Alberton author launches his book
Julius Schmidt, who lives in New Redruth, was born in South Africa in 1946 and studied at the University of Stellenbosch, earning a master’s degree in anthropology.
ALBERTON – Julius, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three years ago, is now retired and recently had his debut novel, Call of the Muezzin: Cape to Riyadh, published.
The CHRONICLE went along to chat to him about his book and what made him want to write.
“I’ve led an extremely interesting life, and was in the Diplomatic Service working in London from 1973 to 1975. In my career I did things most people only dream of doing and I was one of the youngest majors in the defence force,” Julius said. It was around this time that he thought about a plot for a book, where Arabs wanted to exchange oil for South African gold.
He also worked for the SABC on the radio side and was stationed in Port Elizabeth, where he had a regular spot every Thursday morning.
Eventually Julius worked for Liberty Life as a business development manager.
In 2003 Julius met Rona and they were married on a guest farm in Clarens in 2005. From his previous marriage he has two daughters, Liesel and Heidi, and a stepdaughter Jade.
In 2006 he and Rona opened Rona’s Coffee Place in Rifle Range Garden Centre.
After retiring Julius began his book on New Year’s Eve 2012 and it took him 21 months to finish it.
“After I’d written the book I wasn’t sure how to go about getting it published. Out of the blue a woman phoned me, Angel Moore, and spoke about self-publishing. Two editors assisted me with the book, George Sole and Leon March, and the cover was designed by my daughter, Liesl Laurens. The back cover photograph was shot by Alex Kotze. The publisher is Partridge Africa,” added Julius.
The book depicts the Kaufmann family’s involvement in the construction of the first railway line from Cape Town to the north of the country, following the discovery of diamonds and gold in the later 1800s, as well as the political scene in South Africa in the late 1800s and 1900s. It also deals with the worldwide oil embargo imposed by OPEC in 1973 and the South African embassy’s low-key involvement to try to secure crude oil in exchange for gold.
As it shares three generations between 1858 and 1976 of the Kaufmann family, dealing with an eye-opening aspect of South Africa’s history, Call of the Muezzin: Cape to Riyadh highlights the potential devastating effect a shortage of crude oil could have on any country’s economy and the potential bargaining power of metal such as gold.
Rightly so, Julius is very excited to have received the first copies of his book, and he will be launching it in a few weeks at a private venue.
The book is available on Amazon’s Kindle and through Barnes & Noble.
