Goodbye corporate life
After a frenetic career in marketing and advertising, I said adieu to briefcases, bosses and bags under my eyes to write full time.
Thank heavens I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for. Writing is a great life if you don’t care about money. I lived in Paris back then and being penniless in the City of Lights was tough. But my love for the written word made it easy to swap expensive holidays for walks in the Luxembourg Gardens, pricey Sisheido for Nivea face cream, and the luxury of taxis for public transport. What’s not to love about taking a bus along the Seine River in Paris?
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 but can still recite the escapades I took them on in the magic helicopter parked in the attic of our old family home.
What do I write about?
I am intrigued by people who seem strong on the surface but 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 but I loved every minute of bringing her stories alive.