And, like, from my experience and my memories, like, it seemed like they were everywhere. Like, in the book, there’s, like, this infestation of dik-diks, which is really like, little, small, tiny antelopes that kind of just run all over the place. And I was able to work in a lot of my experiences that I had there. And that just seemed like the best way to kind of honor that experience that I had. And when I became a writer, I was looking for, you know, someplace to set my novel. And it was just a few years after apartheid at that time.Īnd so, to talk to people at the mall, who might not have been allowed at the mall, just like a few years prior, so it was just something that kind of settled into my heart, and I just really cherished that trip. And so, that was just kind of seeing, you know, the differences between the different classes and just how the culture was. And we saw, you know, people who had a lot of wealth also. And it was just, like, such a joyous and enlightening experience. And I remember, a man who just had a herd of goats, and he was just so proud of his goats, and, like, he wanted us to come and pet them. This is the best, like, summer job park ever.” And so, we traveled to South Africa for a couple of weeks, and we were able to tour a lot of the townships and see, like, kind of this abject poverty, and at the same time, see people who were so giving in, like, what little they did have, and see what they were proud of. And their summer trip was to go to South Africa. And they’re a bunch of high schoolers who came to learn about those issues and how to best protect our planet.

Way before I even had a thought of becoming a writer, I was a peer counselor for a summer program at Texas Southern University for a program called Renewable Energy and Environmental Protection.

Nicky: Oh, well, that’s kind of an interesting story. How did a systems analyst from Texas find her muse in South Africa?

Jean: Hello, this is Jean Marie Ward for “Buzzy Magazine.” With me today is Nicky Drayden, the award-winning author of “The Prey of Gods,” “Temper,” and the soon to be released “Escaping Exodus.” Welcome, Nicky.

Escaping exodus by nicky drayden