"Writing is revealing oneself to excess." - Franz Kafka

When I started this book, it was more as a form of therapy for me. I had this story locked-up for too long and felt it was time to set it free. I just could not bring myself to tell anyone the real story, until I met my husband. It was not however, until 2001, when I quit my job at a child protection home that I summoned the courage to talk about my story and to write it.

     "If there is a book that you really want to read and it has not been written yet, then you must write it." - Toni Morrison

Like everyone else, I too felt I had a story to tell. Most of all I wanted to tell it myself, so even though I had no idea how to go about writing a book, I started to put words on paper. I had no writing experience except for my essay writing at school - which were often rewarded with a bare pass mark. However, I loved to read and Literature was my favourite subject. I remember sincerely looking forward to my Literature classes. I could not wait to go on adventures with Gem and Scout in To kill a mocking bird and to live my adolescent fantasy with Shellie and Rosalie Ghidaree in Green days by the river. What started simply as a form of therapy, took me on a long traumatic and very lonely journey, which ended in a very terribly written first draft.

     "The worst enemy to creativity is self doubt." - Sylvia Plath

I cannot boast of being well read or anything like that, or claim to be inspired by any one author in particular because before I ever heard of authors like Mya Angelou and Toni Morrison, or read Andrea Levy, Wally Lamb or Barbara Kingsolver, I was a Danielle Steel and Sidney Sheldon fan. I truly admire writers who could work magic with words and make it look and sound so easy. For me it was not easy and still is not easy. I struggle with voice and finding the right words. Not to mention self-doubt, because of my very limited formal education.

     "You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." - Jack London

My inspiration for writing comes from my desire to tell my story and to tell it in a way that is unique to me. My inspiration comes from the feeling that only I can tell my story the way I want it to be told, and during this journey, I discovered that I really enjoy writing and that it is what I want to do most. I started reading more, and I found that it took me much longer to complete books, because I started doing more than just read. I started studying the writing, checking out the styles, techniques and syntax and all that kind of term which I came across for the first time in my first online creative writing class – which I took after I had written the whole book. Virginia Wolf said “ ... writing is the profound pleasure and being read is superficial,” but Ursula K LeGuin said “The unread story is not a story. It is little black marks on a wood pulp. The reader reading it makes it live; a live thing, a story.” I believe my fulfilment will come when my writing is read, when my writing voice is heard. I feel like I am going through labour right now but my reward will come when I hold my first copy of FORCE RIPE in my hand, like a newborn – and bask in that pure joy, which only a mother could truly experience.