All for the sake of a parrot...& some sanity

We all have our weird set of uncles and cousins and grandparents and siblings. In childhood we rued our fate but as an aspiring writer, I find they are worth their weight in gold.

How many happy moments they have given me as I sit to write a story! They all come rushing at me in a bunch, jostling for space. I have had friends begging to be included in stories little knowing what dark pictures I would paint.

My dysfunctional family and my chosen friends came in very useful. They provided me tons and tons of material, enough to fill a whole book. I am truly grateful for this. I hope I get to hear more, live more and write more.

I belong to this set of people and identify with each and every one of them. These stories I have lived through and they have been my life...sometimes scary, sometimes bringing hope, and sometimes simply evoking memories of long forgotten times. They are of me, and of lives I have seen and lived. There are, of course, large elements of fiction in this collection and yet they are rooted in reality. They are what have shaped me.