Sandpaper

"Sandpaper" is set in a young African democracy against a back-drop of social change where traditional loyalties and modern politics struggle to find balance. Confronted with common challenges - threats of terrorism, shifting refugee populations, internal unrest - old habits and allegiances die hard. Finding a balance between the new and retaining what is of value in tradition is a persistent theme both for the state and individuals. These questions weave through the lives of one central family, their friends and neighbours. As the threads slowly connect and lives intertwine the need for change softens long-held positions and beliefs.

Angela Mackay has lived and worked in many African countries including Botswana, Somalia, DRC, Chad, Ethiopia, Zambia and Kenya, where she has lived different lives - as volunteer, NGO worker, UN professional, and diplomat's partner. Angela has lived as a member of both urban and rural communities. Following the collapse of Yugoslavia she also spent a number of years in the Balkans. Her most work took her to Afghanistan. Angela has now embarked on a book of memoirs of those years for her "descendants." This is her first novel. Angela lives in Ottawa, Canada.