Hotel Girls (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781499313086)

Nicole was born into trouble during Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence. By the time she was aged twelve, her country was at war. Landmines, ambushes and farm murders were rife. In Salisbury city bombings erupted alongside Mugabe's rise to power. Her parents' marriage was dissolved, her stepfather's real estate business collapsed, and her schooling ended. At school, she always received A+ for her art and creative writing. Acquiring an A+ for her blood group was a surprising bonus. In 1976, she was awarded first prize by the Rhodesian Institute of Allied Arts for writing. Her imaginative stories charmed her teachers, but not her conservative mother, who lacked respect for the arts, believing it was vanity. Back then, it was a woman's duty to marry early, stay at home and suffer the demands of her husband. At the age of 16, Nicole's parents wished her to marry. Instead, she rebelled and went to work with horses. From there, she forged her own way up the social ladder. She went nursing, afterward securing hotel work. This wide social exposure gave her a mine of information from which to draw when writing stories. My mother's madness motivated me. She was a tough cookie who raised me with a firm hand while denying education. Sending a virgin out into the world with an empty head, in the hope of survival was foolish, but that was the way it was done. Nicole's writing strives to deliver entertainment and glimpses into a bygone era. Her stories include some historical facts and medical truths, so readers get more than entertainment. She uses sex scenes and strong language where relevant because life is a rose that includes pricks.