b>Describe yourself in a sentence.
Someone who is deeply in awe of life, loves the wilderness, is stimulated by urban life, finds inspiration in music and art, seeks meaning in the everyday and strives for peace.
Describe your book in a sentence.
A mesmerising tale set in Cape Town (but overshadowed by the Holocaust), which unfolds in a mysterious chemistry of whimsical humour, visual and culinary aes-thetics; with an enquiry into the opposing forces of good and evil as an underlying leitmotif.
Describe the process of writing and publishing the book (research, editing and so on). How long did it take?
I had to research the Italian experience of the Holocaust. I also had to explore Italian cuisine. I wrote the initial draft as a work for my master’s degree in creative writing. When it was accepted for publication, I did some more work on it. I spent a year writing this novel.
What is the purpose of fiction?
I suppose to give pleasure, to stimulate the imagination, to challenge the status quo of ordinary day-to-day life.