RSSCategory: Expatriate Writers

The Story Behind the Story

The Story Behind the Story

My name is Victoria and I wrote a book with a taxi cab driver I met at an all-night diner. It was March 7th, 1994 at an all-night Greek diner called The Silver Star at 65th and Second Ave. in NYC around 1 a.m. I had just seen Schindler’s List and was craving bourbon – Maker’s Mark […]

February 1, 2017 | By | 3 Replies More
Under “A Different Sun” – with Elaine Neil Orr

Under “A Different Sun” – with Elaine Neil Orr

US Author and Professor of English at NC State University, Elaine Neil Orr [ENO] answers WWWB’s Anora McGaha’s [WW] questions about A Different Sun her first novel telling the story of a US slave owner’s daughter who marries a missionary and moves to Africa, where her worldview is turned upside down. – Anora McGaha, Editor […]

November 1, 2013 | By | 5 Replies More
My Big Fake Immigrant Memoir

My Big Fake Immigrant Memoir

Let’s face it, the American immigration story has been done to death. It’s the “been-there-wrote-that” tale. So would someone please tell why I’m sitting here writing a book-length memoir about leaving my native Ireland, at age 24, to come alone to live in America? While I’m penning my woman’s immigrant story, the very same story is being played […]

May 21, 2013 | By | 6 Replies More

Writing about Muslim Women Characters

Writing about Muslim characters, Muslim women in particular, must be one of the trickiest subjects to write about. Especially in this specific time when everything about women in Islam seems to be dissected, probed and questioned. No matter the conflict or the aspirations of the protagonist. One thing stands out immediately: she is Muslim. Hence, […]

February 17, 2013 | By | 8 Replies More
Duty and Desire – A Tale of Modern India

Duty and Desire – A Tale of Modern India

What can I tell you about my debut novel, Duty and Desire, the first in my Winds of Fire series, that would intrigue you? It was a 9 year journey to finish Duty and Desire. I began writing the original draft in 2002, shortly after we moved from Singapore to New Jersey, USA. My kids […]

February 13, 2013 | By | 4 Replies More
Thanksgiving’s a Holiday Over Here

Thanksgiving’s a Holiday Over Here

The American man’s voice sounded woken-up and irritated. “It’s Thanksgiving,” he said down that payphone. “So my roommates are off work and gone home. Like, Thanksgiving’s a holiday over here.” Oh, come on, I wanted to say.  I mean, with nobody getting born or killed or risen from the dead,  just how big could this ‘holiday’ of yours really […]

November 22, 2012 | By | 2 Replies More
Why Write?

Why Write?

Why write? Why not?  Why indeed? I wonder if it is wrong somehow, or detrimental at least, to tell a child they are doing well, or that they could work wonders as an adult.  We, parents, are told that to give a child negative information is bad for their development.  I agree. But what do […]

July 24, 2012 | By | 1 Reply More
Casting the Writer’s Spell

Casting the Writer’s Spell

In my creative writing courses, I wave my magic pencil over my students and declare them to be writers—at least for the duration of the semester. After that, I say, it’s up to them to take over the spell. They generally giggle and roll their eyes (they’re college students after all), but I think it […]

July 8, 2012 | By | 12 Replies More
Childbirth: The Inspiration to Write

Childbirth: The Inspiration to Write

Even as a child, I wanted to be a writer. I wrote an endless amount of poems and stories about wolves and horses. I also read a lot, and if I liked a particular author, I would hunt down every book, every item they had ever written. But to me personally, the writing game is […]

June 27, 2012 | By | 5 Replies More
The Accidental Feminist: A Writer Writes

The Accidental Feminist: A Writer Writes

Editors note: Under her pen name Alma Alexander, Alma has published many books, some with strong female characters, some  translated into quite a few languages. Here she reflects on feminism, a topic the is controversial to this day, even when so many women around the world do not yet have the right to speak their […]

June 8, 2012 | By | 2 Replies More