Third time lucky for Elgin-based writer
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AN ELGIN-based author has finally published a book documenting his experiences working as a crime reporter in South Africa.
It has been a labour of love for Marius Louw, whose first manuscript was lost when his laptop was taken in a house robbery.
Undeterred, he purchased a replacement computer and sat down to write the book again.
Disaster struck once more when this second laptop was irreparably damaged, putting his manuscript back to square one.
His perseverance over a decade paid off however when, on his third attempt, Adventures of a Crime Reporter in South Africa was finally published.
Marius, who moved to the Elgin area just over a decade ago, said the book is a catalogue of adventures he experienced during some of his media assignments working for daily newspapers in South Africa.
One episode in the book takes the reader into street riots incited by drug barons while in another chapter the author recalls feeling the wind of passing bullets as he fled for cover during civil unrest and xenophobic attacks in the townships.
Serious rail and road accidents were also a regular occurrence, and Marius recalls how he attended the scene of a road traffic accident that had a personal connection.
Later on he tells of helping to recover a body from Cape Town's iconic Table Mountain.
Born in Pretoria in 1964, Louw was the youngest son of a detective and a journalist and developed a passion for writing as a child.
The book – available through Amazon – features the stories and experiences of real people in the wider context of the country’s political and societal unrest.
He became a newspaper reporter at the age of 17, working at a variety of daily newspapers while studying journalism in Pretoria.
He went on to jobs in various newspapers and worked up to the position of editor.
Now based in Moray, Marius continues to write while managing a catering business. He is currently working on his next offering, which is also based on personal experiences.
