The role of imagination

In her debut novel writer combines Cyprus’ past with magical realism finds PAUL LAMBIS

Sarah Fenwick is no stranger to Cyprus’ music and art scenes. Best known for her soulful jazz vocals, which have captivated audiences around Europe, Sarah is also a talented painter and writer with a desire to explore the connections between writing, music, and art, while establishing her own mark in that world.

“My experience as a jazz singer inspires my paintings with musical themes, and I am keen to transform life and the universe’s big ideas into visual art,” Fenwick said.

In addition to her successful music and artistic career, Sarah is also an accomplished writer, best known for her non-fiction Digital Marketing for Musicians, a book she penned and self-published in 2022, where she was able to share her career advice as a jazz singer of three decades, as well as Transformation Journal, where she sought to help people draw out their creativity by writing down and gathering their ideas in one place using a technique of her own.

Her latest work though is a novel, The Light Walker, described as a story of mysticism and Cyprus’ enigmatic past, drawing inspiration from the island’s colonial history, the impact of the division on people’s lives and psychology, and the search for unity.

Fenwick was born in Kenya in 1966, later attending the University of Wisconsin in America, where she studied journalism, advertising and mass media. “Being half Cypriot with roots also in the United Kingdom, we frequently travelled to Cyprus for holidays, but after finishing my studies in 1991, I decided to establish permanent roots here.”

Sarah, who recently migrated to Germany, is looking forward to gaining experience as an artist in contemporary Europe’s first reunited country. “Having lived in Nicosia, Europe’s last divided capital, it is an important and contrasting new chapter in my life, and I am excited to see what will develop on the artistic front,” she added.

But she will take with her, her life’s purpose to share the positive spirit of universal creation, which has been her driving force since the first note she sang as a child. “Pursuing art and learning to paint in middle life was an extension of this purpose.”

Over the years, she has transitioned from facts to a more relaxed, creative side, “which is where I am the most comfortable and find the greatest rewards.”

The release of her debut novel, The Light Walker, was an important milestone, but Fenwick believes that tapping into the force of her own imagination paired with realism was another turning point.

“I chose the magical realism genre because of the gritty facts about the island’s history combined with the elusive search for the miracle of peace and harmony,” she told the Cyprus Mail.

“Several generations have grown up with the experience of division, the remnants of colonialism, and the trauma of living in a conflict zone, yet they find the strength to walk in a minefield where history overlaps the present moment. By asking ‘what if?’, the plot examines various aspects of Cyprus in an innovative and fictional way.”

She faced a few challenges while writing her book, one of which was abandoning the mindset of a journalist, trained to ask where, what, who, why, and when, to exercising patience and allowing her characters to develop slowly rather than revealing everything in the beginning. “One of the most surprising things I discovered while writing my book was the importance of conflict and drama in moving the story forward, as well as the relevance of action. We all enjoy a good page-turner, and learning about the techniques of writing was eye-opening,” she said.

She believes that writing is extremely important in today’s world because “written narratives shape our reality and perceptions, while demonstrating the immense variety of human experience.”

Like her music and art, Sarah feels that the effort she puts into her books is worthwhile, especially when they offer joy to readers. For someone whose go-to spot is her own imagination, Sarah believes that the more creative we humans become, the closer we are to our nature as children of the universe. “The creativity we see in the cosmos is echoed inside our imaginations whether we listen to music, paint, or write.”

Sarah Fenwick’s books are available from Amazon at http://bitly.ws/HzqR