My poem, Curiosity and Wonder was selected for publication in early 2026 in an anthology of short stories and poems by several local authors. The submission was based on the theme Family: Formed, Found, and Chosen, in response to the memoir Solito by Javier Zamora, which tells the story of a nine-year-old child making his…Read more »
Tag: africa
Inspiring Children: Dima’s True Story in Botswana
After a blip in my health this year, I got back on track with the help of my critique group to finish the manuscript for my children’s picture book. It is under review by my developmental editor, and Chelsa, will start her illustrations in January 2026. I have chosen IngramSpark, a publisher that distributes and…Read more »
Challenge Yourself: Write a Children’s Book
So what is so challenging about writing a children’s picture story book? I could write under 600 words in about 30 minutes and get it done. Not the illustrations, of course; I found a wonderful illustrator to do that. Hey, I am already a published author of adult nonfiction stories and poems. “Piece of cake,”…Read more »
Moroccan Sheep Migration: A Nomadic Tradition
(Click on the two video links below) Our OAT Tour (Overseas Adventure Tour) was winding through the mid-Atlas Mountains of Morocco in 2024 when our guide, Mohamed told our driver to stop the bus and said with excitement, “Come and look!” Mohamed is Amazigh or Berber as Westerners call the indigenous people. (Amazigh is their…Read more »
Maternal Mortality Among Black American Women
I recently read some alarming statistics and want to share them with you. After my Peace Corps assignment as a health education volunteer during the early 70s in Liberia, West Africa the topic of Maternal and Child Health became near and dear to my heart. The maternal mortality in the country at that time was…Read more »
Africa 50 Years Later: Part II, Zimbabwe, Zambia, & Botswana
(I am reposting this blog from 2 days ago because the earlier slideshow link did not connect. So Sorry.) The last time I was on an African safari was over 50 years ago in 1973. As a 20-year-old farmer’s daughter, I was gobsmacked, of course. So many animals in the plains of Tanzania and Kenya…Read more »
Malarial Game Changer
I contracted malaria 4 times during the 4 years I lived and worked in Africa (Liberia & Cameroon) in the 70s and 80s. Not because I was noncompliant with my antimalarial medication, but instead, the malarial parasite mutated causing the medication to become ineffective and drug resisitant. During that period, 60% of the Liberian children…Read more »