Novel expressing love for SA launched at Inyoni Creek
The book was born out of hardship and loneliness.
Inyoni Creek resident and author Mrs Dee Andrew’s debut novel captures her deep love for South Africa.
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She launched her book, This Earth is Mine, earlier this month at the retirement village’s waterfront clubhouse.
Mrs Andrew said the book was born out of hardship and loneliness.
“My husband, [Mr] Nick and I had bought a drought-stricken farm near Grahamstown and that’s where I started the book,” said Mrs Andrew.
She said the inspiration for the book came from the majestic nature of the landscape, which caused her to create a world of beauty and danger.
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“The central character is Ross, a man who has to resort to illegal diamond-buying to fund boreholes on his farm. The book is crammed with colourful characters and is a testament to the strength of the human spirit,” she said.
Mrs Andrew said the book took 15 years to write.
She said she started expressing herself in writing from a young age.
“I grew up on a farm in Kimberley with my grandmother. I missed my father, who was a doctor working up North, terribly and would often catch my tears in a glass to show him how I cried for him. I wrote letters to him.
She said her upbringing sowed a creative seed in her.
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“Together with my younger sister, we used to put pillowcases over our heads and tell each other ghost stories. On those starry, silent Kimberley nights, we would go outside to the family graveyard near the house and play hide-and-seek between the tombstones,” she said.
Prior to writing her novel, Mrs Andrew wrote short stories, prose and poetry.
She also taught adult poetry â even venturing into erotic poetry.
Her first book, Mindscapes of the Nineties, was about crime in South Africa.
Mrs Andrew said her second novel is underway.
She said her book is available on her website, www.deeandrew.com.
