3. I write books for kids because I don’t think they read enough. People always ask me why I don’t do video of the exotic places and stories, and I always say kids need to read more. Also, as a kid I didn’t find enough books set in foreign cultures, and I always swore one day I would write them! I hope to create a curiosity about the world with my books. In today’s world, connecting kids across continents and oceans seems more important than ever before. By introducing kids from other cultures through my books and slide shows I hope to promote tolerance and acceptance of different lifestyles, religions, or ways of life, at an early age, and plant the seed of curiosity about the world around us. My books take kids to foreign lands long before they have passports.

4. All my book ideas come from real experiences I have seen first hand.  When I live someplace I like to observe for at least a year to see what appeals to me, what I am most interested in.  Three of the books are based on real events, but fictionalized – except for All the King’s Animals which is nonfiction. All my books contain details provided by specific entries from my journals to bring the story alive.

5. Right now I have just completed my newest YA novel, called Trouble in Timbuktu.  This was an interesting challenge because I find my setting of Timbuktu is as a much a character as the main characters Ahmed and Ayisha. It’s definitely a challenge writing about the Sahara while living in the Caribbean, but fortunately I have detailed journals about my 3 trips to Timbuktu to bring the place alive on the page. My next book will be Animal Party, a book about group names for different animals.