Local author, Daphne Olivier, has always wanted to write, but nursing, raising a family, running a rose nursery and farming got in the way, and it was only when she retired that she had time to do what she has always dreamt of doing.
Her first book, The Peacock Throne, published by Wild Child Publishers, is based on a search for the treasure that was lost when the Grosvenor was wrecked on the Wild Coast in 1782. It is available at www.wildchildpublishing.com
The Kennaway Woman, published by Melange books, is a historical novel about the shipload of Irish women who landed in East London in 1857 to provide wives for the German Legionnaires who had settled in the Eastern Cape. Although Daphne's memoir, The Way it Was, was written primarily for her family, her publisher liked it so much that it has now been published and is available to the general public. Her latest book, The Pegasus Project, is a thriller based on a genetically modified product that goes horribly wrong. All these are available from the author and the publisher at http://www.melange-books.com/
When not writing novels, Daphne writes science fiction. Several of her stories have been published in American and Canadian magazines.
Daphne is at present working on a historical novel set in South Africa during the Boer War. Although Ladysmith is central to the story, some of the action takes place in Howick. It will be a while before this one comes on the market, but the subject is fascinating and the book will be well worth the wait.