I was born in St Patrick’s Grenada and had a village upbringing, in a time when the road was my playground and doors were never locked.
I emigrated to the UK in 2007, but after seven winters, moved back to my homeland Grenada, where I get to explore and nurture my passions and creativity, through writing- sharing stories about my life, my island, my people, on my blog and my Facebook postings and my new discovery in my Rustic Selections and letting my free spirit take me on musical experiences- with the live bands and dancing under the stars.
I am the mother of three grown children, which thankfully, allows me time and freedom for these explorations. I live with my husband and daughter. With me, nothing is set in stone.
About my writing
“Writing is revealing oneself to excess.” – Franz Kafka
Writing started as a form of therapy for me. Now it’s a passion.
When I started putting words on paper, I had no writing experience. My school essays were lucky if they made the pass mark. However, I loved to read. And though I wish I could say this love was nurtured, and encouraged, but I can’t. In fact, I remember having to hide to read my borrowed Nancy Drew mysteries, and later the Sweet Dream novels. However, I eagerly looked forward to my literature classes. I could not wait to go on adventures with Gem and Scout in Harper Lee’s To kill A Mocking Bird and to live my adolescent fantasy through Shellie and Rosalie Ghidaree in Michael Anthony’s Green Days By The River.
Getting my words on paper took me on a long journey of learning, self teaching and discovering, and my very badly written, first draft of Force Ripe.
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London
My inspiration for writing comes from my desire to tell stories about everyday people and their lives, my life and everything else that piques my interest. I take it from anything and everywhere: on a bus ride to town, driving along the coast, walking on the beach, the people passing by, or even shelling peas on the veranda. So I listen. I observe. But most important, I aim to tell these stories in a way that is unique to me and to my culture.
“The worst enemy to creativity is self doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
Before I ever heard of authors like Mya Angelou and Toni Morrison, or read Andrea Levy, Wally Lamb or Barbara Kingsolver, I was devouring Danielle Steel and Sidney Sheldon by candle light. I truly admire writers who work magic with words and make it look and sound so easy. For me it is not easy. I try to will the voice to speak the words right. But that thing called self doubt is always niggling at me.
Virginia Wolf said “ … writing is the profound pleasure and being read is superficial”.
Conversely, Ursula K Le Guin proposed that “The unread story is not a story. It is little black marks on a wood pulp. The reader reading it makes it live; a live thing, a story.”