Featured Interview: Allan Low

[kandscreeley]

Today's Chat with Sarah features Allan Low author of "Dumb" Orphans, an upcoming book of the month.

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1. How do you come up with ideas for your stories?

To start a story, I need to observe a situation that I find striking and would like to tell readers about. For example, in "Dumb" Orphans, the key observation was meeting with a headman of a community in Eswatini who would not hold a community meeting about our proposal for helping with preschool education. He pointed to the briefcase beside him and said: 'There is no need for a community meeting. I have the community in here. I know what they want.'

From that core observation, I developed ideas for incidents around it. As I put these incidents together more ideas come about developing the story and formulating a plot.

2. Who or what has been the biggest influence in your life?

My late wife Anne. Anne agreed to put her anaesthetic training on hold to leave the UK and come with me for a two-year contract to Mbabane in Swaziland. Within a week she had got a job in the town Medical Clinic and became a key member of our new community. This ability to take on new challenges and embrace them was the hallmark of her life as a wife, mother, medical practitioner, teacher and mentor. I admired the attributes he had, which I didn't. She was a stickler for rules and customs, I wasn't. She was empathetic and saw other people's side of things. I didn't. She thought things through. I was a big-picture person. She was firm-minded, even stubborn, I was flexible. Anne died before I wrote "Dumb" Orphans, but I like to think that some of the things I learned from Anne are in Aiyasha.

3. Let's discuss your book "Dumb" Orphans. Why orphans?

I think the more interesting question is why "Dumb"? The orphans issue is addressed in the answer to the question 4.

The term dumb is often used to refer to those who are thought to be inferior, especially in an intellectual or educational sense. As, for example, in Dumb Martian by John Wyndham, where Lellie, the Dumb Martian is exploited by her not-very-smart husband/owner. The idea of those with less opportunity for education being dumb and therefore inferior and exploitable is prevalent in many societies, but was especially so in Apartheid South Africa.

I have been told that the use of the word dumb in the title is a marketing blunder as it is offputting for Moms and teachers. Maybe not for children though, given their superior inquisitive natures? Sadly, it is moms and teachers who get to procure books for children.

4. The book takes place in South Africa. Are orphans more prevalent there than other areas of the world?

Actually, as you find out on the last page, the story takes place in Eswatini. The World Food Programme has called Eswatini "The Country of Orphans" www.wfp.org/stories/country-orphans. They use this title for a reason. Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) has the highest rate of HIV infections in the world. 35 percent of women and adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 49 years are HIV-positive. A staggering 58 percent of the kingdom's children are orphans and vulnerable children largely due to the impact of HIV/AIDS. One in four children has lost one or both parents and at least 38 percent of the rural households care for at least one orphan.

So the answer to the question is Yes.

5. Which of the characters is your favorite?

Elah is my favourite character. She is always enthusiastic. She was excited to learn about the wonders of the Bundu from the Bundu Bunch, although she was too young to be one of them. She looked on her exile trip as an exciting adventure and wondered at the places and animals she saw along the way. She was tickled by the strange customs at the English boarding school. She marvelled at the city of London and the executive lifestyles of Audrey and Olivia. The one thing that dampened her spirits was her inferiority complex. She was forever comparing herself with The Bundu Bunch, and coming up short in her own mind. She was sad that she could not match their talents and did not achieve their international success. Worst of all she knew that Aiyasha would never be as proud of her as she was of the members of the Bundu Bunch. I was glad that in the end she found out otherwise and could let go of her inferiority complex.

6. What part of writing the book was the most difficult?

I did not find it difficult to write the story. Once I had the topic in mind (the plight of AIDS orphans) the themes of bullying, discrimination, prejudice, friendship and teamwork followed and the plot fitted into place as I wrote.

The difficult part is marketing. The children's book market is a very closed shop. Moms and teachers are reluctant to experiment beyond the established set of books and authors.

7. What lesson do you want readers to learn from this story?

Perhaps there are three main lessons from the story.

1. Those living in dire circumstances due to bad luck, discrimination or prejudice should not lose hope that these can be overcome with
determination, perseverance and a CANDO attitude.
2. There needs to be a greater awareness of the plight of the left alone, left behind and hidden victims of one of the greatest global
pandemics of our time.
3. As the philosopher John Rawls argued, to provide genuine equality of opportunity, society should make an inequitable allocation of early
years support and education resources in favour of their most disadvantaged children.

8. What's next for you? Any more books coming?

In the pipeline are a series of three picture books featuring the adventures of The Bundu Bunch, which together show how kindness can conquer conflict.

To get started on my next story, I'm waiting to observe, or remember, a situation that strikes me as interesting enough to warrant telling people about.

I like to end with fun questions.

9. Where's your favorite place to travel?

Greece. Walking on olive-clad mountainsides leading down to crystal clear sea, with sleepy Tavernas along the way. What could be better?

10. What's your favorite book?

Jock of the Bushveld. Having a friend who knew the author swings it.

11. Rugs or wood floor?

Wood floor for its clean look and ease of care. But there needs to be at least one rug for my dog to lie on.

12. Rain or snow?

Rain. I can't ski and I'm too old to learn. You can't play golf in snow and tobogganing gets you nowhere except to the bottom of the hill you have just climbed up.

[Atifdesigner786]

Thanks for sharing this thrilling interview with Allan Low!

I was quite captivated by Allan's sharing on how he gets inspiration for his stories. Is it not amazing how a single, striking observation becomes an entire story? The part about the headman of Eswatini illustrates very well how actual life happens to impact storytelling.

Anne Low's effect on Allan's life and work is rather moving. Obvious is how her attributes influenced his view, therefore the characters in "Dumb" Orphans. How Allan weaves together what he learned from her into his writing is so moving and inspiring.

The title itself is quite deep with the usage of the term "dumb." It's nice the way Allan maneuvers himself with challenges to have to use this kind of provocative term to draw attention to key issues. The discussion around the plight of orphans, more so in Eswatini, is really an eye-opener on something so critical yet overlooked.

Though Elah does appear as an interesting, complicated character, it is fantastic to hear about the journey of self-growth she has overcome in all of this. It's always remarkable how characters can gain the strength to move past insecurities and find their way toward self-acceptance.

Yes, the field of marketing children's books could be really tough, and Allan's reflections on this challenge resonate with many authors. It's heartening to hear about his plans for future books and how he is planning to continue exploring themes of kindness and conflict resolution.

Finally, Allan's responses to the fun questions really help add a dash of his personality to the interview. Greece does sound like a dream destination, and the favorite book, Jock of the Bushveld, is a real classic with its rich history itself.

Looking forward to reading "Dumb" Orphans and how Allan's experiences and insights come alive in his writing!

[Abdul Jabbar 16]

Featured Interview: Writing an article under the title **Allan Low** is a perfect opportunity to get acquainted with the life story of the person and his thoughts as a professional and as a person. The overall structure of the book is based on a series of interviews which enable Low to voice his opinion concerning various issues that include leadership and innovation together with his experiences in his lifetime.

**Pros:**

1. **In-depth Exploration:** It also makes the book provoking and valuable for all those who are interested in the peculiarities of Allan Low’s work as the interview format gives rather deep insights into the author’s mind.

2. **Accessible Language:** The book is written in non-technical terms so that anyone who is interested in the case can understand it.

3. **Practical Insights:** As such, it is a useful source of leadership and innovation tips and informations, which are transferrable across different fields.

4. **Engaging Narrative:** This makes it easier for the reader to follow through and understand what has been said in the interview, besides, it is in conversational pattern, which makes the reading rather smooth and quite entertaining.

**Cons:**

1. **Narrow Focus:** Unlike history that sometimes interconnects a number of industries and fields that people within it go through, this book is specifically about Allan Low hence might not be very satisfying to the reader who is looking at getting a wider understanding of the industry or field that the gentleman operates in.

2. **Limited Audience:** The content provided is especially related to persons who had previous experience with Low’s art, or who are involved in the specific sphere he is associated, which might be considered a disadvantage for a broader audience.

3. **Repetitive Themes:** There is an aspect of redundancy ASZ some of the most dominant themes and topics discussed might sound familiar if the reader is quite a scholar in that particular discipline.

Overall, "Featured Interview: “Allan Low” is one of the most interesting pieces I have come across for anyone who would like to get insights of a professional. They are insightful for giving an encapsulation of Low’s professional philosophies and endeavouring further into her professional practice experiences besides catering to all due to its specificity and the repetitiveness provoking possibility of the selected approaches. Although there are a few qualms that can be highlighted from the book, it is a good reference material for anyone who wants to make petty improvements in their leadership and innovation at work.

[Efe Good Manu]

Nice work