I had the privilege to deliver The Journals of He to JD Kizza this week. The book will be for sale at the Book Fair. I asked her some questions:
What inspired you to first start writing?
It started off as an educational exercise back in my primary school days.
Creative Writing was part of the syllabus, and at the start of every school term, we would be asked to write about what we did over the school holidays. My parents were almost always at work over the school break, and so I never did much but play with the rest of the neighbourhood kids.
I told my teachers this, and so they told me to make up a story.
The more that I did it, the more I enjoyed it.
My love for writing grew as I got older, and before long, I started creating worlds for the joy of it.
Tell us a little about The Journals of He –
What’s it about?
The Journals of He is a love story, fundamentally.
During a visit to the city, Dilia happens upon a random stranger, following an equally random accident that calls him to her aid. Having lived her whole life in a slow, uneventful, quiet little town, just the look of him is enough to unsettle her. He stays with her until she gets the help she needs, but for years afterward, she cannot shake the memory of him and the force of his presence.
They eventually meet again by sheer happenstance, and from that moment on, her whole axis shifts.
She had all these ideas about God and love and men and then here comes this man with all of his – spice. He just shakes all of it up for her, making her question a lot of things about who she thought she was. He becomes more than just an enigma in her mind, awakening parts of her that she never thought existed. And in all of that, she falls in love with him.
Where did the idea come from?
The idea came to me following my own experiences when I moved to Johannesburg for my studies. I quickly learnt how different everything was, from the people to the lifestyle.
I was most intrigued by – forgive my candour – the guys. The guys in the city didn’t treat me like the guys in my hometown did. I had a clean slate.
And so I created a character made up of the things I found most intriguing about the opposite sex. And from there, I built a world around the two of them, adding colour to their world like it had been added to mine.
It could have been about anything, but rooting it in love felt like the best thing for their story.
Do you have a favourite time/place to write?
No, I don’t. The words just come to me.
When they do, for as long as I have my phone on me and there’s a comfortable place to sit, I write.
Do you have any plans for your next book?
ABSOLUTELY! I even have some ideas about spin-off stories based on some of the supporting characters!
What’s your favourite book to read (or genre or author)?
I honestly don’t have a favourite anything when it comes to reading. I enjoy reading stories that move me, no matter what the genre is. It’s an adventure, disappearing into a good story. Romance, spy-craft, military procedurals, the Vatican – whatever. As long as it’s a good story.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Reading. Movies. Series. Music.
Admittedly, it all somehow finds its way back to writing, but these are the things that I enjoy doing when I am not building worlds.
The Journals of He is available to download at Amazon through this link.
Or email info@beyondthevalepublishing.com to find out how you can order your copy direct from the author.
