Why did William Faulkner write 14 novels that occur in an imaginary place he named Yoknaphatawpha County? I can’t speak for Faulkner, but after writing several historically accurate novels, I have my own reasons for wanting to try my hand at writing about places that...
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March 21, 1960 is a date deeply inscribed on the memories and hearts of South Africans. The events of that day, which have come to be known as the Sharpeville Massacre, spoke of unforgettable horror: the South African police opening fire on black protesters demonstrating...
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Today is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate women and focus on gender parity. Several men I’ve spoken to wonder why there is a need for such a day, especially in 2016, or why they should observe it, since the woman in his life knows...
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I am sitting before a page that refuses to write itself. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to start a new novel — Is it easy? How do you do it? — I guess there’s your answer. So why do it at all? Most writers...
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What is on a writer’s mind as he writes about love between his characters? I’ve been asked this question numerous times by book clubs. You might ask the same question about any number of topics. What goes through your mind as you write about eating chocolate?...
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When I began work on The Third Power in the late 1970s, Rhodesia was in its death throes, about to be reborn as Zimbabwe. I was writing fiction based on real events in southern Africa, and from one day to the next there was no...
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I never cease to marvel at the complexity of the publication process, at how many talented people it takes to bring a written work to completion and make it available to readers. As On the Sickle’s Edge inches ever closer to publication, I find myself...
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My parents were both raised in South Africa, but they were never comfortable living under apartheid. They moved to Boston in 1962 with three children and a dream of living in a democratic society where equality and opportunity were a given. Then, six short years after...
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A first grade teacher was asked by a visitor to her classroom how she managed to inspire such wonderful drawings from her young students. The teacher responded: “I know when to take the crayons away.” On the other hand, the renowned painter, Pierre Bonnard—and perhaps others—was...
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When I wrote Bloodlines, I knew how important good teachers were to the future of South Africa, but I couldn’t have known how long the shortage of good teachers would last; or how long it would take to train enough of them to fill every...
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