Interview with Thabo
Published 2018-03-13.
What are you working on next?
Completed and re-editing my second novel, Daring The Headmaster. It is set on an imaginary tribal land in the North West Province, RSA. The Headmaster must protect his farm school and students from rogue Afrikaner farmers determined to disrupt learning and teaching at his school. This set him on a collision course with the farmers, and he becomes a suspect in the brutal murder of a farmer.
Who are your favorite authors?
J.M Coetzee, Basie Head, Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
To write, Read and share information with fellow writers.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Reading books and newspapers. Watching documentaries on TV.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Browsing the net.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
A stage play, Sleeping with my sister
What is your writing process?
The ancient way. I write ideas in my notepad, pen, and paper before I actually sit before my laptop. After my first draft, I would usually end up with five to seven drafts. Re-read the draft, re-read and start the grueling process of edit and re-editing.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
I was in high school, Oliver Twist.
How do you approach cover design?
It is a serious business. Whether this holds water or not, a cover design makes or breaks a book. I remember J.M. Coetzee's the Principal, I thought the cover was not attractive, but then the book was great.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
Madona of Excelsior, Rumours of Rain, Maru, The Girl on the Train and Dark Places. I am mesmerized by the authors and their vastly and unique styles of writing.
What do you read for pleasure?
Both fiction and non-fiction.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
Not certain.
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
Social media platforms.
Describe your desk
Free of cluttter.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in Pretoria. In the late 60s and mid-70s, I frequented the township theatre and it was during the heightened period of resistance against South Africa's apartheid system and productions like Sizwe Banzi is Dead gave me an opportunity to realise that I could use my writing as a form of protest against the repressive system of apartheid in my country.
When did you first start writing?
In the 70s writing poetry, published in a literary magazine, Staffrider, which was later banned by the South African authorities.
What's the story behind your latest book?
A young man who grows up in his dysfunctional maternal household and seeks to find his father, to know his origin so that he could establish his ancestral lineage with his paternal family.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Telling and sharing stories with others.
What do your fans mean to you?
My fans mean a lot to me. Their constructive criticism helps me to strive for quality.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
Not really sure.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
By putting me out there to the world.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
By putting me out there to the world.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
By putting me out there to the world.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
By putting me out there to the world.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
By putting me and my story out there to the world.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
By putting me and my story out there to the world.
Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.
Books by This Author
The Sins of Parents
by Thabo
Otswakae Rampedi is a young man who has an incessant nagging feeling about his absent father. He wants to know who his father is, to discover his origin and know his ancestral lineage. But his mother is unrelenting and will not tell him her secret and his persistence on the matter drives a wedge between them.
