I am named after the heroine of a dime novel that my mother read while pregnant with me. Maman’s own childhood and schooling ended in France under Nazi occupation. Nightly, when I was growing up, she read to me, impersonating all the storybook characters with gusto. Like a spell, her narrative voice was entrancing. My imagination was fired up.
As an adult, I see potential children’s books almost everywhere I turn. For me, the act of writing is engrossing.
My earliest children’s books were written for family and friends. Then, helping my husband, Dean, research and write a nonfiction biography of a Canadian couple, I fell in love with the true-life childhood escapades of Dean’s adult protagonist, Riyaz Adat. I had to turn his capers into a series of children's books.
Riyaz, a free spirit, was raised by Ismaeli Muslim parents of Indian descent in Tanzania. School proved too confining for him, so one time, the nine-year-old and a couple of schoolmates played hooky — walking, hitchhiking, and train hopping hundreds of miles on their own from Dar es Salaam to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Thus was born The Adventures of Riyaz series and its first installment, The Boy Who Answered
the Call of Kilimanjaro.
Each book immerses readers in the magical world of Tanzania, with its expansive parks, natural wildlife habitats, tropical rainforests, savannas, and a rich inheritance of multiculturalism and culinary delights.
The first book in the Adventures series has been translated into multiple languages, including an English/Swahili version that is being used to teach English to students of an impoverished school in Arusha, Tanzania.
All my stories draw a moral conclusion. It is thrilling for children to read about characters making mistakes just like they do. We all learn and grow from our blunders.
My latest book project is about a boy who loves soccer so much that without permission, he takes over his neighbor's prized backyard garden as a soccer field and winds up crushing many of the plants. He is surprised that his neighbor doesn’t accept his standard “get-out-of-trouble” apology word, “sorry.” My character, Marco, ultimately learns what a sincere apology is and
what he must do to make amends. I can’t wait to have it come to life.
The search for a talented local illustrator is on. Writing and publishing a book is a team project, and I am fortunate to have one. My son, an educator and historian, has a great time editing (my English is still “creative” after all these years). The layout and design are made by my very talented daughter, who is a professional photographer and book designer. And I continue to collaborate with my husband on both adult nonfiction and children’s volumes.
To my fellow dreamers and authors, keep writing; don’t stop, even if the majority of your stories only serve to delight you, as do mine. It’s the journey, not the destination.