In the years leading up to the radical decision to move to ‘the wilderness’ where she barely has cell phone signal, author Sally Andrew and her partner Bowen Boshier used to spend much of their energy trying to escape the busy city life.
They would venture into the northern parts of Southern Africa to replenish their creative juices until one day, more than a decade ago, they took a leap of faith and moved to the Klein Karoo.
“We lived in the city and visited the bush, but then decided to live in the bush and visit the city,” Sally explained.
The couple has friends who live in this part of the world, and then one day they packed their things and started building their own off-the-grid home on a private nature reserve.
“I fell in love with the place, moved here and started writing about it.”
In this exclusive interview with News62, the now famous author of the ‘Tannie Maria Murder Mystery’ series said that the Klein Karoo features all the diverse aspects of the continent, and more.
“The Klein Karoo feels like big Africa. You’ve got these ancient trees, where you live with leopards and zebras and kudus and giraffes. And it’s the feel of the place, it feels like Africa”.
“And it is not far from the big cities. The Karoo is more like Africa, whereas the rest of the Western Cape feels more like a British colony – it does not have that ancient African feel.”
“The Klein Karoo has big skies, the rocks and the hidden kloofs.”
While admitting that she still makes time to go on adventures north to the bush, it is safe to say that after 12 years, the section of land between Ladismith and Barrydale is her natural home.
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From time to time Sally visits Ladismith for shopping and Barrydale for leisure, but her inspiration is mostly found in the wilderness that surrounds their off-the-grid home.
“My real life in the Karoo is what permeates my books: the small town vibes. The Bokmakierie songs, gwarrie trees, big skies, the dry land and the earth that is so grateful for every drop of rain.”
Sally and Barrydale
As previously mentioned, leisure time and Barrydale go hand in glove for Sally who lives an otherwise secluded life.
Oh yes, then there is the food.
“The food at the Karoo Art Hotel is fantastic. And the food at Mez Karoo Kitchen…well my last meal there is the first time ever that I’ve photographed restaurant food… it is that good.”
“I’ve stayed at Terry’s Kamala House Karoo Retreat for a writing retreat and that was fabulous. And I also love overnighting at the Karoo Art Hotel.”
Equally the iconic Diesel and Crème – where this interview was conducted – not only features when she visits Barrydale, it also plays a part in her latest book.
“In The Milk Tart Murders there is a scene where Tannie Maria visits Diesel ’n Crème and enjoys burgers and milkshakes.”
“Two of the Diesel ’n Creme recipes are in this latest book – a burger and a red velvet milkshake recipe, if I recall correctly.”
When Sally sees the rubber ducks at Diesel ’n Crème, it brings back a memory of a healing course that changed her life.
“One of the things that changed my life is a course I did in London called the ‘Lightning Process’ and at the end of it, they give you a little rubber duck to remind you that even though you sometimes feel down, when you allow yourself, you will naturally bounce up again to the surface. This course really helped me to heal after decades wiped out with M.E. Myalgic Encaphalomyelitis. Aka Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That’s one of the reasons I moved to the Karoo. To heal from this debilitating illness.”
Sally’s books were recently morphed into a hit television ‘Recipes for Love and Murder.’
We asked her about this experience and whether the producers did a good job in bringing her Klein Karoo characters to life she said:
“I joined them for some of the filming in Prince Albert and it was a very bizarre sensation walking around and meeting people I’ve created.
“Many of them were easily recognisable to me. It was amazing, like a next level manifestation. It’s one thing imagining things that manifest in your own. But then your fictional imaginings also start happening …”
“I was an extra in one of the last scenes. It somehow seemed so real to me, I got totally carried away. They found a clue, suggesting Jessie was still alive, I was so excited. I was grinning, with tears in my eyes. She’s alive she’s alive!
But this scene was meant to be a somber one, and I was on camera behind the main actors. They had to shoot the whole scene again. I was so embarrassed I wanted to crawl under a rock. I know how expensive film shooting is.”
All is well when there’s soetkoekies
“I wasn’t invited back onto the set after that! But then they let me back on to deliver 100 soetkoekies to the cast and crew. I had baked them in the shape of a heart, using my great grandmother’s recipe. I drew a picture of a hadeda on an axe on the wrapping of each one. This bird features in the opening scenes of the series.”
A terrifying experience:
“It is amazing, but on another level it is terrifying to see your characters come to life, because as a writer you are a god and you control everything, and a movie – although it is amazing – has its own life. I had to let go of the vision in my head.
“With a book, every reader is going to have their own picture, so there are hundreds of thousands of different versions of that reality that people create in their heads. The movie only offers one version.
“Books allow different things for the imagination. What I love about the series is that although they are very faithful to the book and they draw on the novel a lot, some of the major characters are very different.”
“This makes it a more of a sister production, so it’s easier to let go of your notions and enjoy something else altogether.
“What was also such a gift about being allowed to witness some of the filming, was seeing this unusual creative process, in which 100-200 people are involved in making a movie. It is an incredible, collaborative, creative act and I’m very honoured to have played a role in that.
“In some way, it is a writer’s dream and in other ways it is a writer’s nightmare, because as a control freak you have to let go – every creative contributor in the filming process has to be able to do their own thing.”
“The characters take on a life of their own and the screenwriters have to follow those characters because the books are just from Tannie Maria’s perspective inside her head, but the movie goes into other characters heads and homes.”
“It is a much bigger creative process than a book, so when I have the right attitude, it feels fantastic because the TV series ripples out into the world from this pebble of a book. I can really celebrate that.”
“As a writer, it’s a real challenge to find the right approach to your novels being converted to film. I read a lot of books about screenwriting. A great one was Richard Walter’s: ‘The Essentials of Screenwriting’. He has been a personal mentor to me and helped me develop the attitude of letting go and celebrating.”
International flavour added to series
Maria Doyle Kennedy, known amongst other things for her role in Outlanders, stars as Tannie Maria. Sally spoke with great praise of the actress for the way she depicted her character.
“The show needed a big international star for a series to be bought and to get wings, but everyone else in the production is South African.
“Maria Doyle Kennedy is brilliant, she’s a beautiful soul. She enjoyed that this is a fun and tender story. It is not a gory depiction of women murdered by serial killers. The issue of violence against woman gets addressed, but in a different way to mainstram media. Maria was really keen to get the role.”
“It is such an honour to be linked with so many creative souls and to be part of this.
“Just to be marginally involved is amazing and I’m just blown away by the incredible artistry of every single aspect – from wardrobe to cinematography to sound – to the actors. They are incredible.”
Sally explained that even when writers sell a script, there is less than a 1% chance that it reaches film.
“The producers, Both Worlds really have been a tenacious, small company. Short notice, tight schedule. They’ve done extremely well. Their final success will have to proven in how TV viewers internationally respond to the seriez.”
Asked if she had even been interviewed by a Klein Karoo journalist, she said: Not at all!
“And in all the books… Tannie Maria works for the Klein Karoo Gazette which is the closest thing to News62. She is an agony aunt columnist who gives love, advice and a recipe. The Gazette editor is Hattie. And Jessy is a young hardcore investigative journalist. Maria and Jessie get caught up in solving murders.”
Sally’s books are for sale at Diesel ’n Crème and other reputable news outlets.
