Yes :-) It was a my first attempt of a short story about a horse called Aquanaut. I was about 10 or 11 years old when I wrote it.

Biographies, autobiographies and realistic fiction. I don't like fantasy, sci-fi or horror books. I also enjoy a book that keeps you in suspense.

I was born in Port Elizabeth and spent my first two years of my life there before we moved to Jansenville (in the Eastern Cape). My father was a policeman and he was the station commander of Jansenville in the early 1980's. We then had to move to Pretoria (Gauteng) so I could attend a school that provided education for visually impaired pupils. I grew up in a police home and have been exposed to the South African Police as early as I could remember. I had somewhat of a lonely childhood as I grew up in Doornpoort in the 1980's and 1990's, and it was a very small town back then. I then started writing to keep myself occupied.

I started to do serious writing at the age of about 12 years :-) I did not have a typewriter or a PC back then and my mom always had to buy me exam pads to write in.

This book will always be very close to my heart. It is difficult to believe that it started out as a few ideas on a couple of sheets of paper - ideas which I thought were silly and I didn't want anyone to read it. Recovering from major surgery in 2009 I decided to put the ideas into a story for my own personal pleasure. My ex-husband caught a glimpse of it and encouraged me to write a novel. I was upset at first because I thought no one would like the story lines and would think it is just silly. After giving it some good thought I approached the late 'oom' Manie Van der Westhuizen of Mat516 Publishers who helped me to publish Refined By His Fire. I was approached by a small film company to film Refined By His Fire, but unfortunately the project did not work out. The upside of it was that I was stuck with extra story lines to do a rewrite. The mere fact that I am now writing under my maiden surname after my divorce was finalised justified a rewrite anyway. I really hope that the central message of Refined By His Fire will bring hope and healing to people. It's quite ironic that as the author of Refined By His Fire I was faced with many tribulations since 2013 which still appear never-ending, but irrespective of everything I remained firm in my faith and trust in God. It hasn't always been easy, but I know He will use it for His purpose to impact other people's lives. And for that He alone must get the honour and glory.

A colleague of mine when I still worked for the SA Police Service told me about Smashwords as it is really difficult to publish your work in South Africa if you are not famous or if you do not move in the right circles. It is extremely expensive to publish your work in hard copy and I am very grateful for the chance Smashwords offered me :-)

I have always had a very vivid imagination. My characters (especially in Refined By His Fire) feel so real that I want to go visit them, just to come to the realisation that they do not exist :-( I love it to inspire people, to bring them hope and to create stories that people can associate with. I really believe it helps people to handle life's challenges better and to put things (problems if you want to call it as such) in perspective.

I am stuck with a serious case of writer's block at the moment as I have an idea of a Christian fiction thriller but loads of research needs to be done and the story lines will have to be written very carefully in order not to step on toes. The focus point will be on a passenger aircraft being involved in a serious emergency. And yes, I want to do a rewrite on The Sacrifice as well as I feel I need to do much better research this time around.

Daleen Matthee, Paul C Venter, Jerry B Jenkins.

Making a difference in other people's lives, no matter how insignificant it may seem.

Unfortunately I have very little time to write and even to read. I am always trying to squeeze 36 hours into a 24 hour day as I am self-employed and running my own business. I do like to watch movies and documentaries if I have some spare time to do so.

Refined By His Fire is a story about fictional characters and Christian fiction. Some of the scenes depicted in the novel are actual crimes scenes that I attended to as a police officer (when I was still in the SA Police Service) and crime scenes that friends and former colleagues of mine had to attend. The scenes that my colleagues and friends attended were narrated to me and it inspired me to use it in my story lines for Refined By His Fire. Lots of the story lines are fictional and is a result of a very vivid imagination! :-)

Many people face very difficult circumstances and go through terrible ordeals. It often makes them to wonder where God was or is in their time of need. The central message of Refined By His Fire is that irrespective of what you have to face and or go through God is always there. Unfortunately in life one goes through very ugly things. I personally have had to go through two divorces and experienced loss in the form of loved ones that passed away, financial difficulties, being diagnosed with a (non-cancerous) brain tumor amongst many other things, but despite of all these that one can still keep one's faith and never have to lose hope because God fights the battle for you.

'Fiela se kind' by Daleen Matthee, 'Susters van Eva' by Daleen Matthee, ' 'n Pot vol winter' by Maretha Maartens, Paul C Venter (he wrote the script for the TV series 'Konings' and 'Torings'), The Left Behind series by Jerry Jenkins. I have more than five favourite books and it is a bit difficult to answer this one :-) I like books that are realistic or which are based on true events.

I would really love a Kindle....

Clean and organised. I like to have systems in place so I can remain hands-on. My PC also has several folders so I can find documents easily.

Smashwords offered me a chance to publish Refined By His Fire for free and to make it available to anyone across the world. My publisher unfortunately passed away, so my books will not be available in hard copy (for now). He was instrumental in getting my works published and I told him about Smashwords. He also used the Smashwords platform to publish his works. I hope to reach out to many people because of the help from Smashwords!

If it wasn't for my readers my book would not be distributed. What I mean by that is that even if I did publish on Smashwords my book would just be there if no one downloads it. Because of the effort my readers go through to download or to buy my book many people's lives get changed because word of mouth spreads about the inspirational messages my books hold. I am humbled and grateful for this ripple effect.

I don't have a Kindle yet :-( If and when I do get one I will certainly download them from Smashwords. A very good friend of mine also publishes her work on Smashwords and I really want to read it. It is difficult to move a desktop PC to your bedroom and to read an e-book in comfort like that :-) :-) :-) For now I read books in the good old fashion - hard copies.

When I get inspiration for a book I will start writing the story line. Most of the time the story line lands up in the dustbin and I will repeat the process until I am satisfied that the story line is the way I want it. I do not believe that a book must be written within a certain timeframe. Some books takes longer to write than others. I am also very peculiar about who I am allowing to read my ideas and story lines. It is not often that anyone gets to read a story I wrote until it is 100% finalised.

Heck no. I cannot really remember the first book I read. I was a complete bookworm in school and loved to read. I still love to read, but today one has little time to do so because of the demands of social media and trying to earn a living.

The cover needs to attract the reader immediately and kind of summarise the content of the book. It must trigger the reader's curiosity and interest to want to read the book and make it difficult to put it down.

No. However if you do write about something realistic, even if in a fictional story, make sure you do proper research about your topic first. Never feel afraid to ask advice from fellow writers.

Oh gosh... Please don't paint me in a corner! (laughs) People often wonder if I eat at all since I am a wellness coach (and being tiny of body stature) - addicted to healthy living. I grew into the healthy habit of never skipping breakfast or any meal for that matter. I love my healthy lifestyle (as you can see on my profile pic!), but apart from my meal replacement shakes I love so much I guess I must admit that I love dining out with family or friends when I have the chance. I love seafood and sushi, but I am also the typical South African who loves braaivleis (barbeque) and lamb on the spit. Beverages? I drink water like a camel :-) :-) I love my healthy energy teas.

Holidays...? What's that??? I haven't had one since 2016.... Tough to choose. I guess it is 50/50. I love the Bushveld (visiting my cousin in Nylstroom or going to the Kruger Park) but I love Cape Town and Jeffreys Bay A LOT!!!

The clever people in the medical field advises a night's rest of not less than seven hours per night and not more than nine hours. I guess I am guilty as charged because most of the time I sleep as little as six hours per night. I seldomly need an alarm to wake me in the mornings. I start moving the moment I become aware of the natural daylight. Even during winter times I would be up and about from 07:30 and go to bed at 23:00, but it is not to say that I am going to sleep at 23:00...