“To Walk in the World” is now available in paperback. If you’re old school like me, holding a book and falling away to revel is one of life’s great joys.
This story took a while to sculpt. 2017 feels like ages ago; in a way, it is. When I lost my mother, the grief was raw and encompassing. “I’ll write it out,” I told myself, fingers tapping. “Purge it from my system then try writing something more commercial.”
So I did, and put it aside. Except this story would not let go. Then Covid hit, and I became blocked and couldn’t make headway on my current work in progress. I set it aside, pulled “To Walk in the World” out, and fell in love all over again, flaws and all.
Flaws can be fixed, and I leapt down that rabbit hole, loving the new shape of the story and the genuine emotions that gripped and helped tell the tale.
Thank you so much for your readership and support. It means more than you know.
Order your copy here.
One of the pleasures of writing is the chance to meet other authors at various workshops, classes, and conferences, which is how I met the incredibly talented Jill Wallace, author of “War Serenade”. Jill’s new book, “Zebra”, is available for preorder.
Jill started her writing career as a screenwriter. Her first script was twice optioned by producers for movies. When disappointment flooded in with the collapse of her dreams, an author friend said, “To hell with them. Write a book.” So she did. It took her three years.
War Serenade won a number of awards, the most recent are the Golden Quill Contest Winner Desert Rose RWA, and Rone Awards 2020, for best audio book.
Zebra is Jill’s second novel and is largely based on her husband’s experiences, is set in South Africa and spans 4 decades.
Learn more about the author and her books at http://www.jillwallace.com
Friends by fate. Enemies by destiny.
A young white boy and a Zulu teen grow up together, building an extraordinary friendship as they explore the rugged Drakensberg mountains around a remote South African hotel during the apartheid era.
Jock and Papin forge an indelible bond while learning to love and appreciate each other’s cultures. Despite whispers from intolerant guests, the boys are oblivious to the consequences of their friendship. “There goes the zebra,” guests remark, claiming they can’t tell where the white boy ends and the black boy begins.
But the boys’ friendship is strong enough to conquer all—until society’s impossible expectations wrench them apart, leaving bitter disappointment and soul-deep wounds that will not heal.
A decade later, these long-lost friends converge on opposite sides of a harrowing battlefield, one a reluctant soldier, the other a passionate freedom fighter. Their intimate knowledge of the other’s way of life could be the very tools that save them…or destroy them. And an unimaginable choice will put Jock and Papin’s once unbreakable bond to the ultimate test.
Jill Wallace, author of the multi-award-winning World War II novel War Serenade, brings together a fascinating coming-of-age story with a compelling tale of human connection in Zebra.
Check out this wonderful review from a beta reader:
Ok. I’ve just this moment finished ZEBRA. All I can say is Wow. I have tears in my eyes. I don’t have the words to articulate my feelings right now…Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Now I sleep, but tomorrow I start reading ZEBRA again from the start.
~ Frank Giaramita
My note: I loved “The Power of One” by Bryce Courtenay and I suspect this coming of age tale in Apartheid South Africa will pack a similar punch. Can’t wait to dive in!