Jassy Mackenzie

Jassy Mackenzie is from a family where books weren’t just more important than television, they were so important that television was banned from the house. Jassy is the second youngest of five daughters. Her mother Ann Mackenzie was a well-known short story writer in her day. Jassy’s sister Vicky Jones, who lives in New Zealand, is a prize-winning author of children’s books. Today, Jassy is the editor of HJ, a hair and beauty trade magazine. She has had numerous non-fiction articles on a wide variety of subjects published locally and internationally over the past 11 years. Jassy was born in Rhodesia (as all ex-Zimbabweans still prefer to call it), and moved to South Africa when she was eight years old. She loves the energy, danger and excitement of Johannesburg, and believes there is no better place for a thriller writer to live. Jassy herself has been hijacked at gunpoint outside her home, and had her car taken from her by force. When she was younger and less sensible, she had an uncanny knack of choosing unsavoury boyfriends who were involved in everything from cocaine dealing to smuggling. She is 39 years old and lives in Kyalami with her wonderful partner Dion, two horses and two cats. About Random Violence, Jassy says, “Writing a first novel is a scary process, almost as frightening as having a gun jammed against your head and being dragged out of your car by your throat. But while an act of violence is committed in a heartbeat, a novel takes much longer. Writing a book takes months. It’s like living with a psychopathic axe murderer whose sanity might snap at any moment. My belief in the story kept me going. I am inspired by the hope that one day I can share the terrifying, exhilarating essence of Johannesburg with readers across the world.”