I've been talking about it long enough - the new novel - it's time to pull out the finger and get it off the shelf where it's been for too long. "The Last Monsoon" is going to be written. I'm getting my life back together after a long period of family and health problems and this book, my biggest challenge ever, is crying out to be finished. I can't wait. "The Last Monsoon" is much more of a suspense novel than any I have written so far. Inspired by real life, the drama revolves around colour prejudice and murder. Of course, there has to be a love story going on in there somewhere. And this time it's what I call a proper 'saga' - spanning 100 years. Here's the prologue to whet your appetite...
"...and
there you shall be hanged by the neck until you are dead..."
The woman in the dock showed no
feeling except for the slightest twitch of her dark brows. She had shown no emotion, no remorse during
the whole length of the trial that was the talk of the decade. She remained static, facing forward, her eyes
glazed as if she were in a world apart from the mass of people watching her,
waiting for some response on her part.
One man sat in silence, ignoring the
tumult of applause and vulgar jeers at the passing of the death sentence. Silent tears washed over his face that was
locked in an expression of total anguish.
As people started to rush out of the courtroom to spread the news the
man was jostled this way and that. He stayed, his feet rooted to the ground,
his gaze fixed on the woman who did not seem to know of his presence.
As she was led away with stumbling
footsteps and head lowered, her name caught in his throat.
"Anna!"
But Anna, his beautiful, beloved
Anna, was already gone from him forever.
