The plot was: a girl becomes a woman and starts to dismiss customs, too easy! But as the writing progressed and my relationship with my daughter alias Her Majesty grew challenging, I replanned the book. It now began with the daughter's conception.

Months later I put the book on hold. It had become way too emotional to write it. It made me relive very important events of my life like the birth of my daughter with me trying my best to abide by the Tahitian giving birth rules (no crying, no yelling, no swearing).

My mother buying me an encyclopaedia set because she couldn't keep up with my questions anymore: Who started the French Revolution, what is the medical terminology for the neck? Who knows! She was much more comfortable with my questions about inventions: Who invented the broom? A woman of course!

Frangipani Book Review Excerpt The Frangipani tree thrives in the tropics and blooms clusters of white to pale yellow flowers. It is the tree under which Materena and her love kiss for the first time -- and the tree which Materena plants for her newborn daughter. Complete Review

Anyway, there were emotions galore. My mother received a lot of phone calls from me thanking her for being such a good mother and sorry I criticized your favourite priest. Sorry too for all those times I dismissed you with the back of my hand which my daughter was now doing to me.

Soon it became imperative that I wrote Frangipani and I was off, no holding back, writing till the early hours of the morning, pouring out all my emotions as a mother and a daughter into the novel and reminding myself that I was once the fruit that wanted to fall as far as possible from the tree.

Frangipani is dedicated to Turia - my ally, my inspiration.

My daughter still inspires me in many ways.