Sunday Leisure Reporter

THEY say we human beings are masters of creation and those creations are bound to the creator’s whims and tunes . . . 

If that is the case a local renowned novelist, Ericah Gwetai, has a different story to tell after she was “attacked” by a character from her latest novel — Embracing the Cactus.

Gwetai, who is mother to the late novelist Yvonne Vera and is best known for her bestselling book — Petal Thoughts, says she suffered a stroke in December last year while she was writing her latest book.

She blames the stroke on one of the characters, which she created, in the book.

“It all happened one evening when I was seated writing my book. As a writer one has to assume the role of the character to make it realistic. It was when I was writing a chapter where the character fell into a pit and was burned in the process as the pit was alight with ashes from burnt tree chippings. That is when I suffered a stroke and had to spend the night in hospital.

“The character in the book is a man’s mistress and is riding on a donkey-drawn cart with her husband’s son from his first wife. This is when the son informs her that he was going to inherit her to be his wife when his father dies. Because she is scared and not feeling secure of what the son intends to, she jumps off the cart and lands in the fiery pit and is injured. This is how I suffered my stroke. I had assumed her role and felt the pains of the burns,” said Gwetai.

She said it took her approximately a year to complete the book. The stroke did not hinder her but gave her inspiration to complete it.

“I was paralysed on one side but I recuperated after medical attention. I have turned away from the usual writing techniques where books are all so predictable but have mastered the art of suspense and tell a story as it is. This is my way of liberating writers from the shackles of novelists,” she said.