Margaret Gardiner was only 18 years old when she became the first Miss Universe from South Africa in 1978. And it took 39 years before Demi-Leigh Nel Peters Tebow followed and became the second Miss Universe from the country when she won in 2017. Unknown to many, Gardiner is also a journalist and an author.
She has written two books on health and beauty and for the first time, has written her first fiction book, "Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar." A psychology degree holder with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, Gardiner was inspired to write her first fiction book "for women who have been talked over, made to feel less or have been falsely framed." She plans to make it the first in a series of books of "good girls who play nice, find their voices, and break barriers to be who they really are.
" We were able to interview Gardiner by email and she talked more about her inspiration for her first fiction book, what she hopes readers will learn from her book, what she learned from her journey in writing the book, among others. This is your third book and your first work of fiction. What made you decide to do fiction this time? What was the inspiration for this book? What were the two other books before this about? My first two books were about the health and beauty industry.
"Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar" came to me during COVID-19. I had a friend who was struggling with mental health and considered self-damaging. I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and advocated.