Local novelist breaks into international market
Staff Writer | Tuesday October 27, 2015 18:00
Olympia Publishers in the United Kingdom will release the novel in paperback.
The novel focuses on a young warrior who discovers a plot to start an inter-realm war. In her mission to prevent the war, Leah unearths dark secrets that challenge her warrior identity and bring her into contact with many mysterious and powerful creatures across the realms.
In an interview with Showbiz, Lejowa, said she was curious about how people got published and decided to search online for some publishing companies.
“A certain publisher requested five sample chapters of a novel.
I already had a few chapters of a story that I had written, but never finished and so I sent those chapters.
The editors liked the chapters and requested to view the whole manuscript,” she said.
Lejowa said she wrote like a mad woman for a whole month and five weeks after she submitted her manuscript she was offered a contract.
She said she started the story while she was studying to become a chef in Stellenbosch.
“It was an emotionally rough time for me and I guess I needed a hero.
I needed to view myself as a strong and capable woman who could take on the world,” she said.
“The character in my novel Leah evolved from that.
She was me, but a stronger me, living in a world where she needed to be strong.
The story then was a means for me to cope with my reality.
I had no idea where the story would end up and it was a complete shock to me how it played out,” she said.
Lejowa said reading has always been her thing from an early age.
“There are hundreds of books at home, all of us have our own collection,” she said.
Lejowa highlighted that writing came later for her.
“It was nurtured when I was in high school and it has since been my secret passion. I never really had the guts to share it with people because it felt so personal, but here I am now sharing it with the world,” she said.
Lejowa said the story in her fantasy novel represents Botswana in every way.
“There are references I make to my roots in the book, I pay homage to the country but it is open to interpretation.
Read the book and tell me what you think,” she said.
Lejowa indicated that the end of the story is suggestive of a sequel.
“I may write another one. It’s very tempting to start the writing process again, especially because there are random scenes bouncing around in my head, new characters I simply cannot wait to meet,” she said.
Leah: A Seer’s Legend will be available on Amazon.com from October 29, 2015 at £7.99.