Hailing from South Africa, Daniel Boshoff claims to spend the majority of his time writing fiction, dabbling in poetry, and “building up my mustard empire”?which I would have thought was a joke, had he not also alluded to his culinary exploits of yore as a chef and baker of artisan breads.

In addition to that chef’s hat, though, he’s worn many others, including ceramic sculptor, sailor, and musician. But the one that seemed to stick was writer. And when you go to his blog, it’s immediately clear that this is a man who knows how to write. Ask anybody to describe a writer and they may just describe Daniel: brilliant, a bit reclusive, and fueled by coffee.

I didn’t just make that up. In fact, it’s one of his future famous quotes:

Coffee and cigarettes have written more words than any man or woman.
?Daniel Boshoff

Given that…

Last month, I was diligent about my research. I read a lot, but it was almost entirely a fact seeking mission, and quite frankly, it was exhausting. Don’t get me wrong – the books were incredible, and I’m so glad I took the time to read and take notes from them, but I also wish I hadn’t put so much off to the last minute that I was forced into such a rigorous schedule. As it is, we still have plenty to do before this baby arrives, and I don’t have much energy for anything – even reading delicious fiction – but I did find a book (at the beautiful new library that opened a couple of months ago right down the street – am I excited about this? Yes!) that was prefect for all the evenings I was sitting in a line of cars waiting to pick my husband…