Love in the Wild

Foreword “Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer’s paradise, a hunter’s Valhalla, an escapist’s Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. To a lot of people, as to myself, it is just ‘home.’” – Beryl Markman This is a retelling of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s classic story Tarzan of the Apes. I make no claim that I have written it better, but I believe that this version will find a home with modern readers who love adventure and steamy romance. When I set out to write a modern version of Tarzan, there was one thing I wanted to do, which was tell a love story. As Burroughs always said “There is no Tarzan without Jane.” That quote always stayed with me, and I wanted to make sure that the readers saw my heroine Eden for what she is, a partner to Thorne, my vine-swinging hero, someone who is his true other half. You will find that much of Love in the Wild varies from Tarzan not just names but also the location which here is set in Uganda rather than coastal Africa. I have emphasized real towns, real jungles and researched thoroughly the society which characters like Thorne’s friend, Bwanbale lived in, to make an accurate portrayal of the current culture. The friendship between Bwanbale and Thorne is a crucial one. Thorne representing ancient man who thrives on instinct and Bwanbale representing the nobility and open-heartedness of modern man. Eden is also crucial to Thorne’s character. She represents the outward manifestation of his heart and soul. I enjoyed playing with symbolic imagery, such as the power of water to represent healing and rebirth throughout the novel. The themes of gold and power are also important to consider as you read. At the end of this book, you will find a small group of book club discussion questions to engage in further discourse with your fellow readers. I wanted to make a more mystical connection to the jungle than the original story. The ancient tribe from the jungle that speaks to Thorne is fictional, but the ancient tribe of the Batwa which is mentioned within the novel is real and the members of that tribe have been displaced from the jungle which was their home for thousands of years. I chose to give the animals of Africa a voice, as seen through brief glimpses of the character Keza, the gorilla who raises Thorne. I believe it is important that the reader see these animals as powerful and important forces in the world by giving them a voice within these pages which I hope will inspire readers to care more about them in the real life. I hope as you turn the page and begin this journey you will sit back, enjoy the story, and let yourself believe, for a moment, that magic still exists in the world…