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Author<\/h2>\nDi Van Der Westhuizen<\/p>\n
I am a 53 year old South African author who cultivated her love of fantasy when I escaped into a world of fairies, goblins and ghouls. A world where magic was probable and anything was possible.<\/p>\n
I love to let the readers see through the eyes of the characters, whether it be through rose-tinted spectacles or glasses muddied by cynicism.<\/p>\n
I have had articles published in the most popular family magazine in South Africa, the You magazine, and I am currently working on my latest book The Friendly Desert. I have been fortunate enough to find an agent in London for this book who has made the following comments regarding my writing: “it took me by surprise, the quality of your style, and your writer’s voice is wonderful – truly vivid characters and intriguing situations”.<\/p>\n
I had no idea that, when I wrote my first book, The Power Eater, that I had it in me to finish a complete book – of 130 000 odd words! It has been a wonderful experience to discover myself through my writing, and to resurrect a passion I had allowed to lie fallow for so many years.<\/p>\n
JMorbidius Ultimatum is bored. And impatient. He is eager to complete his macabre collection of the last surviving member of every species on earth and add his most prized specimen \u2013 the last human being! This insane character thrives on negative energy generated by the human race, and he seizes the perfect opportunity to make himself so powerful that no one will be able to stop him from carrying out his ghoulish plan. A whale that has beached itself on the banks of the River Novus has sparked an international media frenzy, and Morbidius knows that its death will cause such sadness, misery and negativity around the world that it will feed him enough energy to make him unstoppable.<\/p>\n
But the seeds of Morbidius\u2019s destruction lies in his greed and impatience. Before his diabolical plan was put into action, he was idly pursuing the beautiful morphus butterfly in the Amazon. However, in order to destroy the species, he has to first get rid of two pesky scientists dedicated to the survival of the butterfly. This puts Morbidius on a collision course with the scientist\u2019s daughter, Chilli, and her friends Ty and his three-legged baboon friend, Oubaas. The three friends are drawn into Morbidius\u2019s insane world and it becomes their mission to save Chilli\u2019s parents and, finally, the world. But Chilli first has to overcome her own fears before she is able to destroy Morbidius. The Power Eater, a symbol of her deepest fear, stands between success and failure. It is only when Chilli conquers her biggest fear that she finally realises the power she wields.<\/p>\n
However, Chilli, Ty and Oubaas are not alone in their mission. Gaia, the personification of planet earth, sends them the assistance they need to overcome the dangers they encounter. They meet a dead Admiral who spends eternity hunting hunters looking for their next trophy, an African shaman who helps them find the Valley of Bones (the legendary elephants\u2019 graveyard) where the Ivory Bow is kept that will destroy Morbidius\u2019s Dark Heart, and other weird creatures that help them in their task.<\/p>\n
As the whale weakens Morbidius grows more powerful, but the children\u2019s determination and fighting spirit remain undeterred, even in the face of the ghastly mutandii (Morbidius\u2019s army of genetically engineered giant cockroaches) that pursue them relentlessly. The children\u2019s final confrontation sees them facing Morbidius one last time, and they have the morbid pleasure of watching his destruction as his evil heart is pierced by the Arrowheart fired from the Ivory Bow. But this final meeting is almost the last they will ever have, and it is Gaia\u2019s intervention that saves them. She sends a pod of whales to rescue them from the murky depths of the Effluvian Ocean and transport them to the River Novus to resuscitate the dying whale, Vida (Spanish for \u2018Life\u2019).<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this place?\u201d Chilli asked with a tremor in her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you see is man\u2019s current and future handiwork. I must admit a grudging respect with the speed that they have achieved this fine array for me. You see, every mounted creature is the last surviving species of its kind that I have managed to obtain. Those empty pedestals are still waiting for their specimen. They haven\u2019t too long to wait and I am so looking forward to those three arrivals. They will take pride of place in my collection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s disgusting!\u201d blurted Ty. \u201cAnd how come the pedestal for humans isn\u2019t right at the end of the collection?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, the arrogance of the human race\u201d sighed Morbidius. \u201cBecause, young human, your kind will by no means be the last to die out. There may be billions of you swarming all over the planet and generally mucking it all up. But at the rate your kind is making a hash of nature\u2019s balance, humans won\u2019t be around all that much longer. If fact, if you look closely you will see that I have placed a pedestal for the humble cockroach right at the end of my illustrious line-up. It has been speculated that the only living thing that has ever survived atomic explosions was the humble cockroach. It seems they will outlive us all. In fact, that is why I bred them especially to staff my facility. I never have to worry about somebody dying on the job! Heh, heh. Just a little cockroach humour there. However, no matter how hard I\u2019ve tried, I just could not breed any intelligence into those ugly heads of theirs. At least they have the comfort knowing that beauty fades, but ugly is forever. Do you know that Detritus is convinced that he is named after a great Roman emperor? The poor dear doesn\u2019t know that his name means \u2018garbage\u2019? But then, names have no meaning to the dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll stop you! We\u2019ll tell the world what you\u2019re doing. Then you\u2019ll see!\u201d shouted Ty. This time it was he who clung to Oubaas\u2019s paw, but Oubaas was too busy suspiciously eyeing an empty pedestal that read: \u2018Baboon\u2019.<\/p>\n
Morbidius yawned in apparent boredom. \u201cOh puleeze, spare me the histrionics you stupid boy. That\u2019ll definitely work. Not. Here, let me show you why.\u201d He turned to the other side of the room and pointed to the test tubes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are my secret weapons. I don\u2019t need vast armies or missiles. My weapons are quiet but very effective. Lethal, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chilli didn\u2019t like the weird look of the goo in the test tubes. She was almost too afraid to ask the next question.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNotice the labels above each tube: \u2018Fear\u2019, \u2018Lethargy\u2019, \u2018Disharmony\u2019, \u2018Ignorance\u2019, \u2018Misery\u2019,\u2018Greed\u2019 and \u2018Hate\u2019? These are the ingredients of your planet\u2019s destruction that are being generated by mankind itself.<\/p>\n
Morbidius picked up one of the phials and turned it lovingly from side to side. \u201cThis precious matter is the perfect weapon for quelling any thoughts of those pathetic \u2018green revolutions\u2019 that bunny-huggers launch with tiresome regularity. It\u2019s quite startling really, even for me. As soon as one of your kind tries to help your planet, the outrage of the opponents creates such anger, that humans produce so much of it that I am almost overwhelmed with this stuff. My splendid collection that you see here is only in case of emergencies. In a place hidden from nosy parkers, there are preparations being made for my final moment of glory. That\u2019s when I shall be able to complete my magnificent collection of species in one fell swoop. In a heartbeat, all people everywhere will become subdued, or violent. It doesn\u2019t who or where they are. And \u2018ta-dah\u2019, my problem solved. It\u2019s such an elegant solution, don\u2019t you think?\u201d He gave them a lip-curling grin that distorted his features into a grotesque mask.<\/p>\n