Beneath A Copper Sky

This book is my third novel and really completes everything I wanted to write about the South Africa I lived in back in the 1980s.

It is a story of slow and growing suspense, and the largest of all the characters and personalities is South Africa itself.

This is the book's blurb:

"Apartheid still rules in South Africa when Angela and Stephen take on a job as caretakers of a remote farm in the Midlands of Natal. Things don't go quite as planned from the moment they arrive, and the young couple find themselves coping with a situation they hadn't bargained for. But despite their initial misgivings, their affection for the country and its people grows. Africa and all its 'exoticness' creeps under their skin and into their hearts. However, it isn't long before underlying tensions in the area start to unsettle them. What are these undercurrents that are both alarming and dangerous? And who is their enigmatic neighbour?"

And here is its cover:

Here are a couple of the reviews readers have written. I am both humbled and grateful for the insightful appreciation:

Terry Miller:I am a huge fan of Valerie Poore’s books, mostly memoirs. I found her books about her life in South Africa fascinating. In this new novel, she uses her firsthand knowledge of living in South Africa during Apartheid to tell a story of a young couple trying to start a new life amidst the background of their growing awareness and understanding of racial injustice and the increasing undercurrent of violence. Through this story, I learned more about the history and complex story of apartheid and how it actually felt to be caught up in the struggle. The book is a real page turner with a twist I didn’t see coming. Highly recommended!

PS Wilson:  As a fan of Valerie Poore's books, I was excited that she wrote a novel dating around the apartheid unrest in South Africa. This story is about a young British couple hired to manage a large homestead in South Africa during the 1980s. Here they discover beautiful landscapes, the close community, and the fears for the Zulu Nation. Val, as in all of her books, has the talent of an artist painting a vivid picture with words. As we get to know the couple, we learn the hard truths of the racial divide forced upon them by law. Yet, this small community choses to ignore the law by embracing their Zulu staff with respect and appreciation, which does not go unnoticed by those who will do anything to drive the Zulu people off of their own land. This story is thought provoking and will stay in my thoughts for a long time.