Publications
Partners
Image provided courtesy of Penguin Books SA
1. At what point did you realise that you were going to continue Belle's story?
Towards the end when I had her saying goodbye to Etienne. I could hardly bear the thought of her never seeing him again.
2. Do you plan your writing meticulously or do you find that your characters (Belle in particular) often take you in a different direction completely?
Yes the characters come to life and behave like real people, putting their foot down and insisting on things I hadn’t planned
3. What do you think it is about Belle that endears her to so many readers?
Because she’s flawed I think, and that she makes the best of any situation she finds herself in. She doesn’t whinge either!
4. Can you tell us about some of your favourite scenes you've written for both Belle and The Promise?
I loved writing about the Sporting house in New Orleans. It was naughty, but much more fun than a love scene. In The Promise I loved the bit when Etienne rescues Jimmy.
I could imagine the horror of No Man’s Land, and that Etienne was torn between wanting Belle for himself, and doing the honourable thing. It helped that I was in love with Etienne!
5. When you're doing research for your books, how do you decide what to incorporate and what to discard?
I’ve got so used to doing it now, I almost close my eyes to irrelevant stuff or bits however interesting which might slow the story down.
I have to keep in mind that facts which are fascinating to me might make my readers feel they are being given a history lesson. Sometimes I mentally store stuff away to be used in another book.
6. What has been the most memorable part of your recent trip to South Africa?
The warmth shown to me by my readers there. It seems odd that my books appeal to women in a country so far away and with such a different culture.
But then, women are the same the whole world over, we have the same needs, the same problems, and we all like to be taken out of ourselves from time to time, whether that is through books or films.
7. Have you managed to pick up any books by South African authors while you were here?
I’m reading The Elephant Whisperer right now, and absolutely loving it.
I can picture the bush, smell and hear it, and I can’t wait to come back to South Africa and see it for myself. With luck I’ll be bringing my 14 year old grandson with me in February next year.
8. What's the one book that you wish you had written and why?
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. It’s an English classic about life down on the farm. Hysterically funny, and I see myself in the heroine Flora Poste.
You may know the expression ‘She saw something nasty in the woodshed’, well that comes from the book.
I would be so proud to have written it, to know that I’d left a piece of me behind for future generations. My books can be grim, but in fact I’m a very jolly lady who loves to laugh.
I think I ought to have a crack at writing a comedy.
9. Who are some of the authors that have inspired and influenced you?
Dickens is probably the biggest influence, he grew up in Rochester where I was born and spent most of my childhood. I love his books. But Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind may well have shaped the way I tell a story. I adored it and have read it several times without ever tiring of it.
10. And finally, if you could have one female fictional character guest star in any one of your novels, who would it be and why?
It would be Scarlett O’Hara of course. She’s feisty, brave, totally selfish but she comes up trumps when necessary and I always felt she had a lot more to give.
The Promise is out now. You can head on over to kalahari.com and purchase a copy now!
Towards the end when I had her saying goodbye to Etienne. I could hardly bear the thought of her never seeing him again.
2. Do you plan your writing meticulously or do you find that your characters (Belle in particular) often take you in a different direction completely?
Yes the characters come to life and behave like real people, putting their foot down and insisting on things I hadn’t planned
3. What do you think it is about Belle that endears her to so many readers?
Because she’s flawed I think, and that she makes the best of any situation she finds herself in. She doesn’t whinge either!
4. Can you tell us about some of your favourite scenes you've written for both Belle and The Promise?
I loved writing about the Sporting house in New Orleans. It was naughty, but much more fun than a love scene. In The Promise I loved the bit when Etienne rescues Jimmy.
I could imagine the horror of No Man’s Land, and that Etienne was torn between wanting Belle for himself, and doing the honourable thing. It helped that I was in love with Etienne!
5. When you're doing research for your books, how do you decide what to incorporate and what to discard?
I’ve got so used to doing it now, I almost close my eyes to irrelevant stuff or bits however interesting which might slow the story down.
I have to keep in mind that facts which are fascinating to me might make my readers feel they are being given a history lesson. Sometimes I mentally store stuff away to be used in another book.
6. What has been the most memorable part of your recent trip to South Africa?
The warmth shown to me by my readers there. It seems odd that my books appeal to women in a country so far away and with such a different culture.
But then, women are the same the whole world over, we have the same needs, the same problems, and we all like to be taken out of ourselves from time to time, whether that is through books or films.
7. Have you managed to pick up any books by South African authors while you were here?
I’m reading The Elephant Whisperer right now, and absolutely loving it.
I can picture the bush, smell and hear it, and I can’t wait to come back to South Africa and see it for myself. With luck I’ll be bringing my 14 year old grandson with me in February next year.
8. What's the one book that you wish you had written and why?
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. It’s an English classic about life down on the farm. Hysterically funny, and I see myself in the heroine Flora Poste.
You may know the expression ‘She saw something nasty in the woodshed’, well that comes from the book.
I would be so proud to have written it, to know that I’d left a piece of me behind for future generations. My books can be grim, but in fact I’m a very jolly lady who loves to laugh.
I think I ought to have a crack at writing a comedy.
9. Who are some of the authors that have inspired and influenced you?
Dickens is probably the biggest influence, he grew up in Rochester where I was born and spent most of my childhood. I love his books. But Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind may well have shaped the way I tell a story. I adored it and have read it several times without ever tiring of it.
10. And finally, if you could have one female fictional character guest star in any one of your novels, who would it be and why?
It would be Scarlett O’Hara of course. She’s feisty, brave, totally selfish but she comes up trumps when necessary and I always felt she had a lot more to give.
The Promise is out now. You can head on over to kalahari.com and purchase a copy now!
