“My latest book, Trencherman, is released in Australia this week. This book is actually 10 years old but it was only through getting an International contract that it was published in the UK and here in Australia. This is my ninth work of fiction. Trencherman is based on the story of ‘Heart of Darkness’ by Joseph Conrad where Marlow sets off into the jungle to go and find Koert. I’ve transposed the story and set it in a future South Africa. The story begins in Melbourne where Marlow is asked by his sister to find her son because the son has disappeared somewhere in South Africa. It’s also about a country that we see now a lot especially in the Horn of Africa. Countries with failed governments, that have fallen apart and are basically ruled by gangs. It really is about fear, that everything around you is falling apart and the fear of that happening. It was realeased a month ago in the UK and received exceptionally good reviews and great reviews in the Times Literary supplement.
I received an award in South Africa for the best Afrikaans novel of the year with my last book, Wolf Wolf. I used the money from that award to write my next book. I’ve actually lived on that money for two years and during that time, here in my little study in Lismore I’ve written my next book which I’ve completed now and have submitted it to my agent in London. For the first time ever in lovely Lismore, I’ve actually written a book in English.
I was born in South Africa and migrated to Australia in 1986. I first lived and worked in Sydney in my brothers Macrobiotic shop, met my partner Gerard and moved to Melbourne. I set up my own Macrobiotic shop and cafe called Wild Rice which became quite famous. From that time I started writing seriously. I would take 3 months off work to write and since then I have written 11 works of fiction. The novel that is with my agent now is called ‘Green as the sky above’. Two years ago I got an international contract with a publishing company called Scribe and they bought both ‘Wolf Wolf’ and ‘Trencherman’ and I’m hoping they will publish the next one too.
It’s been good for me here in Lismore to write. It was hard at first for me to write in English with this latest novel but it started flowing. The book is at times erotic and I think it was better to write in my second language rather than my mother tongue about erotic scenes because it gave me more distance. Lismore has been a stimulating environment for me. As I got to know more and more people it gave a richness to my experiences which I often use and make notes of. I am able to live fairly well here and maintain a good lifestyle without being rich.”
“ The book launch of Trencherman is on the 9th June at Salon Verdi in the Star Court Arcade. Tickets at The Book Warehouse Australia Lismore.