Missy Volker lives in Cape Town where she is mom to two girls, wife to an ageing surfer and slave to an elderly cat (and a new kitten). Born and bred in the Eastern Cape, this beauty therapist is passionate about writing – hence the blog, Miss Melissa Writes. Find out more about her below…
What I…
Know
The rewards of life are reaped with hard work and determination. I don’t think success can materialize without hard work, courage and as much self-belief as one can muster. It’s difficult in the face of challenges, but if you don’t believe in yourself, who else will?
Love
I love so many things. Once upon a time I fell in love with a surfer and now I also love surfing. I surf a stand up paddle board and am addicted. I love cats. (I have a Colour Point Persian and a Burmilla) I love the Eastern Cape coast where I grew up. The land of elephants and aloes, bleached roads and wind turbines. I love essential oils and nail polish. I love meeting new people and connecting with friends. I love people who are kind and funny and honest.
Read
I enjoy biographies and memoirs. I am fascinated by other people’s life stories and stories of adventure and resilience, like Thinking Up a Hurricane by Martinique Stillwell, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, Endurance, Unbroken and Touching the Void. Malcolm Gladwell, Bill Bryson and Jon Krakauer are travel and adventure writers I enjoy. I also am a real sucker for a good love story, so I read most Nicholas Sparks books and I adored The Rosie Project. I enjoy compelling thrillers, like Disclaimer and Girl on a Train, and Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch books. I also read South African fiction and non-fiction. There are so many overlooked gems hiding in plain sight. (Pamela Power, Gareth Crocker, Jacqui L’Ange, Paul Morris, Joanne MacGregor and many more have written outstanding, accessible books.) Every now and then I revert to the classics. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Jane Eyre are my favourites. I am currently reading an old surfing book called Walking on Water by Andy Martin. It’s a bit of a cult classic. I have 3 of Andy Martin’s books next to my bed because he is coming to Cape Town (from Cambridge) in September for the Open Book and I am super excited about that.
Want
I want more people to recycle, I want people to stop balloon releases and there to be no more balloons at parties. I want there to be no more straws or single use plastic bags. I want less packaging and less plastic shopping bags. I want humans to leave sharks alone, also rhinos. I want people to be more mindful of the planet.
Wear
I love my Levi sneakers. I love my cowboy boots that I bought in Texas. I like to wear pretty dresses in Summer. I hardly ever wear heels. I have microscopic diamond earrings that I seldom take off. I always wear sunscreen.
Need
I need to get into a better writing routine. I have two complete, but unpublished manuscripts in need of more polishing. I need to continue improving and persevering to achieve my dream of being a published author. I heard Lauren Beukes say that being published is 10% talent, 10% luck and 80% bum in the chair.
I also need to learn to cross step on my SUP. How cool would that be? Hang ten. Toes on the nose. (I probably need to do a thousand weeks of Kayla Itsines #BBG before I attempt any of those cross stepping manoeuvres in a bikini. Clearly I also need to start getting up at 5am to fit everything in.)
Images: Missy Volker
