Sunday, November 22, 2015

Flamingos, Dust and Occasional Leopards by Sarah Knipping



Title: Flamingos, Dust and Occasional Leopards
Author: Sarah Knipping
Genre: Women’s Fiction



After a painful breakup Iris finds herself standing outside her mother’s doorway, her feet six inches deep in the Kenyan dust. A bra-less hippy version of her mum embraces her and so begins Iris’s adventure in Kenya…

Can Iris fix her broken relationship with her mum?
Can she mend her wounded heart?
Will an adventure in Kenya prove to be just what Iris needs, or will it prove to be all too much?






‘Our ride is here!’ Sylvia beamed, waving manically at the two men
driving towards them. ‘Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?’

Iris shook her head at her mother. Her mother knew full well that she
had never touched a motorcycle, let alone ridden one.

‘Oh, it’s so fun, you’ll love it!’ Sylvia swung a leg over the back of
one of the bikes and wrapped her arms around driver’s waist. She 
waved her arms around, signalling that Iris should do the same.

Iris took a breath. ‘Oh, why the hell not?’ she muttered to herself.
She was here to experience new things, after all. She climbed onto the
back of the bike, letting the driver guide her feet onto two little
foot pegs below her.

‘What’s your name?’ she shouted.

‘David,’ he called back in a thick Kenyan accent.

‘Hi David, I’m Iris,’ she said, smiling politely even though he
couldn’t see her face.

‘Hold onto me or the back,’ he shouted, it came out muffled through
his helmet. She reached for his waist and then changed her mind as a
strong whiff came off his puffer jacket and assaulted her nostrils.
Instead, she wrapped her fingers around the metallic bar behind her.

Iris let out a small scream as David hit the throttle. The little bike
teetered and bumped along the road, dust flying all up the sides and
into her eyes. She was sure she was going to get bounced off this
thing. They got to the end of the road and the driver turned quickly
at a ninety degree angle onto the next road, which was astoundingly
even more bumpy than the last.

‘Oh Jesus,’ Iris cried, her knuckles white as she clung onto the bike
for dear life.

 As they made their way further and further down the streets towards
town, they began to teem more and more with life. Goats, sheep, and
cows ambled their way along the roads. Women walking with babies
strapped to their backs. Men carrying carts filled with goods.
Motorbikes. Tuktuks. Bicycles. Cars. Buses. Trucks. Iris couldn’t
believe the amount of traffic that was packed onto each road.

They finally merged onto a tarmacked road and Iris saw the houses
disappear behind her and the buildings of the town rise in front of
her. She let out a breath as the ride got smoother on the paved
surface.




Sarah Knipping is a Wellington based author with a passion for reading, travel, and coffee. Having wandered her way across 37 countries, Sarah is now New Zealand based and focused on her writing (when she’s not busy in her wonderful day job, teaching).

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