Gopolang pushes boundaries
Otlarongwa Kgweetsi | Monday February 3, 2025 10:31
He attributes his inspiration to the then global crisis, lockdowns, and conspiracy theories surrounding the virus. “It was a time when most of us discovered our hidden talents. So for me, I think the COVID-19 era inspired me to write science fiction, and of course, my love for Sci-Fi movies,” he says.
The book follows a junior doctor who uncovers a conspiracy involving a virus designed to wipe out humanity. He fights against dark forces, including aliens and assassins, while navigating time travel. Gopolang explains the meaning behind the title. “It signifies the brink of extermination. The world and humanity were on the verge of extermination, and heroes emerged in order to find ways of combating the threat,” he said.
He believes that science fiction is largely unexplored in Botswana’s literary scene. “I don’t know of any author who writes science fiction locally. Most people read books they can intimately relate to, like motivation and memoirs,” he says. “When you speak of things like time travel, spaceships, aliens, and space portals, most people deem it ‘unrealistic’ or ‘too movie-like.’ So I want to change the reader’s perception and let the world know that science fiction is not only written by American Hollywood scriptwriters; Africans can too!” he adds.
On The Verge is different from his first book, Against The Odds, which was a motivational piece. “It was just plain, clean, and predictable,” he says. “With this book, I was more flexible, playful, and casual with my characters,” he adds.
Gopolang acknowledges the challenges of writing science fiction. “The most challenging part was obviously imagination. The reason why science fiction is hard to write is because it requires a lot of thought analysis, vocabulary, world-building, chronology, and exploration,” he says. He studies real-life behaviours to shape his characters. “Being a writer requires you to be some kind of a multi-faced psychoanalyst. You have to harbour a lot of personas inside your head,” he explains.
The book has not been widely promoted, and Gopolang believes this is partly because of local conservatism. “I haven’t really promoted the book to a marginal extent like I wished. Part of me always assumed that it was too controversial to hit the local shelves. Batswana are a conservative population,” he says.
“But I think the youth really enjoys such writings regardless. It’s a culture shock for a local author to write ‘movie-typical science fiction.’ I think it will also encourage local publishing companies to accept science fiction manuscripts for their publishing because at the moment, they don’t,” he says.
He plans to expand On The Verge into a trilogy and explore international markets. “I hope to also publish On The Verge as a trilogy on platforms like Kindle Amazon and see how international readers would receive it,” he says. However, he remains uncertain about releasing Book II. “I long promised my readers Book II of On The Verge trilogy, but life happened, and I found myself drifting away from publishing books. At the moment, I am not really certain whether I’ll return for Book II.”
Gopolang has also completed a book titled What Women Don’t Know Yet, which remains unpublished. “I’ve been told by my personal readers that it’s too controversial, it would spark havoc if it ever hit the shelves,” he says. He is considering selling the rights to publish it or releasing it in the future.
Despite his current focus on career prospects, he intends to return to writing. “I still have a lot of life ahead of me, so expect more books in my name, even if it’s 10 years from now. Authors are like footballers, they know when to get back into the pitch when the time is right,” he adds.