I can’t believe it that the time has flown by since Children of the Ocean God was published in June 2024. Ning Ning was merely a concept back then with barely a handful of stories written. In the span of a year I have managed to finish eight stories (in fact I wrote a ninth one, but decided not to publish it), created several illustrations and designed the concept for the book cover. It is amazing how the creative process has come together so seamlessly in a fairly short span of time.

I guess it means that I have started to learn the ropes of writing, illustrating and publishing books. After all these years it is finally beginning to pay off in ways I could hardly have imagined. However, that is not to say that it has been easy. My experiences have taught me that writing any high quality book requires a lot of discipline and consistency. Not to mention great sacrifice. I must confess that I have been writing constantly in 2025. Every evening after dinner, I have been whipping out my laptop and dilidently writing, rewriting and illustrating.

Ning Ning builds on my debut children’s bedtime storybook, Fresh Ereba, since it is also an anthology of stories told in the style of traditional Caribbean folk tales. Each story features indigenous Caribbean animals who exhibit human like behaviors and characteristics, as well as showcases various aspects of Caribbean culture, cuisine and everyday life. However, there are a few differences that for me make Ning Ning extra special. All of the illustrations were hand drawn by me (whereas in Fresh Ereba they were made by my mother), each story includes an illustration, and all of the pictures are in color (not black and white). So I hope that Ning Ning will be even more captivating and engaging for young children, especailly in the age range from 4 to 10 years old. So here’s to a succesful book launch and to many more books in the future! Thanks for stopping by.

As, always I am curious to hear your thoughts on this blogpost. Please feel free to leave a comment below. Also, if you would like to receive more updates about my writing please consider joining my mailing list by subscribing below.

I feel extremely blessed to have the privilege to write. In this day and age it is a luxury. This gift that I have been given from up above, is truly a blessing. It has taught me self mastery through conscientiousness, consistency and discipline (which incedentally are the essential traits needed to finish a book). Beyond that I have learned through writing to better structure my thoughts and above all to allow my imagination to take flight in creative ways that I’ve never previously conceived. Writing has allowed me to explore the full bandwidth of creative expression that I have within me. From writing and illustrating children’s stories, to crafting short stories and (historical) fiction novels, to conceptualizing captivating book covers.

It is a dream coming true! Each day I feel myself getting closer to living my goal of becoming a full time writer. This year has already provided me with some stepping stones that have given me tremendous hope that my dream will be realized one day through conscientiousness, consistency and discipline. Case in point, just this past week, Scribbles & Quills bookstore in Chaguanas, Trinidad, announced that they are stocking my books (Children of the Ocean God, Fresh Ereba and Walking in Footsteps of Promise) in their store and webshop. I am truly honored and grateful to them for their support of my writing. I hope this will be start of a partnership that will stand the test of time. I’m also keenly looking forward to engaging more with readers in the twin island republic, as well as the wider Caribbean region.

2025 has been and will continue to be a year of blessings and gratitude and growth. I’m eagerly awaiting what the second half of the year will bring. Stay tuned for more sneakpeek blogposts on my next book, entitled Ning Ning, which will be released in Q3 of this year.

As, always I am curious to hear your thoughts on this blogpost. Please feel free to leave a comment below. Also, if you would like to receive more updates about my writing please consider joining my mailing list by subscribing below.

I picked up Klara and the Sun on a whim at a local bookstore. While browsing through various titles, the bright red, blue and yellow book cover from Klara and the Sun caught my eye. In a flash I recognized Kazuo Ishiguro’s name and made a spot decision to purchase a copy. Having previously read The Buried Giant I figured that it would be a similarly enthralling novel. Unfortunately it did not quite work out as I had expected. While I found the story to be easy to read and well written, it lacked for me a captivating element. It took me almost eighty pages to fully immerse myself in the narrative and feel curious about what would come next. In short Klara and the Sun is a tale about love, loyalty and faith which is set in a dystopian future in which human genetic enhancement is the norm, as are children with solar powered robot companions called artificial friends or AFs. The protagonist in the story is a girl AF named Klara, who possesses the uncanny talent of paying keen attention to detail about everything around her and interpreting this information in thoughtful ways. She ‘befriends’ a young girl named Josie suffering ostensibly from a genetic disease linked to gene editing, and is thrust unwittingly into a journey of discovery of the full breadth of human experience – from love and hope to fear and loss. What I enjoyed most about Klara and the Sun, was Ishiguro’s skillful description of the observations of human behavior through the eyes of Klara. Her profound insights into human character and motivations, at times were quite perceptive, while still credible for an artificial intelligence powered AF. In contrast, the predictability of some parts of the narrative and the plodding development of the storyline greatly diminished my enthusiasm for Klara and the Sun. So in summary, I would recommend Klara and the Sun to readerswho are interested in exploring the breadth of writings by Ishiguro by exposing themselves to another dimension of his beautiful imagination. 

Have you read Klara and the Sun?or another of Kazuo Ishiguro’s books or essays? What grabbed you most about his writing? Please feel free to share your thoughts in a comment below. Thanks as always for visiting my blog! Also, if you would like to receive more updates about my writing please consider joining my newsletter mailing list by subscribing below.

But let’s be honest, struggling is not glamorous, no matter what you have heard. Sometimes, it is downright crappy. Getting rejected and crapped on. Being told you are not good enough. Having to get back up and to dust yourself off after another demoralizing blow. The greatest challenge is often just keeping your head in the game while preventing thoughts of self doubt from creeping in. It is easy to lose sight of the prize and feel like you are getting nowhere.

In many ways, that is how I have felt sometimes in my writing journey these past few years. With three books under my belt and a fourth one on the way, I am still frequently plagued by the feeling of being an impostor in the literary world. To this day when asked about my writing, I invariably call myself an aspiring author rather than just an author. Yet in truth when I reflect more deeply, I know that I have come along way and that my writing has evolved immensely from where I started (my first book published in 2010 was Squash Diary: The Story of How Squash Saved My Life) to where I am today, halfway through penning Children of the Ocean God (my upcoming historical fiction novel).

It has been an exponential learning curve to say the least in all aspects of the literary craft. From honing the art of storytelling by employing creative literary devices, to ensuring the book cover design is alluring and the formatting is on point. On top of that I have had countless humbling lessons which have tested my grit and determination to be an author. Let me tell you, marketing and selling books is not for the faint of heart, especially if you self-publish!

Without a doubt I see tangible progress but I am in no way complacent. Far from it. I know there is so much I still have to learn. As I continue to write and rewrite Children of the Ocean God, word by word, paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter, I find myself hitting my literary stride – like a marathon runner after kilometer number ten. It feels so good to be in flow! I am excited to finish this novel soon so that I can get this labor of love into the hands of my readers. Even now I get chills in my bones when I daydream about the book launch for Children of the Ocean God.

So without further adieu, today I am taking another bold step towards success while pondering the doubtless struggles that lie ahead. I am pleased to unveil the cover of my latest book – Children of the Ocean God (see the feature image above). This book cover means the world to me since it is the embodiment of an idea that I have held in my heart and head for so long. It represents a triumph of perseverance and self-belief. It is the first installment of a special gift that I am sharing with the world (more details coming soon). Here’s to struggle and to success!

What are your first impressions about the book cover? Does it make you more curious to learn more about Children of the Ocean God? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Thankfully the Garifuna have survived and managed to preserve many of their customs, albeit sometimes without fully understanding their meaning. This is exemplified in many ways by the aromakani and abaimakani which are semi-sacred spiritual songs performed by men and women, respectively. These songs exist in modern day Garifuna culture as arumahani and abaimahani. According to linguist Prof. Daniel Kaufman from Queens College in New York, the lyrics of the arumahani and abaimahani are loosely structured and cryptic since they speak of past real events which were experienced by the composers but are often unknown to present day singers. The semi-scared nature of these songs is derived from the fact that they are part of religious rituals such as the dugu (or funeral ceremony) but are also sung for entertainment in everyday life. Typically aromakani and abaimakani have a narrative quality and frequently speak about the occurrence of some misfortune, from either a man’s or woman’s perspective, depending on who is singing. Most interesting of all, is that despite the complete or at least partial lack of context, many meaningful moral and philosophical ideas are embedded in these songs, which are often masked by their simplistic lyrics.

Here are two beautiful examples which I came across recently in an enthralling report entitled Endangered Lyrics in Endangered Languages: Documenting the Arumahani songs of the Garifuna in Belize and New York City. It was authored in 2015 by Prof. Kaufman who is founder of the Endangered Language Alliance.

Arumahani 1 (Vincensini & Romay 2001, p.25)

Yunis, come see me, come see me, nephew, my brother’s son.
We are in midsummer, the sun beats down on me.
I come into the hot sun, with my knapsack.
The orders which my uncle gives, I knew they would be disastrous.

Arumahani 2 (Vincensini & Romay 2001, p.25)

No sooner have I gotten up, it hurts.
I, my son, I already have it (an illness).
It leaves me, it comes back.
My time is up, brother-in-law!
I have lived through so many things!
And it starts to hurt again.
My tears flow, from the beach to my home.
I can’t go on the water.
What I have immediately stops me.
It leaves me, it comes back.

Simply beautiful lyrics! Don’t you agree? If you are curious about how arumahani sound here is an audio example from the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. I should point out that In Children of the Ocean God to avoid copyright issues I have composed an aromakani which is inspired by various modern day arumahani, but is still distinct.

I hope you have enjoyed learning a bit more about Garifuna (Black Carib) culture and are perhaps triggered to find out more. In a future post I will expand on other fascinating cultural traditions and practices. Stay tuned!

What feelings do the arumahani invoke when you read them? What do you think are the ‘hidden’ moral and philosophical messages that they convey? Are they reminiscent of songs that you have heard from other indigenous cultures?

One major change that you will notice this year on my author blog is that my posts will be a lot more interactive. I will be making a concerted effort to actively involve my readers (that’s you by the way!) in the writing process. To do this I will be asking you to share your feedback on various aspects of Children of the Ocean God, which I hope will both pique your interest and help me to produce a high-quality novel.

As a starting point, below is a first draft of the back cover summary for Children of the Ocean God. Before you read it I want you to imagine that you are in a bookstore or library with endless shelves of books. You are walking along the aisles and you see a book which is sticking out slightly from the rest. Your curiosity is piqued, so you decide to pick it up to see what it is about. The front cover looks attractive and the title seems intriguing – Children of the Ocean God. But you are still not sure if this is a book you want to buy or borrow. So you flip the book over and read the summary on the back cover. This is what it says:

“The year is 1795. The ideals of the French Revolution are sweeping their way across the Caribbean until they reach the shores of St. Vincent, an island inhabited by a tribe of mixed Amerindian and African ancestry called the Black Caribs. A dysfunctional peace treaty leads to simmering tensions with British colonists motivated by profit. At a crucial moment, with British fortunes waning in the region, the Black Caribs foment an all-out war. Supported by French revolutionaries, they attempt to establish their status as citizens of a free nation.

Children of the Ocean God follows the lives of several key actors in the Second Carib War over an explosive fortnight from the events leading up to the war till the days following its dramatic anti-climax at the summit of Dorsetshire Hill. There is Joseph Chatoyer, the revered Black Carib paramount chief who is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his people; and Governor James Seton, the conflicted colonial administrator who will stop at nothing to quell the insurrection; and Captain Alexander Leith, an ambitious Scotsman seeking to restore his family’s former prestige; and Warramou, a young, romantic, Black Carib warrior who finds himself in the struggle of his life as he tries to save his beloved homeland.

Based on actual events, Children of the Ocean God, transports readers to a fascinating period in history, capturing the nuances of colonialism and slavery in the Caribbean, the revolutionary fervor of the times, and the dauntless, noble fighting spirit of the Black Caribs desperately trying to preserve their birthright.”   

Feedback survey:

How does this summary make you feel?

Was your interest piqued in the novel?

Would you purchase or borrow Children of the Ocean God based on what you read? And why?

Please feel free to share your feedback in a comment below. I would love to hear from you. Thank you very much for your help. (Featured image – “Pacification of Maroon Negroes” by Agostino Brunias)

Following a three day book promotion on Amazon, I am pleased to announce that after just a week Fresh Ereba has risen into the top 100 list of Best Sellers (#79 to be exact) in the genre Historical Caribbean & Latin American Fiction. I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported me in reaching this milestone. It is truly a dream come true and hopefully a harbinger of better things to come in 2020. Stay safe and healthy!