Lorraine Mace: Friday Fiction Feature: No Entry

Gila Green's No Entry is this week's Friday Fiction Feature …

My novel No Entry features a Canadian environmental heroine bent on saving elephants from destruction on an elephant conservation program in South Africa's Kruger National Park. I wanted the book to be aimed at young adults because I believe they are the generation that needs to know –and most in the West don't seem to be aware—that their grandchildren might not see elephants, except in the odd zoo. They will be the most affected by animal extinction and we, as adults, have a responsibility to tell them.

I believe a novel with an admirable heroine, a daring best friend, an artistic African guide, and a cute, conservative boyfriend will reach more young people than a non-fiction book.

While the ugliness of elephant poaching is underscored, I did not sensationalize scenes. Elephant slaughter in plain language is enough. In addition, there's a sub-theme of terrorism in the novel because violence is universal. I purposely made the terrorist event happen in Canada because I want to get the message across that senseless violence doesn't just happen in Africa or the Middle East.

That attitude might allow some of us to feel off the hook. It happens everywhere and we all have to make sure we are part of the solution or there won't be one and that thought is too devastating to imagine. I refuse to go there and No Entry ends on a victorious note for a reason. No Entry is written with one thing in mind: to convince young readers that they, too, can help fight elephant extinction. It's more important than ever with Covid-19 as we see the tragic results of our movement into animal spaces. No Entry is also a fun, adventure novel for anyone, not just animal lovers. Teen girls will relate to Yael's quandaries even if they are not particularly interested in wildlife.

Author bio and social media links

In addition to No Entry, Canadian writer and editor Gila Green is the author of three novels, White Zion (Cervena Barva Press, March 2019), Passport Control (S&H Publishing, 2018), and King of the Class (NON Publishing). She has published two dozen short stories and writes often about immigration, alienation, and dislocation. No Entry is her first South African novel which she wrote based on her own memories of Kruger National Park. She felt compelled to write it when she discovered the horrors encountered by African elephants.

Social media handles:

@gilagreenfiction Instagram

Twitter @green_gila

FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100015609368304

Purchase availability

Paperback and eBook

Stormbird Press
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com.au
Blackwells
Barnes&Noble
Booktopia
Books-a-million
Waterstones