Rachel Zadok
I am an author and mother to a toddler. My first novel, Gem Squash Tokoloshe, was shortlisted for The Whitbread First Novel Award (2005) and The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (2005). For a few days, long ago, I was at the centre of a press frenzy. But, as with all storms, things settled down leaving me surrounded by debris and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life.
After six years of living in London, I took the scenic route back to South Africa where I settled down to write my second novel and procreate. I soon discovered that unless your success brings you fortune, not just fifteen seconds of fame like mine brought me, the two don't necessarily go hand in hand. My life, like the lives of mothers everywhere, shifts constantly between mere disorder and complete chaos - not exactly the kind of atmosphere conducive to the long stretches at the keyboard. Motherhood, to quote my friend Cecile, forces you to reinvent yourself. So, here I am charting new waters, pushing the boundaries of sleep deprivation and readjusting the disorder that has become my life. And, of course, writing.
After six years of living in London, I took the scenic route back to South Africa where I settled down to write my second novel and procreate. I soon discovered that unless your success brings you fortune, not just fifteen seconds of fame like mine brought me, the two don't necessarily go hand in hand. My life, like the lives of mothers everywhere, shifts constantly between mere disorder and complete chaos - not exactly the kind of atmosphere conducive to the long stretches at the keyboard. Motherhood, to quote my friend Cecile, forces you to reinvent yourself. So, here I am charting new waters, pushing the boundaries of sleep deprivation and readjusting the disorder that has become my life. And, of course, writing.
Rachel Zadok: An interview
2013-06-05 "With my second book, Sister-Sister, I was thinking about themes right from the get go. I knew what I wanted to say. It was much harder to write, perhaps because it was more conscious."