Conflict casts a shadow on truth telling, giving rise to versions of the truth over time .
Plantation Shadows unravels the truth through competing perspectives or on point revelations captured for posterity to convince the reader on a particular point of view.
The crafting of characters influences how the reader receives fictional truths. The proven trustworthy character holds the stronger sway in truth. Often, the social standing of a character influences following the ‘esteemed’ character, which might, unfortunately, lead the reader down the rabbit hole to a multiplicity of mistruths.
Who should the reader trust, the doctor, gardener, or domestic staff? Truth is not devoid of emotional strains, and memory creates versions of the truth depending on who demands it, narrates it, and receives it.
Plantation Shadows unearths the inner and outer conflict spanning three generations in a family drowning in secrets. The women living in a patriarchal community on the canefields of Natal, South Africa, take the forefront in narrating the truths that unfold one perspective at a time. The only male perspective has no blood ties to the conflicted family he serves. Edgar is the all-knowing eyes and ears between the two plantation houses, embroiled in secrets withheld in the living years. What ancestral truths will the grave yield?
There was internal strife that I was privy to, but I kept my head down and my ears open… Part Three, Edgar, ‘Plantation Shadows’
In unraveling the truth in a land buckling under colonial domination and rising resistance, is the twisted patriarchal mindset genuflecting to colonial expectations by preventing women from being heard. It is not until the fourth generation breaks the cycle of control, by assuming the courage and conviction to address and accept the long-held secret of an imploding family, hope rises.
Creating fictional women as untainted characters in a controlled society is to deny their right to break with convention in choosing the path they desire. Plantation Shadows is a closely held sisterhood of hidden truths among grandmothers, mothers and daughters.
Truth is a double-edged sword—it names and shames but creates understanding and gradual acceptance. Are generations of secrecy ever allowed to rest in peace?
Read Plantation Shadows, to feel and understand the secret hearts of the aging Milly and her dead mother.
Secrets diminish with death – Part 3, Edgar, ‘Plantation Shadows’
As creatives, news about a debut author from the land of one’s birth is received with great joy. The creative landscape is a connected, supportive space that celebrates newcomers to the publishing fold.
Meet Mel Goven, South African debut author of the crime novel, Unfinished, launched in July, 2022 on Amazon. Please join me in welcoming Mel Goven to the blog this month.
Get to know South African Author : Mel Goven
1.Biography : Mel Goven
Mel Goven
I hail from Johannesburg and have quite a demanding day job as a teacher in a primary school.
Unfinished is my first novel although I have written many short stories which have gained a place in short story competitions in local magazines and writing groups.
My short story, Scorned, a crime mystery, was placed 3rd in Woman and Home, in 2014. Love Knots, another short story, was shortlisted in the annual short story competition run by The Writer’s Group. One of my favourite short stories, Lucky, featured on a few writing blogs and had quite a successful run in 2016. All these stories can be read on my blog site.
I have also published newspaper feature articles and opinion pieces during my stint as editor for the local newspapers: The Randburg Sun,Fourways Review and the Northcliff Melville Times.
My features were around education challenges in South Africa. Some of which were: Preparing for Future Career Opportunities, Effective use of Technology in the Classroom, Private versus Public Schools.
Having always been drawn to the romance genre, I imagined I would write romance novels, which I haven’t completely taken off the table yet. However, I found my voice in thrilling crime mysteries.
I have two more novels in the pipeline and have realised that with each new world I create, I am finding myself as a writer. I don’t like conforming to a specific trope and while I admire the writing styles of my favourite authors, I don’t think I am in the same league and so choose to write my way.
I have been blessed with four incredible children of whom I am super proud. In formally starting my writing career at this stage in my life, I hope to inspire them that dreams come true at any age, no matter what challenges and obstacles arise.
2.When did your passion for writing emerge?
I love reading. I believe you must be an avid reader to be a good writer. When I was a child, I would beg my parents to take me to the library.
I visited many libraries in the area I grew up in: from the little mobile libraries that would go around the community on Tuesdays and Thursdays; to the community libraries that were finally built when the demand increased, and then to the Durban City Hall library when I was old enough to travel to the city on my own.
I started writing after I read Anne of Green Gables. I felt such a deep connection to the main character, Anne. Although she was a lifetime removed from my world in terms of the era, race, and circumstances, she felt what I felt; messed up like I did; was the odd duckling — just like me.Anyway, the community library did not have the sequel to Anne of Green Gables and so I decided to continue the story in my imagination. Eventually, I wrote it at the back of a Maths book (I did not like Maths very much). That was how I began writing.
Every time I finished reading a book, and if I felt that I wanted more from it, I would continue the story to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.
3. What inspired you to write your debut novel, Unfinished?
In 2012, I became fascinated by a story I heard from a patient in a doctor’s surgery. The patient had undergone a heart transplant a few months before and she had been excited to meet the family of her donor.
I found myself researching it and was surprised to find that some heart recipients experienced major personality changes which are sometimes connected to their donor. The idea of the heart, which we consider the seat and symbol of emotion, sparked a story and this epic drama unfolded.
Unfinished is set in Hout Bay, Cape Town, because the first human heart transplant occurred successfully at the nearby Groote Schuur Hospital. But, it is more than just a story about a heart transplant. It revivifies an unsolved murder committed almost 40-years before the story begins; those affected by that crime and how their lives have interwoven until a heart transplant finally exposes the truth. I wanted my characters to come to life on the page, and each one needed to have a voice, so I opted to write in each main character’s POV.
4. Who are your favourite authors?
I have so many. I have great respect for the classics, so Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, Emily Bronte, L.M. Alcott, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and of course, L.M. Montgomery.
Contemporary authors: I would say, Khaled Hosseini, Kazuo Ishiguro and Eleanor Catton. But there are so many others. I have never restricted my reading to specific genres. I read all, except perhaps horror. Although I did spend a few sleepless nights reading Stephen King’s, The Dream Catcher.
I suppose I could say I have favourite books rather than authors. At present I am enjoying Barbara Kingsolver’s, The Lacuna. And, A Madness of Sunshine, by New Zealand author, Nalini Singh, and The Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah.
Oh, dear! There are so many more books I still have on my to-be-read list. My guilty pleasure is that I also enjoy a Harlequin romance novel now and again.
5. What advice would you offer to aspiring writers?
Write about what you experience. Write that story you wished could have had a different ending. Write about your dreams. Whatever takes seed in your imagination, write about it.
Grab your copy of Unfinished at these Amazon Book Links
I extend my gratitude to Mel Goven for sharing her author journey and wonderful advice to aspiring authors. Unfinished has certainly grabbed my attention!
Every corner of the world has been hit by Covid19 — life for millions has come to a grinding halt. Businesses have shut down left, right and centre. Bookstores have closed their doors. Libraries are no longer a sanctuary as silent voices are in lockdown.
The question tossed around is: do we go ahead with the launch of a new book?
My heart says yes but my mind says, should I? Then a voice whispers an answer: yes, launch it online, reach people who need to move out of the mental space of the current crisis we all face. We need the sanctity of books. Bookshops continue to take orders online if a digital book is not a preference.
In the face of a global crisis, publishing is vital now more than ever before — it says we are here, later it will speak confirming that we were here, and this is what we did. It is akin to writing historical fiction. The Great Books of the world brought us knowledge of people, cultures, events, aspirations, challenges and celebrations from eras long before our current existence. Without those scribes, the artists of the past, we would be as ignorant of the world as the occupants in Plato’s cave.
Literature is the light into now, the glow of the past and spotlight into our dreams of the future.
Books imprint memory
Writers have the acute ability to sense mood and observe human behaviour down to minuscule details. So, why wait? It is time to pick up the pen of prose or poetry. Each will speak of this time and of our dreams and visions. Leave the messages that say we are indeed one.
In our angst and joy, we are ONE under the sky of humanity
Forthcoming Title This April
To ignite compassion, we must walk in the shoes of angst, or suffering, to extend love and care to others because we know it—we feel it. Stories elicit compassion and bring meaning more particularly as we sit in self-isolation to protect our loved ones and communities.
Writing and publishing must go on, as must, soft digital launches of news titles and relaunching of backlists. Lower prices, offer free titles, reach the masses by bringing meaning to the lives of those living in fear of what the next news bulletin or press conference will announce. Our uncertainty unites us in our desire for a renewed tomorrow. We inhabit the same house under a global sky.
Now we speak with the same human voice in our sans streets, sans parks, sans beaches… but we should never be reduced to fearing each other.
Keep literature flowing for generations to come—it is within our control, thanks to the digital platforms that serve us.
Keep Writing, Keep Reading.
Stay Safe.
This time will pass. Keeping hope alive through poetry and stories.
As a thriller fiction writer, poetry has been a significant aspect of my recreational reading and inspiration for my writing. Poets of the Romantic era notably Shelley, Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge are among my selection of favourites as has been Yeats, Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson. African poets Mongane Wally Serote and Chinua Achebe, to name a few. All held my attention both as a student and educator. More recently, I turn to the inspiration of Orna Ross, an Irish poet and author. I relish reading poems from a global range of acclaimed published and aspiring poets in the rapidly growing group, How to Write for Success. This attests to the thirst for new voices to be heard and fundamentally the need for poetry in an era of uncertainty where we need to be reminded of beauty and wonder.
In a post titled Poetry Educates Prose I highlighted the benefits of poetry reading and writing to enhance style and succinct writing in prose.
After writing poetry for an audience of one and gradually venturing out to my better half and immediate family circle and a few trusted friends, I took the plunge to put together a collection of my light and shade poems. It has taken a year to sift through, rewrite and refresh and refresh once again, and no doubt that process will continue as skills develop along the way. A collection titled Random Heart Poetry: Light and Shade is the window to my soul
The moon has a significant impact on creativity, and culturally the celebration of auspicious events are determined by the aspect of the moon as per the lunar calendar. Some of my Instagram posts will reveal my fascination with the moon whenever she is in my realm. The cover of Random Heart Poetry captures the essence of Light and Shade through the full moon, representative of the light we seek. The poetry collection reflects upon culture, identity, gender, race, migration, relationships and the wonder of nature.
Random Heart Poetry: Light and Shade is available at Amazon and instore at a few select retailers.
More on why poetry matters:
Poetry is the unadorned human face reverberating with timeless truths ~Mala Naidoo
When power corrupts, poetry cleanses ~ John F Kennedy
Happy Writing, Happy Reading!
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