She knows without a doubt that she is leaving. This morning she can see it clearly, as clearly as the daylight streaming through the curtain onto him where he lies snoring next to her, alcoholic stink contaminating the room. During the night the fears seem to have dropped down to the bottom of the list where they belong. Money, place to stay, what to say to the family. This morning they seem unimportant, for she knows that she is leaving him. But by next week you will know that she didn’t leave. Can you believe it? She still doesn’t leave. By the time she had gone about her work that day and come home, life had turned the list upside down once again and the fact that he had beaten her up again the night before went to the bottom of the list, and she swept aside the most important reason why she should leave the man. Again, it was another morning. She gasped for air as she surfaced from the underwater of sleep. A bang on the front door had awoken her. Confused, she glanced at the bedside clock. 30 Minutes after midnight. Jeanie clutched her belly, holding the slightly sagging folds between her fingers. A habit of many years gone, 12 and many to come. She swung her legs off the bed and sat quietly for a moment, trying to focus her mind.
Today we talk about TO HAVE NOT, TO HOLD, a book by Monica Clarke published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author, Monica Clarke, to get to know her better, when and where she found the inspiration that brought led her to the writing of her book TO HAVE NOT, TO HOLD as well as how she chose the title of her book.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Where and when did you find the inspiration to write your book?
The book covers my own life as a midwife in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa during the Apartheid years. I had to write my story, for my own healing. I did choose a fictional character, Jeannie, to be childless, so as to remove the book from my own two children, in case what is being said might identify them in future. Otherwise, it is my own story. My own journey throughout.
- What is the message you want to convey to your readers?
Never give up. If you inner tells you something, do it. The ‘how’ and ‘when’ will follow if we follow our passion. Tell your own story so that others can ‘feel’ how you felt, knowing that they will survive!
- How did you choose the title of your book?
I chose the title To Have Not, To Hold because the protagonist is a barren woman and also a midwife. The tragedy for her is that she holds other women’s babies all the time, but can have none of her own. Although the book is based on my own life, (and I have two off-spring), like I said in (1) above, I chose the protagonist to be childless, so as to remove the book from my own two children, in case what is being said might identify them in future.
- What sensations did you feel to see your book published?
Fear, mostly fear about being believed, about being able to write the passion which I feel.
- Are you working on a new writing project, you can tell us about?
My next book is a novel about a young man who is bullied at school and then stops going to school. He is accused of killing a young girl and is suspected of murdering his grandmother. Schizophrenic and unable to express his pain, he suffers alone, as a young man who never knew a mother who deserted him at birth.
Europe Books thanks the author, Monica Clarke, once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside her on the editorial path that led to the publication of her book TO HAVE NOT, TO HOLD. We wish her the best of luck for her future works.
To you, my readers, I hope the story here told by will capture, interest, passionate you! At the same time, it will make you reflect on the importance of never giving up, despite the difficulties we may go through in our lives!!!
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your editor!