Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a small farming community. My parents had livestock but also ploughed fields for crops. I had two options when I was not in school: help my parents with the crops in the field or look after the livestock. I chose to look after the livestock, setting free my younger brothers to help parents on the fields. Herding livestock allowed me plenty of time to read. Being a teacher by profession, my father had a lot of books for reading. I also borrowed books from neighbours and spent a lot of time reading while looking after livestock.
When did you first start writing?
I started writing when I was about 15 years old at the start of high school.
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