Saturday, January 3, 2009

Happy New Year!
Now that thte holidays are over, it's time to get back to you. A few people have asked how I came to write UNSPOKEN FAREWELL so it's time to give you an answer. When I first came home from Africa in 1974, several friends asked me to write about my experiences, but I was too busy getting adjusted to life in the US and finding a job. The requests continued, but I never had the time until 2000 when we moved to Taos. Then, I took several writing courses and began to pull bits and pieces together. My mother had saved all of my letters in shoeboxes and had them numbered in sequence as they were received. This was a great help for me and served as a sort of outline. I wrote A GOOD-BYE NEVER SAID, but had a lot of difficulty with the editting process, especially Portuguese words. I finally decided to cancel that contract and start over with a new book.
UNSPOKEN FAREWELL is 95% true and tells nearly everything that happened to me, I'm Amanda.
Have a wonderful 2009!