Now that jury deliberations are over, I think it’s safe to say that I was on my first award jury. It was for an international award called the NSK Neustadt award given by the University of Oklahoma! The prize is $25000.00 for a living writer who’s contributed to the quality of children’s literature. What a […]

I went out of town yesterday and just got back. It was a Muslim community who’ve been such great supporters of my work that it’s always a pleasure to visit, even if it does mean a five hour drive. One of the ladies in particular has such an aura about her. I’ve heard it called […]

until they change what is in themselves. I’ve read this phrase in the Quran a number of times and it’s funny but I always thought it only referred to the oppressed and downtrodden. But I attended a lecture a while back and a scholar made a good point. He said that no, this phrase applies […]

I started writing this on Sunday night. Tonight on Oprah’s visionaries Will.i.am was talking. If you’re not sure who he is, you’re not alone. I’d heard his name, but didn’t realize he’s one of the co-founders of the group Black-eyed Peas. The first half of the show was just him spouting off about how tickled […]

On Saturday I drove out to Pearson Airport, to the Canada Customs agents in charge of luggage that comes in later, I guess, and finally got my luggage from my Hajj trip! Yippee! I feel like it’s closed the chapter on the whole experience. One thing I really learned from this…make sure you get a […]

This is the final installment of the journal I kept during Hajj, from Oct. 30 – Nov. 20th. I’ve transcribed it almost exactly as written, any recent thoughts are in parentheses. Nov. 18th cont’d There’s nothing like the feeling of throwing the last stone. I hefted it in my fingers, said, “Allahu Akbar” God is […]

I really have to stop crying about my mistake in Muzdalifa. One of my biggest problems is that when I do something boneheaded, I can’t stop thinking about it until it’s resolved. And how can this ever be resolved until I die and find out for sure whether my Hajj was accepted or not. As […]

This is a continuation of the journal that I wrote while on Hajj Oct. 30-Nov. 20th. I’ve transcribed it as I originally wrote it. Any recent comments are in parentheses. Nov. 16th, The day after Arafat, oh, and it’s the Day of Eid ul Adha. I decided yesterday that I wouldn’t take from any of […]

This is a continuation of the journal I kept while on Hajj. I’ve tried to transcribe the thoughts I wrote eactly as written. Any current interjections are in parantheses.  (The reason why I’m such a stickler in this regard is because I heard that L.M. Montgomery altered her journals after she wrote them, taking out […]

This is a continuation of the journal I recorded on my Hajj trip from Oct. 30th to Nov. 25th. I’ve tried to stay true to what I wrote at the time. Any more recent thoughts are in parentheses. Nov. 12th We left Medina last night. I said goodbye to the city of the Prophet (peace […]