2010

Tonight, I was at Chapter's to pick up a couple of extra copies of Verge Magazine's winter issue, in which there is an article published that I wrote about my experiences in South Africa. My mom and I were wandering through the store, perusing after we had picked up the magazines, and we stopped at the travel literature section, where she asked if I had enjoyed Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor's book "Long Way Down," which she had sent me as an inspiration gift over the summer. I had spent hot summer days at my aunt's house in the woods in Middle Sackville, Nova Scotia, savouring the words of Boorman and McGregor's journals about their motorcycle trip from John O'Groats to Cape Town in between staring at my own computer screen, poring over first-draft edits of "Ekhaya."

I stopped and looked at the shelf of travel books. So many people in the world have so many stories. They've taken so many journeys. I know that I am privileged to be among those people, to be part of this world. I looked at white faces among African faces, books about people who've faced hardship and who dream about a world at peace, covers with maps of dusty, hot continents, and frozen ones. I thought about people who I care about who are all over the world right now - old friends in Sweden, acquaintances in Switzerland, new adventures in New Zealand, and friends who I'd left behind in Cape Town whose lives continue without me.

I thought about my article in Verge, and I looked over those books, and I said, "Mommy, one day my book will be here." As the New Year quick approaches, I think, Dear 2010, I hope that you bring prosperity and a little help for a little book that was a labour of love and I think deserves it.

The Story of Ekhaya...

"Ekhaya" is the working title of a novel-in-progress about a life-in-progress. It is a selective memoir about being 21 years old, and embarking on a trip that would change my life.
It's been a whole year now, and it's hard to believe, since I got back from South Africa. In that year, I transcribed journals, elaborated on the notes that I had made on the trip, filled in some background information, and edited, and edited, and edited... now "Ekhaya" is in its final draft. It's been a long time coming.

"Ekhaya" is the story of a three-month contract that I had at a circus school in Cape Town, South Africa. Going to Africa had been a dream of mine since I was a very little girl, and being in the circus had been nothing more than a fantasy. When I was 20 years old, both of these fancies became realities for me.

The story is unique, and the writing of the story was definitely something that I had wanted to do from the beginning. I want to show people, more than anything, that what you want to do, you can do, and what you can learn by doing it. Nothing so good is without its price.
This page will be a chance to hear about the book's progress as it enters the maze of the publishing world. Sending out manuscripts is also very expensive, so I'm going to try to offer some sneak peeks at the book to try and make the price a little more feasable.

For now, dear world, get ready for "Ekhaya," because it's coming.