Blog
On February 1st, I launched my fourth novel, Mbaqanga Nights, to wend its way to readers worldwide. It was a long time in the making – over five years from the day when I heard a new friend say something so interesting that I couldn’t let it go. “I opened a jazz club in South Africa Read More
Inner peace As I prepare to release my third novel, it feels like the world is a strange and dark place. After two years of the Covid pandemic that transformed lives and spread fear throughout the world, there is now a brutal war taking place in Ukraine - the country where I lived for many Read More
A year anniversary It has been one year since I launched my debut novel The Woman Behind the Waterfall in a Waterstones bookshop in London. The launch party and book release culminated months of hard work and discovery, climbing a steep learning curve of knowledge about the self-publishing industry. Why did I choose to go Read More
7 Months. 2 Novels. 3 Genres. On May 1, 2017 - just 7 months after the release of my debut novel - I launched my second book: The Unity Game. I had started writing The Unity Game while my debut novel was with my London literary agent. It takes a long time to sell a Read More
A journey into the world of book blogs and book reviewers As part of my learning curve finding about the modern world of publishing and book promotion, I spent the last few months asking book bloggers and on-line book reviewers to read and review my book; and also making contact with their audiences by writing Read More
My favourite parts of Ukraine are the western and south western areas. The countryside is viscerally beautiful and stunningly lush and verdant. When I began writing my first novel, this was the natural place for me to set it - somewhere so little known and yet so rich in culture and beauty. I tried in my novel Read More
On Friday, 4th November 2016, I took part in my first public reading. The event was organised by Novel London, a brilliant idea set up by Safeena Chaudhry, where writers read aloud the first chapter of their novels, and book lovers sit back with a glass of wine and soak them up. The events are held Read More
October 13 was the Official Launch Party for The Woman Behind the Waterfall - hosted by Waterstones bookshop and attended by a big crowd of friends, family, fans, press, Teddington locals, Ukrainians and the lovely Waterstones team. It was an amazing night, with signings from the moment it started until when the bookshop doors were Read More
I lived for several years in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and one of the goals of my writing is to showcase some of the loveliest aspects of the country. There are so many great things about it, from the incredible, lush countryside, to the warm, entrepreneurial people, to the cultural traditions. So here are a Read More
