WHEN the writing bug has bitten you, its best to arm yourself with a pen and paper to heed to its call to see where it takes you. And who better to attest to this than Bluff resident, Vukani Khumalo, who went from just a few scribbles of his thoughts to actually publishing a book. Vukani’s bug led him to write a satiric story around the many gaffes, eyebrow-raising utterances and self conduct of US president, Donald Trump.

He said that although the book is based on Trump, it was definitely not about him but it was inspired by his unconventional character. “I was finding it difficult to understand how a conflicted character of this nature, with such outlandish views on race and gender, could emerge from a long-established democracy like the US. I, therefore, decided to create a fictional character with traits similar to those of Donald Trump, and named the character Donald Graft, and then developed it.”

Vukani said that writing the book was intended to develop his own understanding of how the likes of Trump could take centre stage in a long-standing democracy. He said that the unfortunately comedic nature of the current US politics, which he considers to be totally out of character, kept his pen going.

“Almost each and every day there was something incredibly astonishing taking place within American politics. Since the ascendancy of Donald Trump to the US presidency, there has always been something interesting coming out of American politics – albeit oftentimes startling in a negative way – which kept me captivated.”

He said some of these daily occurrences included the insult of the entire African continent, the referral of black mothers in derogatory terms, publicly and specifically calling our country a total and dangerous mess without substantiating that claim.

“The book aims to inspire courage and optimism particularly to the victims and survivors of bigotry, misogyny and sexual misconduct. It also delves into how even established democracies can easily become vulnerable if men and women of integrity choose to turn a blind eye to the dismantling of democratic institutions.”

Vukani is currently developing a part two of Donald Graft’s shenanigans but now with a focus on the prosecution of other crimes he had been previously accused of. And another book is of the major social ills affecting the country – the sexual abuse of young girls by older men.

The Groping Don A Trashole President is available on online on Mashwords, Kindle and on Amazon. Or alternatively, call Vukani Khumalo on 082-827-8263.

COMPETITION:

A lucky reader can win this book.

To stand a chance of winning answer this easy question: How did the idea of writing The Groping Don A Trash Hole President come about to the author, Vukani Khumalo?

To enter, simply e-mail your answer with your name and number to thobele@dbn.caxton.co.za. The winner will be announced on Friday, 1 November. Good luck!

HINT: We’ve deliberately omitted some parts of this article and you’ll have to get a copy of this week’s edition of the Southlands Sun newspaper, dated Friday, 1 November, to find the answer.

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