1.How did you decide what genre to write?
I am a multi-genre writer and have written eighteen books to date.
The first book I wrote was I am Cancer Free – A Memoir in 2013.
I wrote that book to tell people suffering from that disease, cancer does not have to be a death sentence.
That book won first place in non-fiction in McGrath’s House Indie Book Awards in 2016.
It also received a five-star review and five-star seal from Readers Favorite.
I tried fiction because of something that my brother said to me prior to his death. He wrote in reference to my book, ‘My Life as a Banker: A Life Worth Living,”
“Your book makes very pleasant reading, and your literary expression is superb and easy to follow. You have an excellent talent, and I think you should follow up on a leisurely basis with perhaps publishing a book of short stories. With fiction, you will have greater opportunity to use your imagination and your undoubted descriptive ability. You used the word “fantasize” to create a situation. This is an outstanding quality, which you should continue to use because it is imagination, which disposes of everything, coming from within you. It creates beauty, justice, and happiness, which are everything in this world.”
An idea for a science fiction series came to me and in February 2016, I published Zeeka and the Zombies: Revenge of Zeeka Book 1.
Within a few months, I released Zeeka’s Child Book 2, and Zeeka Returns Book 3.
The series scored a double with Readers Favorite.
I had compiled the first three books into a trilogy called Revenge of Zeeka: Horror Trilogy.
In September 2016, I submitted the trilogy to Readers Favorite for a free review.
The book received a five-star review and five-star seal.
The following year I added two more books to the series - Zeeka’s Ghost Book 4 and Resurrection Book 5.
I compiled the five books into one book called Zeeka Chronicles: Revenge of Zeeka.
I sent it to Readers Favorite for a free review and it received a five-star review and five-star seal.
A fan nominated the book for the Metamorph Publishing Summer Indies Book Awards.
It won Best Science Fiction third place in September 2017.
2.When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I did not plan to be a writer.
I loved my former careers.
I was a former Bank Manager and upon retirement I ventured into Insurance Underwriting.
I was successful in both careers but a diagnosis of cancer changed my life.
I am now happy to be a writer.
3.How do you research for your plot and characters?
I must admit that I had no fixed method for writing my books.
My Memoirs and that of my father’s are life experiences and required no research.
With the fictional short stories some of them are based on true events in the lives of people I know.
For the Zeeka series the upsurge in the zika virus led me to compile the series. I was rather immersed in that series and felt as if the characters told me what to write.
I used certain medical terms which I researched on the internet.
4.What's your latest book you published?
The latest book I published was How to Write For Success in December 2017.
I wanted to share my knowledge and experience with new and aspiring writers.
The book received a five=star review and five-star seal from Readers Favorite on 31st December 2017.
5.You have travelled a lot. Do you use your travels as setting for your books?
No. I have travelled a lot and details of my travels are in one book, Travel Memoirs with Pictures: Exploring the World which is an illustrated picture book filled with reflections of my travels around the world.
In this pictorial travel book of my priceless memories, I describe places visited and the wonderful times my family and I had in our tourist trips.
The book is great to read while on a vacation or for some travel inspiration.
I have referred to some of my travels in my other memoirs.
However, most of my stories, besides the Zeeka series which is set on a fictitious island in the future, are set in my home country, Trinidad in the Caribbean.
6.What type of heroine do you like to create - a strong one that's not afraid of tears, or a meek one who overcomes her fears?
Depending on the story I use both types of heroines to provide contrast.
7.Do you have someone who you base your hero on?
No. I do not have any particular person in mind when I write my stories.
8.What makes you decide to write a series or standalone?
Writing a series gives me time to figure out in what direction the story should take.
A series is also easier on the reader.
Reviewers commented that they appreciated the break in the stories as they are bedtime readers.
9.What about your family: do they read your books?
Yes. My sisters and children look forward to reading my books.
My husband although very supportive, does not like to read. However, he loves to read the book reviews.
10.What subject will you write about in the future?
I love to experiment with other genres and right now I am writing a romance novel, The Gift of Love.
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