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A FAMILY AFFAIR

A heart-warming, intimate story of two women and their children.

"A Family Affair", uninvited and unwanted, found a fertile place in my mind which was, and still is, seeking for answers.

Whether it’s Irving Stone’s epic “The Agony and the Ecstasy” saga of Michelangelo, or Henry James’s “The Bostonians" , or even contemporary Sarah Waters’s “Tipping the Velvet” , serious writers have not been shy to enter the forbidden domain. Of course, Oscar Wilde, one of the most memorable of writers, was convicted and imprisoned for his “Unmanly Manhood” , and remains today the epitome of homosexuality.

The Bible makes reference to men who give up natural relations for the unnatural, certainly eluding to homosexuality. Yet, in perhaps the greatest of paradoxes that homosexuality has spawned, the Church, by forbidding priests and nuns since the twelfth century to marry, unknowingly and unwittingly has contributed to the great unnatural within its very bosom.

The issue remains painfully unresolved, both within and without the Church. Anglican Bishops too, my own denomination, struggle with homosexuality not only amongst the laity but also amongst its own ordained bishops.

"A Family Affair" has taken 5 years from conception, to the completion of the first draft.

It's a difficult book, the story of family abuse

  • women who find solace in one another's company

  • their illicit sons and daughters

  • a Christian homophobe who takes delight in targeting them with her barbs.


    “All art is a media of questions. It raises questions and gets people to think. Evangelicals typically want to tell people what to believe: ‘bumper sticker Christianity’ reduced to a few words. The truth is that life is about ambiguity. Good fiction accepts the world we live in and enables us to grapple with it.”

    - Nick Page


  • Of Sandra and Scott Thomas who have accepted that their only son Peter will have no issue, only to discover in their dotage that they have a quiverful of teenage grandchildren.

  • Of delightful Ouma Jansen, who turns blind at 25, and discovers that friendship with God is something to be cherished, only to be devastated by her evil son Jan.

  • Janet Twycross

    • Janet is the first of two main characters in our book. Today we meet her for the first time. Born into a privileged family she thrives at St Catherine's, a private school for girls, where she savours her first taste of the forbidden fruit.

  • Of a small boy, kidnapped by his father. Finally, twenty years later, Klein-Jan is reunited with his family and his roots.



    "The writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master - something that at time strangely wills and works for itself."

    - Charlotte Bronte


    Such has been this book. The subject matter, sexual abuse and lesbianism, are not issues close to my heart, but this book was written whilst searching for answers to a tragic event I once witnessed.


    "The characters I have the least in common with are the ones I have the greatest success with. The further a role is from my own experience, the more I try to deepen it."

    Paul Newman

  • Santie Veenstra

    • Santie is our second protagonist. She leads an idyllic childhood - until her mother suddenly dies. Life takes a terrible turn for the worse as Dad ...

    Ultimately, against all odds, Santie is elected to the highest court in the land. Many trials and tribulations await her, and a beautiful affair with her best friend.


SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTION

Professor Santie Veenstra speaks powerfully on the subject of an independent, enshrined South African constitution. In the light of the South African election on April 27, 2009 I decided to release this chapter, even though it belongs much later in book 3.

Enjoy. Read more: Professor Veenstra's inauguration … SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTION.


"Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It's one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period."

- Nicholas Sparks, author.

"Whilst the last page of the first draft may be the most enjoyable moment in writing, the editing phase which follows hard on its heels is sheer hell! Period! Nevertheless, a very necessary part of the process."

- Bernard Preston.


The last page is complete! A FAMILY AFFAIR, Preston's first true novel is currently being editored. Sheer hell.

As a tidbit, to whet your appetite so to speak, the first of three books will be made available free of charge. Chapters will be added periodically.

Are you too struggling with the question, Is Homosexuality Wrong?

TESTING THE WATERS

It goes out without saying that before embarking on anything major in life, it's worth stopping and pondering. This is true for any of us, but particularly for the Christian. Is this book from the heart of God, or the seat of the Devil? You, dear reader, must be the judge.

When this book arrived, uninvited and undesired into my psyche, I confess to being shocked. It was not a subject of my choosing. So, I wrote a synopsis and sent it to four Christian women whose judgement I value and trust, expecting a thumbs down from all four. They come from the same conservative Christian tradition that do I.

All four said: WRITE IT! And so it is, after five years of tribulation, you have A FAMILY AFFAIR. I hope and pray that this story stirs and brings you as much pleasure and discomfort, in equal measure, as I have had in writing it. I promise you no soothing of conscience or easing of spirit. Some of it you will find shocking.

E-book

A FAMILY AFFAIR IS a long book, the equivalent of three ordinary novels.

BOOK ONE: This is available for free, and can be found below, chapters being added periodically.

BOOKS TWO and THREE: These will be available as E-books once the editing phase is complete.

BOOK FOUR: I'm ruminating!

Here are the contents of A Family Affair. It's pure fiction.

BOOK ONE