What got you thinking about writing stories?
I’ve always enjoyed writing: creative stories in school, analytical essays at varsity, and, these days, blog posts of varying styles. Even though blogging has scratched the writing itch, I missed the creativity of making up stories.
Why the Seekers series?
While teaching high school and then my own kids at home, I’ve come to appreciate the phenomenal impact living books have on children. Noticing the lack of excellent children’s literature that teaches theology through historical adventures got me thinking – could I write the very stories I felt were missing from my kids’ education?
It took a while for all my thoughts to crystallise in one big idea, but when it did I knew that the Seekers series was the direction I wanted to go in.
It would be a series that covered my three big aims, namely, to create stories about:
- home schoolers – to positively portray a lifestyle choice that is heavy with misconceptions
- biblical theology – where readers learn theology as characters grapple with big concepts themselves
- historical adventures – that create exciting intrigue while discovering a history
Why the Seekers of the Lost Boy?
I wanted to start things off in South Africa. I live here. There is plenty of room for more great children’s stories centred around our rich history. And it’s home.
I studied District Six and the forced removals in a semester course at university. Trips to the District Six Museum cemented my appreciation for humanity that this part of history stirs to the surface.
Coupled with a fanciful idea about a message in a bottle, the story slowly took shape. Shortly after I determined that I wanted to connect a white family with a person who had suffered through apartheid, I read a newspaper article about a bottle found some years after it had been sent out. It had been a part of a school project. The pieces of the story fell together after that. It was just a matter of putting pen to paper – or, more literally, fingers to the keyboard.
Where to now?
I’m not sure. I’ve been praying about publishing this book for a little while now. Immediately after I first started praying about it, a link to a writing contest came up on my newsfeed. It felt like a totally random coincidence – or perhaps a God-inspired moment? Whatever it was, it inspired me to finish up the manuscript and enter. But the contest goal posts were changed just weeks before deadline: they were no longer accepting fiction entries. Miscommunication between the contest sponsors resulted in fiction entries being pulled and the focus shifting to non-fiction only. I should be really disappointed. Oh, I am disappointed, but I’m also curious. Because, my constant prayer is that this book is totally directed by God – in the best direction for the gospel, the book and my family. I’m primarily a Christian wife, mom and home schooling parent in terms of my day-to-day energies and role. I don’t want my story/ies to take me away from that. I’m asking God to protect that throughout the process. I’m curious to see where he’s taking this. So, in the meantime, I’m putting out feelers and waiting on Him.
Any more stories coming?
As mentioned, there is a series in mind, following the Ward Family on a bunch of adventures in South Africa and across the globe. A story idea is slowly taking shape for the next book. Hopefully soon it’ll make its way to my keyboard.