Goodbye corporate world
After a frenetic career in marketing and advertising, I ditched briefcases, bosses and bags under my eyes to write full time.
Ha. Easier said than done. Thank heavens I was clueless about what I was letting myself into. Writing is a great life if you don’t care about money. I had just moved from Cape Town to Paris and being penniless in the City of Lights was tough. But not following my heart would have been tougher.
Storyteller
I never had visions of book deals in my future but I was always a storyteller. Ask my brothers. They’re in their fifties and can still recite the escapades we went on in the magic helicopter parked in the attic of our old family home. Right down to the miniature cat-dog called Meooff who went everywhere with us.
What do I write about?
I am intrigued by people who are strong on the surface and broken underneath. My fiction themes deal with the secrets and shadows of life.
An Elephant in my Kitchen is my first non-fiction. Writing about Françoise Malby-Anthony’s life on her game reserve in Zululand after the death of her husband was a surprising turn of events and I loved every minute of bringing her stories alive.