Westville author pens latest novel

HER home is warm and welcoming, the walls are filled with gorgeous art pieces and try not to be surprised when a rabbit or two hops across your feet while you take it all in.

Westville’s Kirsten Miller is the epitome of a creative. She loves to write and paint, has an honours degree in drama and education and did her masters two years ago in autism and representation through the UKZN’s English Department. Her passion for people is clear as she took up a position as a manager at Action in Autism in Sydenham, a job she has cherished for years.

She has always loved to write and, at the tender age of seven, attempted to pen her first book. A few year later she proudly completed her first novel, which was set in the Eastern Cape and revolved around brothers and family drama. In 2006 Kirsten’s first book, Children on the Bridge, was published. She now has three full length books and a children’s book published and has three unpublished manuscripts she has breathed life into.

Literary fiction is her favourite genre and is what she hopes her work aspires to be. “I definitely don’t believe in inspiration, I believe that is does come, but I try to write regularly. Getting everything down is the first step and editing and altering comes later in the drafts. If you try and wait to get into the mindset you could wait forever and it could come across as a delaying concept. Write, no matter what it is, and edit afterwards,” she said.

Her love for the written word saw her win the prize for the best unpublished manuscript at the Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation’s Adventure Writing Awards. “It is still a little unbelievable to me and it was quite amazing. The opportunity that the prize offered was quite amazing as they gave me money to travel for research for my next book,” said Kirsten. The grant money allowed her a three-month gap from her daily job to travel to countries across the globe, to taste, see, smell and experience different cultures.

She jetted off to Barcelona and Dublin, travelling for a month. Kirsten said she was inspired by the public art museums and galleries in Spain’s capital, where she remembers having the most mouth-watering paella dish. In Ireland, she delved deep into the Irish’s anti-Apartheid movement. She remained tight-lipped on her new project and teased that it was a novel and hoped to complete it by the end of the year.

“Prices in Spain was reasonable if you shopped in the markets, but to go out to dinner was still expensive. Dublin was incredibly expensive. For example, one cup of coffee was €1 in Barcelona but in Dublin my coffee cost me about R60 per cup,” she said.

She looks forward to heading back to her job in April this year and continue with her work. An average day for her consists of working with the children, fundraising as well as organising and hosting functions and events. In the evenings she would write and manage her household. Kirsten admitted she didn’t know how she was able to fit it all in but worked hard and ensured her time was managed effectively. “Writing is something that is just a part of me and I feel strange if I don’t write. It’s like exercising. I need to fit something creative into my day or I don’t feel satisfied at the end of it.”

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