A few months ago I received a package of Botho’s new book “Meetings with Death” and its a been an absolute thrill traversing through the pages with the fictional character Eana. Botho Lejowa is a young Motswana author of Novels Leah: A seer’s legend and her latest novel Meetings with death(2021). Meetings with death is centred around the life of Eana, a girl who can see death and has many adventures in the spiritual as well as the physical realm. Botho truly has a brilliant way of weaving stories about African superstition, spirituality, beliefs and ritual. These are very much tied to our existence and spills into our everyday lives. I had the pleasure of interviewing the immensely talented novelist about her modern day fantasy masterpiece.
This exchange is between Lewa Letsogile and Botho Lejowa on her latest book Meetings with Death. It took place via whatsapp.
Lewa: Hi Botho. Thank you very much for accepting my invitation and having this conversation. Firstly tell us a little about yourself.
Botho: Hi Lewa thank you for your invitation and engaging my work. I never really know how to answer this question. There’s a lot to choose from. I want to live by a coast somewhere(laughs).
Lewa: Great choice.Nothing is as glorious as a body of water. How has your writing journey been and what inspired you to become a writer
Botho : I read a lot. Since I was really young books have been my thing. Eventually you graduate to writing. I remember a substitute teacher taught us English for a term in high school and one assignment of hers was for us to write a piece. It was different because she didn’t give us restrictions. We could write whatever we wanted and that’s when I wrote my first ever fantasy story. I had so much fun with it and my teacher loved it so much I almost got a perfect score.
That’s when I started writing for real. Writing for me is when I feel the most connected to myself and everything around me. I’d do it even if no-one ever read anything I wrote.
Lewa: That is amazing, so tell us about your new book “Meetings with death”.
Botho : Meetings with Death is very close to my heart. I feel like I finally found my voice as a writer with this book. It’s a fantasy epic that’s inspired by Southern African belief systems in regards to spirituality, magic and our connection to the ancestors. Eana is a powerful woman, with ancestral talents and the potential to become a deity. Meetings with Death follows her story as she comes to terms with who she is while she fights for her life
Lewa:The topic of death is hardly ever mentioned in conversation.How did you come up with the theme of death and why?
Botho: Africans are naturally in tune with the ancestral realm. We “feel” things. “know” things. How many times have you heard people talking about certain dreams they had, or certain things happening to them just before someone they know dies? It’s the prevalence of premonitions that got me started and I thought it would be cool if I could personify death.
Lewa:And you did it so well! Why did you choose to write fantasy?
Botho : The fantasy genre chose me! I had no say in it. If I write a story it always becomes a fantasy.
Lewa: Take us through your publishing journey?
Botho: The first time I was published, I submitted sample chapters to a publisher in the UK and they liked them enough to request a full manuscript. They liked the manuscript enough to publish and that’s how Leah: A Seer’s Legend was published.
Lewa: What should people expect from reading Meetings with death?
Botho: You know people are inherently different in their experiences in life which forms the basis of their perception. Given that people experience Meetings with Death so differently that it’s difficult to prescribe what they’ll feel. However, I can say that it’s a very emotionally intense story and I hope that Southern African people who read it see themselves in the characters and can celebrate our potential to be represented in the fantasy genre
Lewa: Anything that involves spirituality often comes off as heavy. What was the hardest scene to write in Meetings with death?
Botho : Like I said before, Meetings with Death is emotionally intense to read and writing it was no different. There’s a scene just before Eana faces off with the antagonist, where she’s struggling to control her powers because of the emotional upheaval she was going through at that moment. There’s some very sensitive topics that come up and that was difficult to write. I don’t want to ruin it for those who haven’t read yet so I can’t go into much detail about the scene.
Lewa: Of course! No spoilers(laughs) What do you think should be done to improve the literary space in Botswana.
Botho : Giving people opportunities to write and exposing people to technical experts in the space can be career altering.
Lewa: I totally agree. How did publishing your first book change your writing process?
Botho: My first book opened me up to the possibility of a real audience and this naturally had me thinking about the quality of the product. I invested a lot more in editing, in bettering my craft. By the time Meetings with Death came along I had been practicing for years. I got into the creative space thought process that the first draft is meant to get the story out and on paper. After that is a million drafts that panel beats it into something worth reading, and then a million drafts worth of editing turns into to something worth giving out to the audience. Now I’m aware of structural editing Vs Copy editing Vs proof reading.
Lewa: What do you hope to achieve in your writing career?
Botho: I want to write. That pretty much sums up my aspirations for my career. I want to write and to produce great work. That’s why I don’t put too much pressure on churning out books. Quantity is not the goal. Quality is. So I’ll just keep writing and getting better and better. Hopefully I earn truckloads of money in the process.
Lewa: Awesome! I love this for you. Where can readers get access to your books?
Botho: Thank you.Meetings with death is available on all Amazon platforms globally including Kindle for the eBook version. If you live in Botswana then it’s also available for purchase at Exclusive Books at Airport Junction Mall in Gaborone
Lewa: Thank you for writing such an incredible story and I know a lot of people will enjoy reading this very riveting book as much as i did. A toast to you! Thank you so much for your time. It was a pleasure.
Botho: The pleasure is all mine.Its been a delight. Thank you Lewa.
