NOVELFEATS –– my writing adventure . . .

Nola Schiff
Mar 25
2 min read

Updated: Apr 6

. . . and other stuff.

I'm just about to launch A WHISTLING GIRL, the novel that has taken years to write!

The painting below is the cover for the book. I bought it in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe some years ago.

The artist signed himself 'Brian' and I couldn't find out more about him. I go back to Bulawayo often to see my family and always look out for more work by Brian. For me the picture signifies so much of my growing up there in the 1950's––The Years of Change! African countries were claiming independence from its colonial masters, the Korean War was coming to an end, Ike was running for the US presidency and so much more . . .

Writing A Whistling Girl has been an exciting challenge on a couple of fronts. How could I portray the many societal and cultural inequalities that plagued the community I grew up in––Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe?

Through the eyes of a young girl, how might I weave into the story the issues of religion, class, gender, and racial prejudice that I encountered during that changing and tumultuous time in colonial Africa? How might I convey a sense of place and time?

Ultimately, I drew inspiration from the notion that there were no great adventure stories for girls when I was growing up in the 1950s, so I decided there and then that I would write one of my own. My girl would be tough and feisty, and flawed of course, but she would have a terrific adventure! I called her Nick Doughty!

Check out the book info at this site! https://www.nickdoughty.com/

Explore the sidebar on the left. You can add media to add color to your post. You can also change the cover image, optimize the SEO Settings, add categories or tags, and much more. Spend some time discovering each tab and learn how you can enhance your future posts.

My Aunt Thora . . . https://www.nickdoughty.com/illustrator

She is 98 years old now --heading for her century, She captured my characters in cartoon form and has been a wonderful artist and guru --her knowledge of the savannah and all its beings have inspired me!

I hope you will enjoy this blog and the adventure ahead. It will not be a book promotion solely!

––But if you would like, please give me feedback or ask me any questions.

Here are some of the characters Aunt Thora drew for the book: