I once heard a writer describe life as a writer as being kind of bipolar in terms of sociability. You need SECLUSION in order to write, to delve deep enough to actually write anything worth while, but you need SOCIETY and SOCIAL STIMULATION to have something to write about. I know I’ve often felt it. […]

Got permission from the powers that be, that I can finally release the good news that I’ve been clutching to my chest all summer long! Two things! Which should I say first? The local or the international??? Hmm. Let’s start local: The Toronto District School Board has chosen me along with some other authors (I’m […]

Today, for the very first time, I was described by someone, as a ‘mover and shaker’. LOL. And she meant it in the traditional sense of someone setting up meetings and making business deals happen! (as opposed to someone who just ‘shakes’ when they ‘move’) And wow, what a jarring thought it was, to think of myself […]

It’s been a long time since I wanted to watch a movie twice. Now that my daughters are all married and gone, and there’s just me and hubby and son, the estrogen factor is outnumbered by testosterone factors, two to one and that affects the type of movies we choose to watch. I really wanted […]

The Arabic word ‘barakat’ is loosely translated as ‘blessing’ in English, but unfortunately the word blessing does not connote all the intricacies of the meaning of barakat. I’m no Arabic scholar, but from my understanding the term barakat has to do with blessings of plenty, abundance, providence. And it comes down to whether or not […]

My first taste of stand up was a gentle one! Alhamdu lillah. I went down to Kitchener on Sunday to do an hour of storytelling for the Lattitudes Festival. When I finished I was just chatting with the organizers and they were saying how their children’s tent is doing so much better–in terms of attendance–than […]

So I actually took the plunge and went to Yuk Yuk’s tonight to scope out the joint, so to speak. From 7:30 till about 11:30 pm, my ears were assaulted with a barrage of, ahem, very colourful language. There were some genuinely funny jokes in there. Three to be exact. Three jokes in the whole […]

I just finished the third revision of the Hajj novel. I think it’s pretty much done–or I should say I HOPE it’s pretty much done. Won’t know till I polish it up and send it off to my agent and I hear back. But one good sign, the book made me cry when I got […]

The end is in sight. These last weeks have been insanely busy. But of all the days I was dreading, today topped the list. I had to shoot my storytelling DVD’s today. My anxiety levels have gone through the roof! It was SO outside my comfort zone–it aint funny! But alhamdu lillah, it’s done. Two storytelling […]

was an event I presented at today. Sometimes I wonder if it was wise agreeing to presentations so soon after a long trip, but I think there’s always something in the back of my mind that’s afraid I’ll never get another paid gig–that perhaps all this is too good to be true, or something, so […]