From the Arctic to the Amazon, I have circled the globe by ship, train, camel, and tuk-tuk, seeking stories that connect us. As a lifelong teacher and youth leader turned author (past member of the Geneva Writers' Group and the Kauai Writers' Conference, and currently Iowa's IWP), I immerse myself in diverse cultures, befriending locals and dramatizing their inspiring tales. I have slept in Mongolian gers, celebrated Holi in India, and traded English lessons for salsa dancing in Brazil.Conversant in 6 languages, I find a universal human spirit beneath surface differences. My middle grade series brings to life Indonesian Funeral Rites, the tribal culture of Vanuatu, and now a herder's life in Mongolia. I gifted the Vanuatu manuscript along with the NatGeo photographs to the local friend whose life I dramatized. He had the book printed in Port Vila and sold enough copies to finance two 1000 liter tanks for primary schools. I also sold several hundred copies through Amazon, where it held bestseller status for a time.