Out of Air: A Story of Sheer Inspiration—PART II

We’re delighted to present our blog readers with Part II of Naomi Estment’s guest post, where she discusses her new inspirational novel, Out of Air. Pulling inspiration from conservation efforts in South Africa, her own life, South Africa history, and the African penguin, Naomi spent years crafting this remarkable novel and today, she shares with us what moved her to write Out of Air.

In case you missed Part I of this post, click here.

Below is Part II of our exclusive interview with Naomi:

**All images below are courtesy of Naomi Estment.

1. What is the underlying theme or message of this novel? Specifically, what do you hope readers will get out of this novel?

Out of Air is dedicated to women readers, for the purpose of their pleasure, entertainment, and enrichment. Favourable feedback from a number of them, ranging from early twenties to seventy (my mother is one of the proofreaders–and yes, scintillating sex does feature!), indicates that age is not a factor. Rather, it seems that various aspects of the multifaceted story resonate more soundly with different people.

The focus is Gina’s personal transformation in the process of her search for true love. She simultaneously attempts to live her best life and fulfill her dreams within the context of the world’s more encompassing challenges. South Africa’s socio-political and environmental problems provide the backdrop to her internal and external struggles, which collide increasingly as the adventure unfolds.

One aim is to share a South African perspective on a universal subject (search for love), hopefully encouraging some curiosity for this country in foreign readers, and fresh appreciation in those at home and expatriated. At the same time, acknowledgment is offered for Nelson Mandela’s phenomenal contribution to the global psyche concerning peace and freedom–echoes of which reverberated in the election of Barrack Obama.

Another objective is to inspire interest in the sea, sailing, and scuba diving, which has blessed us with such a wealth of experience. The book is an avenue for paying tribute to nature, as well as raising awareness for marine ecology and conservation. African Penguins constitute an instinctive subject, together with SANCCOB, because of the scale of their plight and rescue operations, reflected in recent international oil spill crises.

However, despite the profound nature of the background, Out of Air is an easy, accessible, chick lit read–full of dialogue and ditsy moments. My main wish is that it gives readers around the world as much enjoyment as I had writing it. To summarize the message, it is that love (in multiple forms) not only exists, but triumphs. In addition, Gina’s journey is ultimately about women coming into their own in the radiant light of their true selves.

2. You mentioned that Out of Air is written in part to “help raise awareness for the plight of African Penguins, recently reclassified as endangered.” Can you tell us a little bit about the dangers penguins have been facing and how Out of Air works to raise awareness around these issues?

The once abundant population of African Penguins has been ravaged over the years to the extent that it was reported nationally on Carte Blanche in March 2009 that if their numbers continued to decline as they were, there would be none left (save in captivity) in 15 years. Here’s a link to their informative article: African Penguins.

A foremost cause has been the devastating effects of oil pollution. The worst such event to impact South Africa’s coastline took place in June 2000, after the sinking of the MV Treasure, which jeopardized over 41% of the African Penguin species. Dyan deNapoli, also known as ‘The Penguin Lady’, was one of 12,000 international and local volunteers, who cleaned and cared for the 40,000 penguins that fought for their lives. Dyan recently launched her book The Great Penguin Rescue, which documents the remarkable story.

Various other factors have also contributed to the decline in African Penguin numbers, such as the mass commercial fishing of their food supply, harvesting of their eggs for human consumption (no longer prevalent), and large-scale collection of their guano in the 19^th century (for fertilizer). Without the compacted heaps of these droppings, the birds are often left without burrows, which means no-where to protect their young or shelter from the sun. Heat build-up sends the parents out to sea to cool off, making their offspring even more vulnerable.

Out of Air draws attention to this situation through the inclusion of the real-life sinking of the Apollo Sea, which took place in 1994, threatening 10 000 African Penguins. The disaster draws certain of the characters together at a strategic juncture in the story, consolidating the conservation angle of the book.

3. How can readers donate or help to save the African penguin?

SANCCOB offers simple ways to help, including feeding a penguin for five days for as little as R50, or adopting one online for R500, here:  www.sanccob.co.za.

Alternatively, nesting boxes can be purchased for R400 through the Dyer Island Conservation Trust at www.dict.org.za. The man-made burrows, such as these at Boulders Beach, assist penguins in breeding more successfully:

4. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

With regard to availability of Out of Air, I am currently approaching select agents and publishers, so hope to provide details in the near future, via the book’s official website, www.outofair.com, and my blog, Naomi’s Notes.

Here are a few more pictures to give you an idea of the setting:

In the meantime, another heart-felt THANK YOU for this opportunity to share some insight about the book and the plight of African Penguins!

About Naomi:

“Naomi spent two years as a full-time ‘dechi’ (trainee karate instructor), before qualifying as a computer programmer. Advancing to analyst, she then switched to direct marketing. Soon after marrying Dave, she joined him in an administrative role at NFB, where their working partnership began.

Throughout her corporate career, Naomi pursued creative interests, earning a diploma in interior decorating, advanced photographic training, as well as professional make-up and hair-styling certificates, all of which aid in running the couple’s studio.

A love of language led Naomi to study French and Spanish, complete a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course and teach part-time. Writing developed from there and she is currently busy with her second novel. More information is included on her blog Naomi’s Notes.”

Learn more about Out of Air here.

Tagged as: African penguin, apartheid, Naomi Estment, Nelson Mandela, Out of Air, penguin conservation, South Africa conservation, South Africa history, South Africa novel, wildlife conservation