What are you reading at the moment?
I’m reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s, “Memories of My Melancholy Whores” This is the first book of fiction he has written in 10 years and its just wonderfully entertaining, interesting and a fine example of great storytelling.
Which authors do you most admire?
I have always been a huge fan of Ernest Hemmingway. My most favourite work of his is, “A Moveable Feast”. It covers his early life in Paris as a struggling writer and of course, being a writer, I can most certainly relate. I also have the utmost respect for fellow South African author, J.M. Coetzee. I think both writers have the gift of writing simple, clear sentences that carry enormous depth and insight into characters and situations. It shows great strength in their craft where less is more.
What books did you read as a child?
Since there was no television in South Africa when I was a child I did a great deal of reading. Enid Blyton was my all time favourite author. “The Folk of the Faraway Tree” was my most beloved book of hers. My other favourite was, “Prince Caspian” and the other six books that were written by C.S. Lewis in “The Chronicles of Narnia” anthology. Both these authors’ works took me out of my everyday reality and made my imagination soar.
Which literary character would you most like to meet?
Jay Gatsby from, “The Great Gatsby” An intriguing man who was dashing, charming, a gracious host and a bit if a bad boy with a chequered past. I’d like to somehow meet him on his own turf, back in the 1920’s. While we toured through his West Egg mansion I’d ask him about his years attending Oxford and try to catch him out, since he never really went there, and just made that fact up to impress the pretty flappers and rich friends that he accumulated.
Where/When do you do most of your writing?
I do most of my writing at night. I live in Santa Monica in California and there is a wonderful little coffee house nearby my home called, “The Talking Stick”. Everyone who goes there is always working on something or studying furiously. Laptops are as evident on the wooden tables as the lattes. In the past I liked to write in the quiet solitude of my home but I now feel comfortable writing in a public setting. There are nights when I stay home and write and that works out quite well, as long as the dogs don’t bark too much!
Have you ever had any other jobs apart from writing?
Yes, I have. I worked in the entertainment industry as a script and book reader and was then promoted to Literary Coordinator for a major Literary and Talent Agency in Los Angeles. I later started a charity for children who needed funds for bone marrow transplants after the death of my late stepson from leukaemia. Six years ago my sister and I started an online, plus size women’s clothing company called, Sizeappeal that sells globally to women size 12 and up. We have many customers in the U.K.
What’s your earliest memory?
My earliest memory is of my nanny, Nellie. When I was a baby she would carry me on her back secured by a huge blanket that she would wrap around her waist. I can still remember the warmth of her ample back and the gentle movement of her body as she went about her daily housework while she sang in Xhosa. I would be lulled to sleep by the warmth, motion and the vibration of her singing. To this day I think the best sleep I ever had was “Nellie sleep”.
What are you proudest of?
My daughter, Jordan who is now seventeen. Being a teenager, she will hate that I am saying this, but she is blessed with brains, beauty and enormous integrity. I have a really close and open relationship with her and since I am a single mother, we spend a lot of time together. Writing is something that we have in common and I’m proud to say that she is 50 pages into the first draft of her first novel, but I’m very careful not to edit her and stifle her creative process!
Who or what always puts a smile on your face?
My three wonderful rescue dogs. I light up when I see them. They bring an enormous amount of joy and laughter into my life. Alfie is a scruffy terrier that I found in the middle of the road in downtown Los Angeles almost eight months ago. I am thoroughly convinced that he is really a prince who had a spell put on him and if I could just figure out what the magic words were I could turn him back into Prince Alfie. Preston is my very cute Chihuahua boy who was abandoned with his mom and sister. He’s quite a nippy little chap and seems to love only my mother and me. He loves to sit on my shoulder like a bird. Madeline is our most recent rescue. She is a gorgeous mutt, a cross between Lady from “Lady and the Tramp” and a long haired dushund. Everyone just “oohs” and “aahs” over her. She has heart–melting, sad puppy eyes and likes to have her tummy rubbed. She’s the friendliest little thing and loves people, dogs and cats alike. My dogs definitely always put a smile on my face.
Where’s your favourite city?
That’s a tough question to answer. I have a few favourites. New York, Cape Town, London and a small village in Italy along the Amalfi coast called Positano. Yes, I know it’s not a city but I have fantasies of moving there one day to eat pasta, admire the azure sea from my little beach house and write.
