The Story Behind the Story

Posted on January 12, 2013 by jbwye

BREATH OF AFRICA is a novel. The characters and the story are figments of my imagination. But the book draws on my experiences over fifty years of living in Kenya.

The places I knew included Loreto Convent, Eldoret, taken with my Brownie camera in 1954. The school no longer exists, but it features briefly in the opening chapter of the book.

Loreto Eldoret

Windmill Cottage, Njoro (you can see the windmill etched against the sky) was where I spent a happy childhood. But the corrugated iron roof contracted at nights in a frightening manner.

Windmill Cottage

And the Rotary signpost below was at the summit of Mt. Menengai, overlooking Nakuru, where Brian and Caroline found the trapped Impala. (See The Vastness of Africa)

Menengai signpost

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The False Baobab.

Posted on January 4, 2013 by jbwye

I asked my daughter to paint a sample cover for BREATH OF AFRICA using the theme of a false baobab.

The plains of Africa are littered with ant hills. Some envelope the trunks of scraggly acacia bushes, turning them into grotesque images of stunted baobabs, that disintegrate when the ants move on.

The excerpt below gives a taste of the context.

BOFA cover

Mwangi settled into the wet patch made by his shirt on the back of the car seat. A salty bead of sweat trickled down his cheek and he caught it with his tongue.

            A faint track wound away from the soda lake several miles south of Magadi where large cracks appeared in the sun-baked sand. On the right, a hump of red earth spread from the roots of a twisted thorn tree, dotted by fresh holes and tiny turrets pushed upwards by busy termites. A shadow flitted between the bushes and a cowbell tinkled. It could have been a birdcall. Mwangi glanced over at his passengers, but they hadn’t heard it. Their faces were pressed against the windows, peering eyes seeking the false baobab.

            He felt a tap on his shoulder.

            “Stop here, Mwangi,” said Caroline.

The rains had not yet broken, but a thunderstorm lurked ominously to the south. Mwangi stayed in the car while his passengers got out to stretch their legs. He watched them clamber up a nearby sand dune.

Sam was tall and nomadic-looking, but not dark enough to be a true tribesman. It was an insult that such things should happen. The other, Paul, with his fair sun-blotched skin, would be a bonus. But his mind focussed on Caroline.

Mwangi slid a plastic folder from his inside jacket pocket and studied the photograph within. He smiled. The spirits had been kind to him. He would enjoy frightening her with this. She was at his mercy. And the others he would dispose of soon enough: in his own time.

Then he would be able to live in peace.

If you want to learn more about my forthcoming book, check out this post: The Next Big Thing.

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The Vastness of Africa

Posted on December 20, 2012 by jbwye

My Editor has SPOKEN – at last! In her opinion, the beauty of BREATH OF AFRICA is in the wonderful descriptions of Africa, and she feels the main character is Africa itself…

That was exactly in my soul as I wrote the book – oh frabjous day!

Breath of Africa

A view over Menengai Crater. This was one of my ideas for a book cover. But Crooked Cat chose a better one! They have produced fabulous covers for the books they have published so far.

Here’s a little excerpt to wet the appetites before you head off to buy the book HERE.

Their favourite place was the rim of Mt. Menengai, the volcano overlooking Nakuru town; smaller than Ngorongoro, it had its own dramatic character. They stood on the jutting promontory and looked over the dense scrub in the crater depths, interspersed with black mounds of glistening lava, a dark, forbidding country.

“It’s the third largest crater in the world,” Brian told her. “I read that somewhere.”

Caroline gazed beyond, at the vastness of Africa, which rolled through patterned farmlands, across hills and plains into the hazy distance. As evening fell, grey clouds crept along the crater depths and swirled up the cliffs, snatching at them with wispy fingers, as the wind caught and tossed the vapours into nothingness among the trees.
They walked towards the car, but a sudden movement in the long grass near the forest distracted them. Brian turned off the track, parting the stalks in front of him.

“Careful of snakes!” Caroline warned.

She followed, treading in his footsteps. As they approached the thrashing, it increased, and she saw the soft brown hide of a female impala, its eyes wide with fright. One leg was caught in a loop of wire.

“It’s a trap, but the wire hasn’t tightened too much. I’ll see if I can free her.”

Brian caught hold of the leg and the animal stilled. She seemed to know they were trying to help. He struggled with the wire, and eased it over the hoof. He let go. The doe stood there for a second, then moved her leg and took a small step. She bounded away and the grass closed behind her. It was as if it had never happened.

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There is always Hope … Shining through

Posted on December 10, 2012 by jbwye

Cover of "The Tribe That Lost Its Head"

Nicholas Monsarrat is one of my most favourite authors.

His “Tribe” books, The Tribe that Lost Its Head, and Richer than All His Tribe made a deep impression on me as a young woman, although I could only bring myself to read them once.

I wrote to him years later – on the pretext that there were four pages missing from my copy of his autobiography – expressing my belief that, contrary to what the Tribe books implied, there was hope in Africa, and a better future in store. Was he perhaps thinking of writing such a book? If not, I would be tempted…

After his death I received a letter from his widow saying that Nicholas had indeed intended to write such a novel.

Ann Monsarrat letter 1Ann Monsarrat letter 2 (2)

BREATH OF AFRICA was conceived on the basis of that hope. The book developed a mind of its own. But I trust its readers will appreciate the struggles an emerging country has to endure, while recognising that there is always hope, shining through.

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My real live editor for BREATH OF AFRICA has now been allocated.

“Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.”       E.L. Doctorow

Posted on November 20, 2012 by jbwye | Comments Off on One Step at a Time

The Next Big Thing

Posted on November 14, 2012 by jbwye

Authors tagging Authors

I’ve been invited by Sarah Louise Smith to join in on The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors, by tagging me in her own post.  Please check out her post here.

The premise is to answer ten questions about my current work in progress and then tag more authors who can move the chain along another link.

What is the Working Title of your Book?

BREATH OF AFRICA

Where did the idea come from for the book?

It draws on my experience of over half a century living in Kenya.

What genre does your book fall under?

Contemporary Fiction.

I made the mistake of marketing it as Historical Fiction at first, but it covers thirty years from the 1950’s to the 1980’s, which disqualifies it!

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

John Sibi-Okumu for Charles. I admired him play the chauffeur in “Driving Miss Daisy” in Nairobi decades ago. Besides, John helped me authenticate the character of Charles.

For Caroline – Meryl Streep of course!

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

A journey through a beautiful and spiritual land, where a victim of violence seeks psychological revenge.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will be published in digital and paperback format by  Crooked Cat Publishing.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It was conceived forty years ago, then sent into hibernation due to family commitments. Ten years ago I resurrected it, did some  research, and it took me five years to produce the first of very many drafts.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

My writing has been influenced by the works of Ernest Hemingway, John le Carre (The Constant Gardener), and Morris West, and I have been compared with Wilbur Smith,  Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Petals of Blood), and  Barbara Kingsolver (Poisonwood Bible).

What inspired you to write this book?

A love for the beauty of Kenya, its people and its wildlife; a desire to understand the agonies and opportunities of a people going through tumultuous change.

What else about your book might pique the readers’ interest?

Breath of Africa means different things to different people.

It can be read as a love story –  a  psychological thriller – or more deeply as an exploration into the interractions of people of different races. Superstition and Christian faith clash. And the immense beauty of the country is  a major character in itself.

Those who follow current African affairs would be specially interested in my book, in the light of a recent judgement that the British Government has a case to answer against Mau Mau victims of the Emergency in the 1950’s. Much of the plot hinges on the malevolence of Mwangi, who was just such a victim.

And of course, the book is set in the land of Barack Obama’s father!

Now it’s time for me to tag some fellow authors. Be sure to check each of them out next week for their Next Big Thing: if you wish to be tagged, please send me your blog URL and I’ll add it to the list.

Ailsa Abraham

John Holt

 

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Breath of Africa

Posted on November 8, 2012 by jbwye

BREATH OF AFRICA, my first novel, set in Kenya from the ‘fifties to the ‘eighties, is scheduled for release in February!

It was conceived forty years ago, went into hibernation, and has taken the past ten years to emerge into its current state.

A dream is coming true.

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