: About Me

I am what I like to think of as an itinerant transplant - Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, transplanted at an early age (two years old) to the capital of that country -Pretoria, educated and married there - transplanted again to the flat, uninspiring center of the country - Bloemfontein - bore four and raised three children - widowed, - and then transplanted to the east coast - Durban - remarried, and became a farmer's wife - and then came the really B-I-G one - transplanted to the United States, lived in New Jersey for eight years, and just recently transplanted yet again, - to Virginia, USA, which I am determined to finally put down roots and stay until my final, everlasting transplant - to my mansion in heaven. I have seven grandchildren, six boys and only one girl, and throughout it all I have been a working mother, grandmother, and writer.

My writing has been mostly experiential, and I have been privileged to be published in a few magazines - articles -and one book of stories about Colonial grandmothers collated by Jack Hallam. I have also published a few short poems.

My passion is ...

Reading - almost everything.

I know too much about ...

Struggles, and how to overcome them

My parents always told me ...

I had an old head on young shoulders!

My childhood ambition ...

To be a world famous journalist.

My favorite memory ...

My mothers huge smile when she saw my newborn firstborn son for the first time.

Why I write ...

Its compulsive! I have also found it to be cathartic.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Reading - a novel by Karen Kingsbury; Watching - BBC News; listening to Cliff Richard

My first job ...

Secretary/Film Librarian - in a Diplomatic Mission, Pretoria, South Africa.

My best moment ...

Holding my babies in my arms.

My inspiration ...

Jesus Christ.

Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: Mentoring relationships

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A Divine Encounter in Zululand. Thandi had been walking a long way. She had started out just as the sun rose over the Drakensburg peaks behind the family kraal. Now it was afternoon, and her shadow was growing longer as she trudged along the footpath that led to the main road near Empangeni. This was the nearest town to her birthplace, but she had only ever been there twice once with her father when he took her mother to the free clinic, and the second time had been to go to the funeral shop to buy a cheap pine coffin for her mother. They had buried Nokutula Mkize just outside the kraal, w...

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