Troy Blacklaws is an author from South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. He was born on 9 September 1965 in Natal Province

Natal Province

Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...

. After his schooling at Paarl Boys' High School

Paarl Boys' High School

Boys' High School, known in Afrikaans as Hoër Jongenskool Paarl is one of the oldest schools in South Africa. Built in 1868 the school's rich history is filled with tradition and pride. The school is situated at the heart of Paarl, a town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa...

 he studied at Rhodes University

Rhodes University

Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...

 before being drafted. After his time in the army Blacklaws began teaching English.

Blacklaws' first published novel, Karoo Boy, was released in 2004. The book was described as "a riotous vision of 1976 Cape Town" in Anderson Tepper's Village Voice review and "sensual, cinematic" in The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

. Chris Martin

Chris Martin

Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...

, of the band Coldplay

Coldplay

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...

, called Karoo Boy "the most colourful book I have ever read".

His second novel to be published, Blood Orange, the story of a white boy in Africa, was released in 2005 and is a fusion of memoir and fiction. The novel was adapted to the stage by Blacklaws, Greig Coetzee and Craig Morris.The play, directed by Coetzee, was first performed by Morris at the Grahamstown Arts Festival, South Africa, in July 2006.

In 2010 Blacklaws published a fable: Bafana Bafana : A Story of Soccer, Magic and Mandela. Art by Andrew Stooke. Vikas Swarup, author of Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...

, had this to say of it: "A magical fable. Troy Blacklaws effortlessly conjures up the sights, sounds and rhythms of the South African landscape."