By:Vuyolwethu Nzolongwane
What started as annual birthday gifts for her children has led to Dr Madeleine Muller publishing not one but two of her children’s inspiring stories, just months apart with each book catering for the child’s age at the time.
Runnin’ on the Flats is the first book that she has published and it is an action novella set in the Cape Flats with lots of local flavours. It is about 15-year-old fictional twins, Bonnie and Mila who grew up in the Eastern Cape. Although fictional, they are inspired by the issues and events that influence Dr Muller’s daughter and her peers. The book was published in August 2021.
The book is a collaboration between mother and daughter, with Dr Muller as the author and Coral Muller as the illustrator. The front cover of the book has the dark-skinned twin while the back cover has the light-skinned twin, these illustrate their respective superpowers which are revealed in the book.
“As Coral grew older and became increasingly interested in art, she illustrated many of my books. Collaborating with her to illustrate these publications have been one of the great joys of my life. I have always written with my children in mind as my main audience. I love it that they love my stories and seeing her bring the characters to life is a special privilege. We hope to do many more,” said Dr Muller.
Her biggest supporters have been her children and husband, she marvelled at how she would take weeks to write a story only for her daughters to read the book in one afternoon saying that “their joy and love for my stories and characters inspire me to write the next instalment.”
Dr Muller has a full-time job as a family physician specialist and senior lecturer for Walter Sisulu University (WSU) at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane. Writing the book was the smooth part for her as it is something that she had been doing for years but getting the books ready for publication was a little more work than the actual writing so she had to practice determination and patience.
Although publishing may not have been the ultimate goal, she said that what helped to take the next step in her writing journey was joining the East London based Emonti Creative Circle, a writing workshop and support group that started as a monthly Saturday workshop, teaching and covering the skills needed for writing in all types of genres as well as publishing run by Jen Moorcroft.
“I had never thought it would be possible to publish my books as I write for a very specific audience, in a very specific South African setting and did not even want to attempt to convince huge publication houses to take an interest but the self-publishing option was introduced by my writing group and I realised that I can write for an audience wider than my children,” said Dr Muller.
Her second book, Dimbaza Divine that was published a couple of weeks ago, was written for her 12-year-old daughter and introduces a new character, Nina who has a special gift for animals. It is set on a farm in local Keiskammahoek during the first month of the COVID19 pandemic. The book features the superhero twins, Bonnie and Mila and the readers can expect a bit of humour and can look forward to a mystery that needs to be solved.
The book Runnin’ on Flats can be found throughout East London and it is also available for purchase online or for direct sales can be ordered via WhatsApp on 074 102 8137.