17th Time of the Writer

On Sunday I leave for Durban South Africa to participate in the 17th Time of the Writer literary fesitval which takes place at the University of Kwazulu- Natal. There are panel discussion each evening at the
Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre and the panel discussion I'm on is Friday the 21st of March. The topic is youth literature. I'll be joined by Khulekani Magubane, and the facilitator is Sanelisiwe Ntuli.

Throughout the week there are various activities during the day. I'll be among writers going to
Westville Prison on Wednesday the 19th. I'm also reading and speaking at Adams College on Thursday the 20th. I'm very excited to be going to such a prestigious school who has among their alumni our first president, Sir Seretse Khama. 

I'm looking forward to meeting a host of new writers and to all of the interesting literary discussions that will undoubtedly happen. If you're around Durban, I'd love to meet you.

FunDza Literacy Trust

In Botswana, as it is in most of Africa and maybe all over the world, kids are reading less and less. Here the other problem is development budgets often have little money for libraries, and bookstores are few and far between, not to mention that most books are just too expensive. Books are about P200, with the minimum wage around P1000 and prices going up everyday, who can afford to buy a book under those circumstances?

What I find lovely, though, is when Africans sort out innovative solutions to their problems. FunDza Literacy Trust is one such solution. Cellphones have taken off big in Southern Africa and FunDza has latched on to that to get kids reading. I'm proud to be writing regularly for them.

How it works is a story begins on a Friday. Each story has seven chapters and one chapter goes out on the kids' cellphones each day. Here is my author's page with all of the stories I've written at FunDza. Click on any story and see the comments the readers leave. The kids are reading and seriously engaging with the stories! I think this is wonderful!

A Visit from The Overseas Author

On the 19^th of February I trekked down to Gaborone to hear what British author Carolyn Slaughter had to say. I’d not heard of her before I found out she was coming to Botswana, but I quickly bought and read one of her books so as to have a bit of reference when I heard her speak. She lived in Botswana pre-independence when her father worked for the colonial government in Maun, Francistown, Mafikeng, and Gaborone. Her memoir, Before the Knife gives insight into expat, colonial life; that purgatory of not quite being here and not quite being there. The book is brutally honest about her experience and I appreciate that quite a bit. I’d hoped I’d hear that honesty in her talk in Gaborone.

I thought she’d speak about her experiences, her writing, her books. In any case, that’s what she knows about and one would expect her to speak about that. Instead the topic was “Where are the Botswana writers? - an inspirational discussion on African Writing and possibilities for Batswana writers”. I’m not sure where that topic originated, but I hope not with the author. I know that sometimes authors are asked to speak on topics they know very little about. There is the assumption, wrongly, that writers should know everything. When I’m in such situation, I just say no. I will not speak on something I know nothing about. I wish Ms Slaughter might have considered that answer.

She’d last been in Botswana in the 1980s as she admitted. From her talk it was clear she knew nothing about the writing done in this country either in Setswana or English. She spoke a bit about Bessie Head, but had to have facts corrected by a member of the audience.

She spoke about writing on the continent as if nothing had happened since the 1970s, speaking of Achebe and Gordimer; stating that JM Coetzee was the best author to study if you want to understand the slave/master dynamics and the nuances of colonialism (!?!!!!). The only modern writers she spoke about were Zimbabweans Petina Gappah and NoViolet Bulawayo, who she wrongly described as a lawyer. She spoke about We Need New Names, but, surprisingly, did not once mention the Caine Prize story from which the book originated, and the Prize which is so important in discovering new African fiction writers.

How do you speak about conflict and war on the continent and narratives about them and not talk about Chimamanda Adichie and Aminatta Forna? How do you speak about traditionalism vs modernism without speaking about Lola Shoneyin? How do you not mention exciting writers like Teju Cole, Binyavanga Wainaina, Lauren Beukes, Chika Unigwe, Sarah Lotz, Taiye Selasi, Damon Galgut…honestly the list goes on and on. I felt like I’d fallen into a black hole.  There are so many exciting, current writers on the continent and to only mention two writers, one of which put out a short story collection and seems to have disappeared, is not representative in any way of “an overview of African fiction”.

She went on to give suggestions about what Batswana writers might consider writing about (because we can’t find topics on our own)  and suggested that maybe there were no writers in Botswana because the country was just “too peaceful”. When she gave us all permission to write about war on the continent because wars in Africa are just as important as the wars in Europe- “all wars are equal”,  I looked around the room to see if I was the only person trying hard to stop myself from banging my head on the table in frustration.

Honestly, I don’t blame Ms Slaughter for her woeful lack of knowledge about literature on the continent and in Botswana. She doesn’t live here or write her. She knows nothing at all about the publishing climate or the challenges and opportunities we have. I do think she should have said no, this is not something I should speak about, but, for whatever reason, she decided otherwise. For that she is accountable. I guess my real beef sits with whoever invited her and gave her such a topic. It smacks of neo-colonialism- let the foreigner tell us what to do and we’ll all just nod our heads and follow. Are we not past that?

Surely we are long, long past that. 

(This first appeared in my column It's All Write in The Voice newspaper) 

Buy The Vanishings as an Ebook!

The Vanishings is now available as an ebook!!

Blurb: 
People are vanishing all around Maun; a small town in northern Botswana not known for its serious crime. So far there are no bodies only clues. The kidnap victims may still be alive but the clock is ticking. Some say it is the work of a serial killer while others say that body parts are being taken from the victims for muti. Is the Spiritual Awakening Revival Church somehow involved and where does the brand new HIV/AIDS facility, Hope Institute, fit in?
Brought in to solve these crimes is disgraced detective Dambuza Chakalisa. With the help of a local resident and tour operator Delly Woods, he must get to the bottom of the mystery before it’s too late to find any of the vanished alive.
Lauri Kubuitsile is one of Botswana’s most renowned and successful authors with numerous published books in Botswana, in South Africa and overseas. She lives in Mahalapye with her family. Her stories delight children and adults alike with her keen eye for detail and knowing sense of humour.
The Vanishings is the first novel in a new crime series and we look forward to the sequel with bated breath.

Buy the Book - HERE. 

Homophobia is Un-African

First it was the passing of the Nigerian homophobic law, and now it's been done in Uganda. The Ugandan law gives a life sentence to anyone who engages in a same sex relationship. It also gives the state the power to extradite Ugandans outside the country who are practicing homosexuals.

The hatred surrounding these laws is astounding. Often proponents say homosexuality is un-African, an import from the West, but a cursory look shows this to be untrue. The fact that many indigenous languages have words for homosexuals proves that they were there before the colonisers set foot on the continent. And here is more proof if you need it.

Most African societies have a version of botho as part of the foundation in their culture. According to the University of Botswana botho means:

 'Botho' is derived from Tswana, the national language of Botswana. The Botswana people use the term botho to describe a person who has a well-rounded character, who is well-mannered, courteous and disciplined, and realises his or her full potential both as an individual and as a part of the community to which he or she belongs. Botho is an example of a social contract of mutual respect, responsibility and accountability that members of society have toward each other and defines a process for earning respect by first giving it, and to gain empowerment by empowering others.

Botho alone dictates that the behaviour of the continent's homophobes is un-African.

This homophobia is an imported idea. It was brought here by the foreigners wanting to control Africans every way that they could, including in the bedroom. It is being refueled by foreigners yet again; this time by the ultra-conservative religious people primarily in the United States. In Uganda, for example,  a workshop was held by a man called Scott Lively, an ultraconservative American homophobe. The agenda of the workshop according to The New York Times was- "how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomized teenage boys and how 'the gay movement is an evil institution' whose goal is 'to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity'. 

 This sort of hatred was used before. A religious justification was found for Apartheid. It was found for segregation. The breakdown of the family (the white family) was the justification for the vehement laws against mixed marriages. All of these were proven to be nothing except unjust bigotry. Eventually these homophobic laws will be seen in the same light.How many lives will be destroyed before that happens one can only imagine.

So as the homophobes run and shout and wreck havoc in the lives of the continent's gay Africans, thinking they're upholding African traditions with their hatred, they should realise they've been mentally colonised yet again.  They are merely the puppets of others, nothing more. And when they realise this, we can only hope all of this injustice will fall away.

The Vanishings- the cover!!

Here's the beautiful cover of my latest book- The Vanishings, a detective/thriller set in Maun published by Black Crake Books. It will be out this next month. Look out for details about the book launch.

Writing about Love

Love is in the air and you might get swept up in it and decide it is time to take a stab at writing romance. Some people are mistaken into thinking that romance writing is easier than other types of fiction writing, that there is some easy formula to follow. I once had a conversation with a writer of literary fiction who was undermining romance writing and I told her at the time that she should try to write “the first kiss” scene in a fresh exciting way and she’ll get an inkling of how tough romance writing can be. Romance readers want good writing and good writing requires developed plots and characters.

The Basic Ingredients of Romance Fiction

1. A heroine the reader can identify with

Most romance readers are women and they want the heroine to be someone they like. The heroine doesn’t need to be exactly like the readers, but she must be someone they can empathise with. They must understand her motivations. They must see some bit of themselves in her.

2. An irresistible hero

Your hero must be someone the readers fall in love with too. He doesn’t need to be the best looking guy in the room, often the most irresistible men aren’t. Big and brawny is not what most women are looking for. They want men who are intelligent, empathetic, and funny. At least that’s what the polls say.

3. A believable plot

How likely is it for the rich business man to fall deeply in love with his uneducated maid? Not very, let’s be honest. And though Shakespeare got away with women disguised as men, it’s not a plot most modern readers will buy. Your plot should have a lot of twists and turns, but they should be believable.

4. A happy ending

Romance fiction ends with a happy ending, the hero and heroine overcome whatever is keeping them apart and by the end of the book the two finally get together. It doesn’t have to be marriage or even them falling into bed together, it could be that they finally get passed whatever has been keeping them from being together.

Tips for writing romance

1. Saying “I love you” is not always the best way of saying I love you

I love you in dialogue is a bit boring. Try something fresh. Your heroine has been away for 27 days. She returns and she’s with your hero. She asks, “How have you been?” He says, “I had 27 bad days, but everything’s perfect today.” That screams love, doesn’t it?

2. Make your readers love your hero by his actions

He loves a certain kind of chocolate, but when his sister is visiting and there’s only one left; he lets her have it. He’s late for an important meeting at work, but half-way there he realises he forgot to feed his cat and he turns and goes back home to do it. The annoying old lady from down the street is visiting and doesn’t want to leave even though it is obvious to everyone but her that the hero and heroine want time alone. Though he can’t wait to be alone with his love, he walks the old lady home because she’s afraid of thieves in the night. All of these help to show the reader how great your hero is.

3. No one is perfect

Be careful not to make either your hero or heroine too perfect though. Give them flaws. Maybe she’s arrogant. Maybe he is a bit unambitious. The flaws can add to your tension that keeps them apart.

4. Tension must guide the plot

Tension in romance is caused by the reasons they cannot be together. There is external tension. They can’t be together because he lives in Harare and she lives in Joburg. They can’t be together because her mother hates him. That’s external tension, things happening outside of them. But internal tension is more powerful. She can’t be with him because she still thinks she loves her old boyfriend. He can’t be with her because he slept with her sister and he feels too much guilt.

5. Decide on how hot it’s going to be

A lot about the hotness of the intimate scenes will decide on the author’s preference, but also where you intend to send the manuscript. You should read the publisher’s guidelines. Nowadays most romance publishers have a wide range of imprints that cater for various amount of hotness all the way up to erotica so you should be able to find a place where your story fits.

Good luck getting romantic!

(This first appeared in my column in The Voice newspaper, It's All Write, 14 Feb.,2014) 

Believing Pretty Lies (A Valentine's Day Story...or not)

 It was easy for a long time, like sleeping too late in warm blankets on an icy day. She knew she’d have to leave at some point, but not just yet. They were not outrageous lies; they conformed to what people expected, what people saw, so it was not difficult to believe them. It felt right. It was easy. Easier to just stay put and believe their kind music, so soothing to her ears.

There was the first clue, early on, when the blush of love was still worn like a proud shiny medal.  Someone told someone who told her. She asked him, and he said no and she believed him. Of course she believed him. Who believes strangers? This man loved her, anyone could see. Even she could see that, she told herself. 

Time passed. Each year putting down another intricate layer of silk in the web of their life. Criss-crossing each other. Light and airy; as strong as a steel trap. 

They were connected and that connection itself made it easier to stay, made it nearly the only option.  Phone calls and text messages. Presents hidden under car seats never meant for her. Clues, clues, clues. But she didn’t want to be a detective, did she? She closed her eyes and clicked her heels and wished it would all disappear. It did, sort of. Only her heart held it, heavy, carrying the burden of all of those lovely pretty lies. 

Everything was fine. She repeated it like a mantra over and over. It was all about putting it out there so the universe could give you what you desired. It was a secret. So she put the pretty lies she told herself out there into the universe so the universe would turn them into the truth. 

The problem was, she wasn’t that woman really. She’d never been. She had a rational mind. She did not need the crutches of pseudoscience and religion. In this case, though, so she could keep going, she tried to call it something else. She tried to call it trust. She’d read the magazine articles just like you. She knew trust was important. Not fairy dust, but an ingredient for making everything work. 

So the pretty lies became trust and the years passed and passed, and her heart turned in on itself. Did you see how she was eating herself away to nothing? Did you notice that? 

Then on a certain day the scales tipped. The curtain fell and the universe’s secrets failed to pitch up. The stage was bare and empty, and there she was, lonely as a bird in a cage, flapping, flapping, flapping.

She begged for the ugly truth which she never got. It was too late now though. She was no longer a believer and never would be again.  She began pulling back the threads, untangling, cutting them where she needed to. They scratched her. The wounds bled. Some left ugly scars, some never healed at all, and oozed and oozed and reminded her of her battle to get free, of her years of thinking lies were true. Bare unadulterated truth was tough to look at, it burnt her eyes and left a bad taste in her mouth, but she’d learned, in the hardest way, pretty lies were deadlier, even if they were smiling.

The Grass Seeds and Footwear Problem: My Solution

My foot

It is grass seed season. If you, like me, like to walk about in the bush, you will know the headache caused by grass seeds. I come back each day with shoes, socks, and trousers covered in grass seeds. And if you, like me, have attempted to remove the grass seeds, you will know it is the work of mad people with infinite amounts of time on their hands. It is scientifically impossible to remove grass seeds from socks. I think this may be a scientific law. I'm not sure about that. But if it isn't it should be.

So how to solve this pesky problem?

What I have decided is that you must have your grass seed season socks and your grass seed season shoes. Once the grass seed season footwear is chosen, you must wear only this chosen footwear when walking in the bush during grass seed season and you should not attempt to remove grass seed or wash the footwear during the grass seed season.

Depending on your budget, you can do one of two things at the end of the grass seed season. For socks, the best thing, I've found, is to throw them away. I know that sounds wasteful, but removing grass seeds from your grass seed season socks could really cut into your precious time on earth and as mentioned above it is impossible. Your grass seed season socks, no matter the time you put in or the effort exerted will NEVER be free of grass seeds. That is a scientifically proven fact and it is best not to monkey around with scientifically proven facts.

Grass seed season shoes are usually easier to deal with. You might set aside a day (two at most) to remove the seeds from your grass seed season shoes so that they can go back to being just shoes. Grass seeds seems to have less affinity for shoes. (Note: if you are a scientist, this might be a potential area of research)  If you are very reckless, you could throw your grass seed season shoes away at the end of the season too, but I don't advise this course of action. Shoes are expensive.

Alternatively, you could, at the end of the grass seed season, put your grass seed season socks and your grass seed season shoes in a plastic bag and store them away for the next year's grass seed season. This is a perfectly acceptable way to attack this problem especially if you do not have a spare day or two to set aside for removing the grass seeds from your grass seed season shoes and you suspect that situation will persist for the coming years.

You might be saying to yourself- "But hey, grass seeds left on grass seed season socks and grass seed season shoes make my feet and ankles itchy when I wear the designated footwear". Yes, I contend that this is the case. But with a bit of mental discipline you can teach yourself that the minor itch and irritation of the grass seeds against your skin is a pleasant sensation. This is a good mental exercise that can spill over to other facets of your life. It can be implemented when dealing with the myriad of unpleasantness we face everyday.

NOTE: If there are any scientists out there who build shoes and socks, I would like to let them in on a little research project I've been conducting regarding grass seeds. The photos below are of a tall dog and a short dog immediately after walking in the bush during grass seed season. As you can clearly see there are no grass seeds attached to their feet or bodies (in the case of short dogs).

Small dog foot and body

Big dog foot

The questions for all of the scientists out there is- WHY? What about a dog's fur, which appears to me to be a reasonable enough place for grass seeds to attach, repels them? Whatever that substance is, I suggest that shoe and sock engineers get a pile of it and cover their products with it. I, for one, would be first in line for those shoes and socks. It would solve the entire grass seed season and footwear problem for the world and that would be quite a good thing.

I'm Interviewed at Africa Book Club.com

I have an interview over at Africa Book Club.com. Here's an excerpt responding to the often asked-"Did you always want to be a writer? "

No, writing was not something I always wanted to do. I’m a generalist. I’ve done many things, I have been a teacher, a business owner, a waitress, and a nurse assistant and… many other things. I suspect before I die I’ll do many other things too. I came to writing because I have always loved stories. I wanted to get more involved with them.
I’m not trying to tell anyone’s story. I’m a single person I represent no one but me. I certainly cannot presume to tell the story of Africa or Botswana, there are an infinite number of stories, each unique and different. I’m only telling mine, the ones that come to me. 

To read the rest of the interview go here.