From Modesty Blaise to Jade de Jong: an interview with Jassy Mackenzie

This interview focusses on the crime novels of the South African writer Jassy Mackenzie. She describes the early difficulties of publishing and how she has branched out into different genres and is at the present moment devoted mainly to ghost writing. It is clear that personal circumstances have influenced her writing as have many established British, American and South African writers. Mackenzie considers the pros and cons of the digital media and how kindle has made book buying easier and cheaper for many young people. She acknowledges that writers in general need to inspire their readers to make a change and especially in South Africa they have a particular responsibility towards the younger generation who have no real knowledge of the country’s notorious past. Mackenzie believes that present-day corruption must be rooted out but the popularity of romance and cosy crime may divert people’s attention from the country’s real issues.