The edge of exploring the world of fiction writing drove Ashti Juggath to pen her Peaches and Smeets novel.
The Parkwood-based author highlighted that her novel revolves around the life of a South-African girl of Indian origin growing up in a small Indian township in Transvaal province during the 1960s.
Juggath said she penned Peaches and Smeets, believing that the stories of the past needed to be captured for posterity.
“This allowed me to enter the illustrious world of the scribes that I have idolised, and I have always been an avid reader with fond memories of the Verulam library.”
She said the love of books was encouraged by her parents from a very young age, and she thinks that she is very privileged to have married a reader so that this passion could be shared.
“I think that it is very fortuitous to have a partner who won’t question your sanity when you constantly have your nose in a book or read until the wee hours of the morning.”
The reason she wrote the book was to highlight women’s independence as well as the need for girls to acquire a good education, which has always been very important to her.
Now she has started on two other books and is still deciding which one she wants to pursue to completion.
“The greatest challenge I faced was the editing process. I had no idea that the editing would be so gruelling and also quite painful when my editor cut thousands of words from my manuscript.”
She concluded by advising aspiring writers that they should follow their passion and that there are many stories to be told that will interest different people from all walks of life, so if they do, they must not feel that their story is insignificant.
For more details, contact Ashti.juggath1@gmail.com
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