My daughter Jordan, who is a high school senior, had to interview an author about a book so she decided to interview me about my upcoming novel. Here is that interview, which was, I must say, lots of fun!
 

What inspired you to write about the Soweto Riots?

I felt it was important to let young people in the world today know about a time when students in South Africa stood up for their rights and what they believed in and were able to ultimately triumph despite everything.
 

How did the Soweto Riots affect you personally?

My parents, being liberal white South Africans, decided that they no longer wanted to live in a country where there was no democracy and where the country was literally a "police state". The riots occurred in June, 1976 and by the following year we had left and were living in America.
 

How do you want your new novel, Ruby Red, to affect people?

I want my novel to both educate and entertain people. While this is a historically accurate novel it is also the story of the trials and tribulations of a seventeen-year-old girl who has the joys of he first romance, the angst of self-doubt and the pain of losing the friendship of her best friend. These are the normal issues that face any teenage girl and I wanted those to be familiar to the reader against the backdrop of the unfamiliar political climate.
 

Why are you dedicating your book to Hector Pieterson?

Hector Pieterson was the first child to be killed during the Soweto riots. He is a symbol and a harsh reminder that many children were killed and suffered under the harsh era of Apartheid. I felt that since the main focus of the book is about young people, I wanted to dedicate it to one that was most deserving.
 

Did you know anyone personally who was injured or killed in the riots?

No, I did not know anyone since the riots affected black students and as a white child in South Africa we did not go to school with black children nor were we allowed to have them as our friends.
 

What was your immediate reaction to the Riots? When did you first hear what was happening?

My first reaction was fear for myself. We learned about the riots while we were at school and had no idea that black children had been killed. Our teachers kept us in doors and made us fear that an angry black mob might descend on us and harm us. They did not let us know that it was the white police who were doing the killings.
 

How was your family affected by the riots?

As I said before, my family made a decision after the riots to leave South Africa permanently.
 

Were there any specific events that happened in your lifetime that made a prominent impression on how you viewed the riots?

Well, my parents were very liberal, so I was raised to see blacks as people of equal stature and not just servants. My father was an educator and he would sometimes invite black teachers to our house. When the riots occurred I imagined these very same teachers in Soweto where they taught and I worried about them.
 

Are any of your characters/events based on actual people/events?

Yes, the young black artist in my novel is loosely based on a young black artist in South Africa who was killed at age 23 during the 70's. The other character in the novel that is based on someone from my own life is the mother, Annabel, who owns an art gallery and helps disenfranchised artists. I have a cousin in Johannesburg who, although bares no physical resemblance to Annabel, does own an art gallery and has helped dozens of black artists over the years. I based that character around her spirit and lifelong ambition to be a patron to black artists.
 

In your opinion, did the Soweto Riots change the political landscape of South Africa?

I personally believe that the Soweto riots was the match that lit the torch that ultimately began the fire that burned down of the system of Apartheid.
 

Why do you think it is important for your readers to know about this particular time in history?

I think we live in such turbulent times. It is a time when people feel impotent in the face of all the terrorist acts and wars. This event might let young people know that they can make a difference, that they can speak out and that they might even have the power to bring about change if they rise up and take a stand against the things they believe in.
 

In your eyes, what event(s) in American History are parallel to the Soweto Riots?

I think that the struggle for black civil rights in America during the 50's and 60's are somewhat comparable to the struggles that occurred in South Africa although political change was not fully realized in South Africa until 1994.
 

In your opinion, who is to blame for the Soweto Riots?

The South African government at the time, that was made up of right wing conservative Afrikaaners, are to blame for the riots. They wanted to pass a law that would force all black students to learn all their subjects in Afrikaans, the language of their oppressors, and also a language that most blacks did not know or speak!
 

How are things different today in S. Africa then when Ruby Red was written?

Things are very different in South Africa today. There is absolute equality for everyone and the government is black ruled. There is a strongly emerging black middle class as well as an upper class. The biggest issue in South Africa today however, that did not exist then, is the crippling and devastating virus, AIDS, that is killing millions in Africa.
 

Has Soweto improved since 1976 and if so how?

It has absolutely improved although there are still very poor areas but now there are also wealthy suburbs as well as middle class suburbs. There are movie theaters, clubs, restaurants and electricity. But what is truly the most moving part of Soweto today is the magnificent museum that was built in memory of those who fell during the Soweto Riots.