When I first decided to pursue my interest in writing fiction, I felt guilty about doing something for the pure love of doing it. It seemed indulgent to merely entertain myself when my professional life had been filled with developing programs and providing services, trying to make the world a better place.

When I shared my concern with others, someone asked me why I write. The answer that emerged for me was that I did it not just to entertain myself, but to share my experiences and understanding of the world through stories. My hope is that other people find the stories not only interesting and engaging but see a bit of themselves in the characters and their situations in life.

I recently read a news article in USA Today about our changing world and the resulting polarization and conflicts among people. In an interview, Turkish author, Elif Shafak, said: “If we learn anything, we learn it from people who are different from us. For extremism to work, (populists) need to dehumanize ‘the other.’ Fiction humanizes. Fiction tells us that the person you saw as ‘the other’ has a story. If you know that person’s story, you can connect with that person’s sorrow or hopes. In a world of so much conflict, we need the art of story-telling like never before.”