Book excerpt: David Miller is a fat boy. And he knows it. The bullying at school, the craving for those savoury, greasy, succulent dishes his mother cooks, the athletic look of his sister, ‘Perfect Amelia’: he experiences it all, every day, thanks to his sharp, although sometimes painful self-awareness and perceptiveness. One day, he just has had enough. And he decides to take control of the situation. As Captain James Kirk would say: I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. Inspired by her own and her friends’ weight loss experiences and the realisation of how little control some children have over their parents’ food choices, the story of Fat Boy no More is the perfect example of ‘show, don’t tell’; a realistic day-to-day narrative in which the reader will observe the growth of an insecure eleven-year-old boy with a passion for Star Trek into a determined, kind, and sensible young man. Sweet, ironic, moving, humorous, and often mouth-watering with its detailed, accurate descriptions of delicious and healthy recipes, Fat Boy no More will capture you at every page with vivid and realistic characters that grow, change, and live. Marétha Marais was born in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1968. After majoring in Communications and Criminology, she became a secretary at a Consulting Engineering Company. Thirty three years later she still works in the Construction industry as a Bid and Compliance Officer. A prolific reader for the first forty-nine years of her life, she decided, when she turned fifty, to put her communications degree to good use and start writing children’s fiction. Easier said than done – she is forever thankful to Nawaal D at Penguin Random House, who has convinced her not to give up and finish the Creative Writing Short Course. She successfully completed the course, and this has led to an invite from author Mike Nicol and Editor Claire Strombeck to participate in their Masterclass. In one year, she completed her first novel, Fat Boy no More, and is currently busy with the second instalment in the series – Former Fat Boy.