A Drum Far Away

by Jayne Bauling

Because she wasn’t entirely sure of her feelings for Matthew Yates Jessamine had accepted his invitation to join him in Malawi where he was making a film but when she discovered the truth about Matthew she realised it had all been a pipe dream anyway. Unlike her new violent feelings for Carne Power. After his initial distrust of her and hers for him, it had not taken the pair of them long to fall wildly in love. But now that he knew what kind of girl Jessamine really was, why did he think her so unreasonable to want marriage?

187 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1985

About the author

Jayne was born in England but grew up in South Africa. After many years in Johannesburg and 17 women's fiction novels published in the UK, a move to White River, Mbombela in Mpumalanga, coincided with an exploration of new writing directions - youth fiction, short stories and poetry. Her YA novel E Eights won the 2009 Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa, Stepping Solo was awarded the 2011 Maskew Miller Longman literature award for novels in English, and Dreaming of Light won the 2012 Gold Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature and was chosen for the 2014 IBBY Honour List. Her youth short story Dineo 658 MP won the 2009 MML silver medal, while This Ubuntu Thing was shortlisted for the inaugural Golden Baobab award and The Saturday Dress was shortlisted for the same award in 2014. In 2011 she also won the inaugural African Writing flash fiction prize for Settling. She has twice been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Another youth novel Our Side of the Wall was shortlisted for the Sanlam Prize. Her adult short stories have appeared in The Bed Book of Short Stories (Modjaji Books), The Edge of Things (Dye Hard Press), African Pens 2011 (Jacana), Feast, Famine & Potluck (Short Story Day Africa), the e-anthology Behind the Shadows, and (the stories An Inappropriate Woman and Witch and Bitch)in the People Opposing Women Abuse Breaking the Silence annual anthologies (Jacana). Rage and Misfortune, her retelling of the OT Samson story was published online by Ludic Press. Poetry: Symbiosis won SAFM's Express Yourself prize, Fist was placed 3rd in the 2008 POWA Women's Writing Project and published in Murmurs of the Girl in Me, while Unschooled was published in POWA's 2010 anthology Stories of the Othere(ed) Woman and The Ladies Take Tea in POWA's 2012 anthology Sisterhood. More poetry in ouroboros review, Markings, poetandgeek, Ons Klyntji, Litnet and the Lowvelder.
Her latest novel is Soccer Secrets (Cover2Cover Books).
Visit her Facebook page Jayne Bauling Writer or follow her on Twitter @JayneBauling

Reviews

[MissKitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The heroine, Jessamine, has issues since her mother was a mistress. Not a bad thing and she was open about the fact that she is holding out for marriage. The thinks she may hve found her ideal husband so follows him to his location shoot. (He is an actor) there she meets the director, Carne, who is the Hero. Everyone on the set treats her contemptuously and she doesn't know why. Although, they are not lovers and the other actors hve their girlfriends or wives on the set. Turns out her 'boyfriend' is married. She is discouraged and plans to leave but Carne convinces her to stay and play along as his girlfriend so when the wife arrives, she won't suspect her husband. Carne is attracted to her since she really is quite beautiful and keeps trying to convince her to have an affair with him even if he knows she is holding out for marriage. He also tells her he will never submit to marriage, so they are at an impasse. I didn't like how the H, Carne was constantly blowing hot and cold towards her. He also became mean and called her nasty names when she would reject his lovemaking. He is supposedly 37 to her 21! Why did he think it acceptable for him to try coerce her to give up her virginity. The heroine had too many hang ups as well, but I liked how she stood up to him. I just didn't like it in the end when she went back to the house for him. I would have preferred her to have finally left him and for him to come after her.