UK novelist Vera Wilson visits the South Coast
Horrified at the idea of staying at home and being unproductive, she decided to try something new to keep herself busy. That’s when she wrote her very first book.
British author, Vera Rowland Wilson, breathes life into her fictitious world the minute she puts pen to paper or, in her case, fingers to typewriter.
She visited the South Coast as part of her South African getaway. She has a passion not just for writing, but travelling too.
Born and bred in North Wales in the United Kingdom, Vera is known for being a woman of many talents.
In the course of her life, she has had numerous jobs, a few being a secondary school history head of department, worked in a dental institute, was an education administrator in a school and is still involved in various voluntary organisations.
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As a result of her parents and husband being sickly, she decided to stay home permanently to care for them.
After Vera had been widowed, she kept herself busy and involved in the community.
Then, unfortunately, she shattered a hand when she fell on the winter ice around Christmas in 2011 and was told to stay home and recover.
Horrified at the idea of staying at home and being unproductive, she decided to try something new to keep herself busy. That’s when she wrote her very first book, Rings of Guilt.
“I’ve always loved writing, but never had the time, so I thought, why not now,” said Vera.
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After going through a lengthy process for publication, it was finally published in 2012. She went on to her next, The Will To Deceive, The Haunt Of Fate and the latest one being The Souring of Sweet Charity released earlier this year.
“If you have an idea or would like to write your own piece, do it now and get it out of your system! Don’t let any ideas go to waste,” she says.
For her stay on the South Coast, Vera was part of a travelling group and when in Scottburgh, stayed at the Blue Marlin Hotel where it was discovered who she really was.
“I heard a staff member say that she doesn’t have anything to read after finishing all her books and that’s when I said she should take a look at The Souring of Sweet Charity and gave her a copy,” she said, “That’s when she put two and two together and saw my initials on the book and immediately informed others that an ‘international author’ was staying there.”
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This is when the local newspaper was informed and could not let go of this opportunity.
Her books are all fiction, fitting into either crime or mystery categories and appeal to not only women in their late 40s and up, as she had first thought they would, but to a wider and more diverse audience, including the younger generation.
“I like captivating people and creating that element of wonder, so I hope I have done that for everyone and not just one specific group of people,” she says.
This has been Vera’s second time in South Africa and, as she’s done previously on all her travels, she has documented her every move in a journal.
These experiences also help her with ideas for her books. She is currently working on a sequel to her first book, which is expected to come out next year.
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