn Monroe. They can be a man’s too and sometimes they tempt him to steal, cheat and murder. We meet rogues of every possible variety from the handsome bigamist to a gang of robbers on the French Riviera and a man trying to steal from his company. The final story is a novella about the successive owners of a diamond which shows unusual properties.
Heard It on the Grapevine
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 93,680. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: March 2, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Anthologies » Short stories - single author, Fiction » Literary collections » African
This volume comprises two collections of short stories. The theme of the first is: love, jealousy, revenge and murder. The second is set in the world of big companies. Anyone working for a big organization might recognize some of these stock characters and situations. Most of the stories are humorous. However, you might find yourself laughing through gritted teeth.

Clive Cooke's tag cloud

african    ethnic    general    humor    humour    humour south africa    murdermystery    satire    sci fi    short stories