Penny Sansevieri: Hello and welcome to the Fascinating Authors Radio Show. I’m here today with author, Peter Davies who is calling into the show from the UK. Peter, welcome to the call --
Peter Davies: Penny, thank you very much. It’s nice to be talking to you.
Penny Sansevieri: Peter, the title of your book is “Scatterlings of Africa.” Is this a story about war?
Peter Davies: Penny, no it’s not. It’s not a book about war, rather I tried to tell the story of individuals who actually caught up in the war. So, when you read it you get right inside each character’s head to see and to feel what it was like for them, soldiers, terrorists, civilians, man, and woman. If you let me quote one reviewer, Tammy Brady of Calgary in Canada --
Penny Sansevieri: Sure --
Peter Davies: She said, “Love, romance, obsession, hate, evil and suspense are all elements of Peter Davies’ superbly written novel, “Scatterlings of Africa.” The author has carefully crafted his characters and scenes to allow his readers to know and care about them and in doing so draw his audience to understand his message about the cruelty and many times unjust nature of war.” And I have to say Penny that that sums up better than I could what I wanted to do.
Penny Sansevieri: That’s really incredible. Now, what do you, what type of research went into this book, Peter? Have you, did you, have you been to Africa? Did you go there specifically to research this book?
Peter Davies: Oh, gosh. I didn’t need to go there to research it. I actually lived there and I fought in that war back in the 1970’s. So, I experienced a lot of what I wrote about, although of course, it’s not a true story. It is truly fiction --
Penny Sansevieri: Right
Peter Davies: That I know quite well, about what happened there.
Penny Sansevieri: Well, how long were you over there and how long ago was it?
Peter Davies: Well, gosh. As I said, the war actually took place in the 1970’s. But I was actually born there and brought up there. I only left Africa about 20 years ago. And I lived in Zimbabwe, which is where this, where my story is set about 50 years ago.
Penny Sansevieri: What do you hope that your readers get out of “Scatterlings of Africa?”
Peter Davies: Gosh, I would, the most important thing for me is the reader should enjoy my book. One critic said its part action and adventure and part love story. And that’s true. “Scatterlings of Africa” is a work of fiction and I wrote it to entertain people. But on top of that, Penny, I also hope that readers might learn something because there’s, a lot of people uninformed about Africa, especially Rhodesia, the place is now called “Zimbabwe.” My book as I just said is based on what happened during the 1970’s when Rhodesia was still known as the “bread basket” of Africa. Of course, people might ask how come now in July 2007 the people there are on the brink of starvation and they are. The country has the worst standard of life in the world. Women there have a life expectancy of only 54 years and men 57. Now just compare that with the USA where life expectancy on average is just under 70 years. It must be awful to live under conditions like that. And of course, what is happening out there now, all the pain and suffering of the millions and there are millions of people who are on the brink of starvation, millions more have fled the country. It can partly be attributed to miscalculations and mistakes that were made by western politicians and the media during the 1960’s and the 1970’s.
And you know, Penny, it just makes me think it may be a little bit, like what’s happening in Iraq today. You know the media and western governments insist on trying to impose western style government on people all over the world. It’s as if democracy was the only right thing to do. But you know, Penny, I don’t think that just democracy works in all places, all over the world. You know, people may not just be ready for it sometimes.
Penny Sansevieri: Right. Well, I think you’re absolutely right, and we do spend a lot of time focusing on Iraq. But there’s so much heartbreak going on in Africa.
Peter Davies: Especially in Africa. You know, I mean I can just, I can stream off a list of things at, Darfur is suffering dreadfully. There’s starvation, there’s murder, there’s wars going on all over Africa. It’s not good.
Penny Sansevieri: No. And it’s not good. Do you think there’s a solution?
Peter Davies: Gosh, that’s a really tough one. I just think that we have to hope that slowly but surely, people in Africa will find their own way of governing their selves and that it will work. But I fear it’s going to be a very, very long time. You know the real problem is that countries were created across lines of different cultures. Every, you know in the west we all think of Black people as all being one race of people.
Penny Sansevieri: Sure.
Peter Davies: But they’re not, you know. There are so many differences again, going back to Iraq. We all think they’re just Iraqis. Well, they’re not. They’re different types of religions. Well, in Africa, there are different tribal groups and they come from a very different culture and what happened was, you know countries were formed with different groups of people inside them. And they don’t get on well together and they will fight amongst each other or the one will seek to dominate the other, just like what’s happening in Iraq today.
Penny Sansevieri: Right.
Peter Davies: It’s happening in Africa all day, every day too.
Penny Sansevieri: And it’s been happening a lot longer or possibly even a lot more extreme.
Peter Davies: It certainly has been in Africa, must more so. I mean in Africa millions upon millions of people have died since the 1950’s when this whole thing began, immediately after the last war, World War that is. So, gosh and I just hope that the same sort of thing doesn’t happen in the Middle East really with ongoing constant wars there too.
Penny Sansevieri: Do you think there’s any resolution for this other than not imposing our western civilization principles on them? Do you think there’s anything that can be done?
Peter Davies: Well, I think the only thing that can be, that can happen now, Penny, is for them to sort it out themselves. And it’s not gonna be nice watching that happen because they’re going to kill each other. And they’re going to fight amongst each other. And lots and lots of people are going to suffer. But I don’t think we’re helping things by being there and trying to impose our ways upon them. We may be able to help by being there and just helping them form a government, whichever side wins. But, there’s going to be fighting for years and years and years.
Penny Sansevieri: Well, and it’s really a shame because it is such a beautiful country. And on your website, peterdaviesbooks.com you have some pictures and quite a bit of information, not just on your book but on Africa because it really is a beautiful country.
Peter Davies: Penny, you’re so right, certainly the part of the continent that I know, which is sort of south of the equator. It’s a huge continent we’re talking about here. But the pictures that, if you look at my website the pictures you will see come from a very lovely country, very dry, but very lovely country just south of Zimbabwe which is itself very peaceful and prosperous at the moment. And that’s got to be good news. It’s called Botswana and they have a wonderful game area there with all sorts of wildlife, called the Delta. This is a huge river that flows into the desert and dissipates. It’s one of the few rivers that, doesn’t flow into a lake or the sea. And it just becomes, well swamp really. And it is just crawling with game, free game of every kind. It’s really worth the visit. And it’s peaceful there. It’s not warring. Its people are not dying of starvation as is happening in Zimbabwe. It’s much more peaceful. And then right next door to that is South Africa which, although there’s a lot of crime there, it is a stunningly beautiful country, huge country as well. And really, worth people visiting I would say.
Penny Sansevieri: What inspired you to write “Scatterlings of Africa?” And tell us a little bit, about how you came about on the title.
Peter Davies: Ah well, first of all, how did I come about the title? There’s a great song called “Scatterlings of Africa.” It’s not about my book and it’s not about the era even that my book is set in. But “Scatterlings of Africa” actually refers to the fact or at least the theory that all human life began in the Rift Valley in Africa. And with each and every one of us living all over the world, all humans come from that place and that makes all of us scatterlings of Africa, which is rather quaint. It’s a great song too. It’s got a real African beat to it, which I love. And that I just say that the words “scatterlings of Africa” also appealed to me, and why I chose them for the title of my book, is because somehow I feel like a scatterling of Africa. I was born and raised there. And I’ve really become an exile. I’ve had to leave the continent of my birth because it’s not pleasant and particularly in the country that I began in --
Penny Sansevieri: Right --
Peter Davies: And so I feel that I’m a scatterling of Africa and that’s really, what the story is about. About what happened there in Rhodesia as it was in those days and Zimbabwe as it is today and that, there are many of us now, who are scatterlings of Africa in the first degree rather than in the second degree like the rest of the world.
Penny Sansevieri: And do you have any hopes to do future books?
Peter Davies: Penny, yes I do. In fact, I’m working on another book right now, which is only partly set in Africa. It actually begins here in London, England. And it will move into Africa as time goes by, but I better not say anymore about that because it isn’t finished yet. I’m still working on it.
Penny Sansevieri: If you could pick out any one at all to read and offer some comments on your book, who would you pick and why?
Peter Davies: Oh, Penny, you know I especially aspire to approval and hope for approval from other authors. And actually, I must say that I’m very grateful that my book has been rated by the American Authors Association as, and I quote, “A compelling novel that read like non-fiction.” It’s also been praised by a British journalist and author who specializes in Africa. In fact, wrote a wonderful article on Darfur some time ago. But, from my own genre of adventure, thriller books I particularly admire Bernard Cornwell and Wilbur Smith and others who are considered to be masters of the art. And these are among the authors that I hope might also read and comment on “Scatterlings of Africa” one day, Penny.
Penny Sansevieri: That’s wonderful. Peter thank you so much for being no the call. I want to give away, give out your website again, which is peterdaviesbooks.com. And it’s a great. It’s a wealth of information both, on you, the book, and the beautiful country, beautiful and tragic country of Africa. Peter, thank you so much for being on the show, I’ve really enjoyed our time together today.
Peter Davies: Penny, it’s been my pleasure. Thank you so much, too.
Penny Sansevieri: I wish you great success with your future books as well --
Peter Davies: Wonderful. Thank you, Penny --
