About
In 2017, when I visited India I was so captivated by the sensorial images of the people and their culture that I picked up a pen and couldn’t stop writing. I didn’t go to India with the intention of writing a book but my appetite was whetted long before I went. As a yoga teacher, I'd studied the theory of Hindu philosophy yet longed to see it in practice. Despite having waited many years to get there, my passion never waned. After surviving life-threatening surgery, I'd almost given up hope of ever visiting India, but life provided me with a rare opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands.
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Sometimes life journeys resemble those in Greek mythology. You receive a call to action and before you know it, you have crossed the threshold into the unknown. My Indian journey was my most life-changing and inspired me to write my first novel, Chasing Marigolds.
Jillian Ciemitis Photography
“Chasing Marigolds” is a travel memoir, written as an interactive journal with meditations and recipes so readers too can experience the sensuality and vibrancy of India.
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My two latest fiction novels, “Where Sunbeams Falls” and its sequel, “Where Dragonflies Dream” are both set in Brunei Darussalam, on the island of Borneo. My inspiration and passion for writing this historical fiction comes from having lived in Brunei for twelve years during the 1970s and 80s.
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During this time, I witnessed a tiny Islamic Sultanate gain its independence and develop into the thriving modern state it is today. I wanted to share this unique location, and the exciting era in which the stories were set. I hope you have as much enjoyment from reading my books as I did writing them.
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As a child I wrote stories, allowing my imagination to run wild. As a teen I kept journals to help make sense of my world. As an adult I write for creative expression, to put down on paper what I'm feeling inside. When I write I unleash the pure joy of tapping into another world of endless thoughts, ideas, and possibilities. Venturing into places I've been or yet to go, I discover characters who sometimes resemble those I knew or those who are about to unfold.
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I write to inspire and enlighten, to uplift and entertain but mainly, to create pure magic from what I feel in my heart.
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