Goodreads asked C.M. O'Neill:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

C.M. O'Neill I came across Van Riebeeck’s journal. Although widely published, it’s not exactly something people read for fun. After that, I started reading South African history books with particular attention to the early days of the Dutch settlement. I was surprised that the journey from Texel to the Cape is nothing more than a one-liner. But after reading the journal, I discovered the intensity of that journey. Many of the significant events in my book are true, and they came from the journal. It provided most of the characters, and my plotline was as true to the real events as possible.

flag