About Jassy Mackenzie

Jassy, the second youngest of five daughters, was born in what was then Rhodesia and moved to South Africa when she was eight years old. She is a member of a writerly family; her mother Ann Mackenzie was a well-known short-story writer in her day, and her sister Vicky Jones, who lives in New Zealand, is a prize-winning author of children’s books.

Today, Jassy is the editor of HJ, a hair and beauty trade magazine. She also edits and writes for the annual publication “Best of South Africa”. She has had numerous non-fiction articles on a wide variety of subjects published locally and internationally over the past eleven years. She lives in Johannesburg with her partner, two horses and two cats.

Jassy says: “Writing a first novel is a scary process, almost as frightening as having a gun jammed against your head and being dragged out of your car by your throat. But while an act of violence is committed in a heartbeat, a novel takes much longer. Writing a book takes months. It’s like living with a psychopathic axe murderer whose sanity might snap at any moment. My belief in the story kept me going. I am inspired by the hope that one day I can share the terrifying, exhilarating essence of Johannesburg with readers across the world.”