I have always loved reading and dreamed of writing a novel some day. When I was little I would write small stories. My grandmother was a huge influence in my love of reading and writing. She and I would share books back and forth and talk about stories together. I would like to think that she would be proud of the fact that I have written two novels.

My latest book is at the publishing company as I do this interview. There are some details to work out as far as the cover art and things, but I will hopefully have a publication date soon. It is a sequel to my first novel, Mia Amata, with the same characters and a few new ones.

I have published sixteen children's books to date, with a new book due out in October 2025. I never intended to write children’s books; that sort of came about by chance. I wanted to teach, which I did. At college, I wrote poetry and had a few published in the college magazines. While teaching, I would often write with the children or for the children, modelling examples of poetry, etc. We might also create a shared write together. ‘A Spooky Tale’ was written with my class following a class trip around our neighbourhood.

My latest book, 'A Ticket to Ride’, is a collection of stories and verse. A ticket to ride is a book to be read and shared with the children. With animals and friends who hop on and off the bus as it travels through lands near and far, on special days and everyday afternoons. Meet everything from cats and elephants to one very celebratory bee, telling jokes and adding their opinions along the way. This collection of light-hearted poems and stories is ideal for a cosy afternoon with children and adults alike.

I had a near-death experience with cancer. I wrote a memoir about it, and it won an award for I AM CANCER FREE in the Readers' Favorite International annual awards some years later. That spurred me on to write more books.

Zeeka Chronicles: Revenge of Zeeka is a fast-paced, ethically layered Caribbean sci-fi thriller that explores the dark possibilities of artificial intelligence, human ambition, and vengeance in a futuristic Caribbean. It is loved by fans of high-concept science fiction, biotech suspense, and readers seeking underrepresented voices in speculative fiction.

I was about to retire and a friend dared me.

I have just published More than a Lady, the stories of the First Ladies of the USA. Not much attention to the husbands, although at times I thought we should have elected her.

I was bored with the redundant Space Operas requiring magical Faster Than Light rockets, flaming sword battles, weird aliens and transporters. The books revolve around the Lucerne family, merchants on Solar Sail cargo ships.

My latest book is "After BeforeTimes" (Vol 5 in the H2LiftShip series). It fills in the blanks of the other volumes, following Graciela's parents as they make their way around the asteroids, selling, stealing and gambling as any good merchant should.

It all began because I wanted to learn how to use a computer. I had no computers when I went to school.

I predominantly write books for children: Zara and The Zero Waste Quest is about instilling looking after the planet to the children who read it.

Frewin Jones and C.S. Lewis has probably influenced me the most in my writing. One of my writing motivations is to be able to write a fantastical series like these writers.

For some reason, several of my ideas have literally come to me through my dreams. My first book, Deathly in Love, was a dream so fresh that came to me with several ideas that are in my first chapter.

I was busy writing an autobiography for my family when I realized that this book had the ability to encourage and empower others as well.

I decided to take my family autobiography and divide it into 5 short reads namely Humorous, Adventurous, Motivation, Reflection and Intentional all falling under Roaring through Life series. Each story is from my own life and concludes with a set of powerful questions for the reader to reflect upon. These books fall under non fiction, self help and memoirs genres and are predominantly geared for 25 year to 50 years old market niche

As a new writer, my ideas were all over the place. I got myself a book coach who listened to all my ideas and suggested that I put them under one roof, and the closest fit for that was Paranormal Cozy Mysteries. Also, I had some extraordinary experiences growing up that affected me. When I've tried to explain these experiences, people often don't believe me and walk away. My book coach told me that telling variations of these experiences in my writing will resonate with readers who have had similar experiences. They'll know and believe. For example, an older gentleman in my neighborhood heard that I wrote books. He invited me to his home and asked about my peculiar experiences. With tears in his eyes, he told me that his years in the Air Force exposed him to similar experiences. He was ordered never to discuss them, but he is grateful that he isn't alone in his experience.

Well, there are the reader's expectations in the genre that I have to meet. They are expecting the familiar to bring them into the story, and then I can weave in the unique parts into it. Sometimes I come across something that makes me wonder why that something is the way it is—for example, the story of Rip Van Winkle. There is the main story that we all probably heard since grade school, yet it also has a Postscript after the story that rarely gets shared. The story is about a demon who torments men and turns people into trees. There are details in the postscript that made my mind wander one day with the thought: What if the Rip Van Winkle story were true and his descendants still suffer with it today? What if that demon caused Rip Van Winkle to sleep? That became the basis for my second book.

What inspired me to start writing? Writing didn’t start as a career move—it started as survival. I began putting pen to paper to make sense of the chaos, to process pain, and to preserve memory. Early on, it was less about plot and more about presence—capturing what it felt like to be young, Black, and unheard in rooms that demanded silence from voices like mine. But somewhere along the line, those private pages became purpose. I realized I wasn’t just writing to heal—I was writing to build. To build bridges between generations. To build characters that looked like my people, dreamed like my people, and persevered like we always do. And to build a legacy of truth-telling that wouldn’t rely on permission or apology. The stories found me. All I did was agree to tell them.

About Stolen Hearts, Hidden Shores Stolen Hearts, Hidden Shores is a multi-generational love story layered with betrayal, legacy, and the unspoken wounds we inherit. Set between a coastal southern town and the pulse of New York City, it follows two families—one bound by blood, the other by secrets—whose lives intersect in ways none of them could predict. At its core, the book explores what happens when love and ambition collide. It asks: How far will we go to protect the image of who we are… and what does it cost to finally tell the truth? This story came from a very personal place. It’s inspired by the quiet sacrifices made in families, especially Black families, where silence often speaks louder than words. It’s also about reclamation—of identity, of voice, and of love that refuses to be lost at sea. Endorsed by Penguin Random House, Stolen Hearts, Hidden Shores is not just a book—it’s a cinematic, emotional experience meant to stay with you long after the final page.