While you can go check out my books and anthologies where my stories appear in general over at Amazon, I've picked a bunch that you can read here (with a little hint as to why you might like it, and in more or less chronological order). This is by no means all of my writing, but it's a good place to start.
BOOKS OF KHEPERA
While I was writing piles of short stories years ago, I had always dreamed of writing a novel, but had absolutely no idea of what sort of story I might breathe life into. I think it was more or less round about in 2006 or 2007 that I had the "A-ha" moment that would result in Jamie, the rather wicked anti-hero in the Books of Khepera duology. I recall the day he came into being quite clearly – I was walking from the train station in Fish Hoek to the car park where my husband was waiting to collect me, when a little old lady with lilac-framed glasses leapt out at me yelling "Jesus loves you!" (It must've been the pirate T-shirt I was wearing.) And that's where I thought to myself: What if I was the very person these perennially dull inhabitants of this town feared the most? (Actually, I am, but let's not dwell on it.) So, enter Jamie Guillaume, your rather friendly local black magician. Khepera Rising and Khepera Redeemed were originally published by Lyrical Press, but when my rights reverted, I released them with the cover art I felt they deserved, collaborating with South African comic book artist Daniël Hugo to bring Jamie to life. Though it's doubtful that I'll write more stories *quite* like Jamie's anytime soon, I still get readers telling me how much they enjoyed his attitude ... and his misadventures. If the idea of a smart-mouthed, morally ambiguous black magician battling demons tugs on your short and curlies, you'll probably enjoy Jamie's antics.IN SOUTHERN DARKNESS
LOST CHILDREN
In the spirit of hunting down some of my older short fiction that's floating around, I put together Lost Children. While I've lost track of so many stories that are currently in anthologies, here are a few that I'm quite fond of, that will give my readers an idea of what my earlier material is like. Everyone always told me that I needed to sell a few short stories first before tackling novels, but if my memory serves me correctly, these two events happened more or less at the same time (I sold my first short story round about the time that Khepera Rising was homed). Selling short fiction was all terribly exciting and fun and new (and still is). Also, some of these stories are the little dog ends I needed to get out of the way so that I could dig a little deeper with subsequent works. Included here is the story "Shame" that was later reprinted in the Manchester Review.THE GUARDIAN'S WYRD
RAVEN KIN
Raven Kin is one of my "heart" books – I wrote it purely for myself, and as luck would have it, it's been a favourite among my readers. Griffins are among my most beloved magical beasties, and I feel there simply aren't enough stories featuring them as viewpoint characters. Sylas is also an incredibly chatty griffin, who finds himself inadvertently setting events in motion that may topple an empire. While I didn't set out to write this story for younger readers (there is discussion of adult topics, as well as depiction of violence), I've had parents buy this book for their teens, so I guess it's one of those cross-over kinda stories that may appeal to readers both young and old. I absolutely had to get Daniël to do the cover art for this one too.DAWN'S BRIGHT TALONS
Dawn's Bright Talons was my "heart" novel from a few years ago, and it's clear that I wear my Anne Rice influences on my sleeve with this one. Probably the best description someone offered of the book was "Interview with the Vampire meets Buffy" – which tickles me pink. Dawn's Bright Talons is also the first of my novels that is available as an audiobook, with the rather delightful Greg Patmore reading. The cover art is by the talented, digital surreal artist Nathalia Suellen, whose work is superb – and suits this particular story eminently. I tentatively have an idea for a book two sketched out, but as with most of my sequels, this may take a while...THE FIREBIRD
The Firebird sees my return to writing long-form fiction again after a hiatus (going freelance and studying can play havoc with your free time). I also recommend this novella to readers who'd like to see my more recent writing, because I do believe my style has changed considerably since I first wrote and published Khepera Rising. The Firebird deals with how ideology has poisoned a young woman's relationship with her brother, and how she must come to terms with the decisions she made in the past in order to make things right. A word on the setting – a few years back I spent a few days in Mauritius as part of a media visit, and always wanted to write an island setting for a story. This is that story.THE COMPANY OF BIRDS
SING DOWN THE STARS
One of my publishing highlights has been winning Gold the 2019 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature and the Sir Percy Fitzpatrick Prize for Children's and Youth Literature. Sing down the Stars is my first novel-length foray into science fiction and tells the story of a young orphan who finds herself way out of her depth with the chance of bonding with a sentient interstellar space ship. I had an immense amount of fun creating Nuri's world and all the other intelligent species that inhabit it. The story's got a little bit of Oliver Twist, with a sprinkling of The Hunger Games, and heaping side dish of Star Wars. I you grew up enjoying Anne McCaffrey's writing, you'll be right at home with Sing down the Stars. While this story is aimed at younger readers, from ages 10 and up, there's absolutely no reason why adults can't escape into the stars either.AETHERIA
DRAGON FORGED
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