Hello!
Welcome to a sliver of my world.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been a writer. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. But life doesn’t always follow the plans we make for ourselves when we’re seven, or ten or even twenty, does it? I would have much preferred to travel to the worlds I’d built in my imagination via portals stretched between the coconut trees that grew in our back yard than get a job for the purpose of paying to exist in this world. But imagination without action or a clear-cut plan cannot keep the lights on, so I did what many have done and got the job and even then, I never stopped writing.
I chose to use the hummingbird on my site because in different cultures, they symbolize joy resilience agility, healing, eternity and the continuation of life. Hummingbirds are also associated with endurance, good luck, health and vitality. There are, at last count, 365 species of hummingbirds in the world. Of the 365, 18 of these have their homes in Trinidad & Tobago, just like I do.
At the age of 29 I emigrated to Canada to see what the larger world out there had in store for me. It was more or less the same thing, work to survive while I kept plugging away at the writing. My attempts to pitch one of my novels to literary agents led to the realization that if I wanted my work to see the light of day, I’d have to learn how to do it all on my own. So, my journey to publish with any one of the big 5 veered towards the path of indie-publishing. Trad publishers would turn up their noses and call it vanity publishing. No, it’s not. There is no vanity in it. I have had the pleasure of meeting several authors at indie-publisher seminars and conferences who merely saw it as letting their characters breathe and to be seen by those who would encounter them between the lines in the pages.
Canada is no slouch when it comes to the little hummers either. At last count, there were 7 species that were found to inhabit the cold north. The maple leaf ties both nations together nicely – two homes that are utterly different and separated by the sea. Two homes that are dear to me.
So here I am, writing a post to introduce myself to the world as a writer of poetry and prose. My first published book, Reflections of Love, Live & Loss was also my first foray into publishing. It’s not for the faint of heart but don’t be discouraged by it. I’m not. I’m looking forward to finishing my next book and publishing that as well but with a bit more willingness to accept help where it is offered or necessary.
May I not fall prey to disenchantment but persevere when the vagaries of life get in the way and it all begins to feel pointless. May I continue, if only to let my worlds and characters materialize in your imagination as they do in mine.
Thank you for visiting. Please feel free to look around and come back whenever you can.
All the best,
Reshma
Reshma Mituram 