Writing a book is one thing. Marketing a book is quite another. In talking about Return of the Mantra I often reflect on the process of its creation: what inspired me, what the essence of the story is… It’s harder than it sounds. How to sum up the pages into a brief description? Anyone who writes will understand the pains of reducing a story into a one page synopsis, and then a paragraph long blurb. Even now, when people ask what my book is about, I struggle to find those one or two lines to do justice to the story I spent years nurturing into creation.
But one thread remains, and that is representation. A major theme in Return of the Mantra is human exploitation of wildlife and the environment, and in this patriarchal world, the corresponding connection with the exploitation of women and children. For the main character, a young woman called Suni, her personal journey develops into a search for justice and her own identity, a fight back against oppression to reclaim the natural world. Central to her journey is the idea that to save ourself, to save another, to fight for a cause, we must first know ourself. And in amongst her story of survival and reclamation, there is empowerment, and hope, and love.
Thoughts about the Sapphic storyline was something I incorporated into a short character monologue for a recent open mic:
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“They were not my peers though they were the same age, the kids hanging out on the banks of the river. I saw the clumsy fumbles in the reeds, the buttons undone, hair ruffled; it was always a him and a her. It left me with a mild curiosity, but nothing more.
But when I saw a woman friend cup a hand gently on my mother’s cheek and kiss her on the lips, my gaze lingered, curious, wondering at the connection. And when I stood like a newborn in the world, my life stripped back by a vicious people, it was a girl I ran to. Frightened and alone I let my lips slowly close in on her mouth. Her rejection didn’t matter; it was the thought that lingered, that I should want to kiss a girl.
For me, boys were a mystery, a mystery I felt no compulsion to solve. When the day came that I would have to live among them, posing as one of them, the riddle began to unravel. But at best they were a miasma. I did enough to be left alone, content to be seen as aloof, weird and with an edge of danger. And while they grouped together, my thoughts were my own. I was different. I didn’t belong.
Years passed but the unspoken stirrings never left me. It was desire I didn’t recognise as having a name. It just was, that indistinguishable feeling that came to the fore when I saw her; the woman who would occupy my thoughts, whose slightest touch would leave an imprint on my skin that lingered long after she was gone. She wore a vest that flattened her small breasts, her hair plaited tight to her scalp. She walked with a swagger, tall and confident in the world; like no one I’d met before. Slowly our worlds collided, and moulded into a union that was, quite simply, love.”
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She is a character close to my heart, whole, well-rounded, flawed, complex, afraid and brave, and I look forward to see where her journey takes us in future books.
Happy Reading!
“A multi-layered story. Hard truths woven into fantasies. Filled with wonder, depth of feeling, and lives astutely observed. A gem.” – Shahidah Janjua, writer
“This book has everything I look for within fantasy. Strong protagonists and antagonists, an equal split of genders, diversity, and story-lines that at times reflected a modern day Africa. This is a highly satisfying read with a well developed world, and magic system I cannot wait to see how it continues.” – Dan Stubbings, writer and book reviewer
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Happy Reading!
