When I completed my PhD in 1987 I thought I would never attempt another project that required as much attention to detail, hard work, and commitment. I was wrong. Writing My Heart Is Not My Own has required all of the above. I’ve done my homework–four trips to Sierra Leone, phone calls and lengthy email […]
My Heart is Not My Own
The Next Big Thing
Recently, Helen McClory of Shietree tagged me in The Next Big Thing that is going around the blogs. Helen’s prose and photos are so consistently lovely I read every one of her posts. My answers pertain to my upcoming novel, My Heart is Not My Own. Where did the idea come from for the book? […]
A few days among the Mende in Sierra Leone
This is a “live” post from Sumbuya, Sierra Leone. I ask your forgiveness for spelling or grammatical errors—I’m in an NGO office, the lights are blinking and, well—this is going to be one draft only. I’m here to tidy up loose ends. Tomorrow I’ll attend the opening of the school that our family and friends […]
Press Release about My Heart Is Not My Own
Penguin Canada to publish My Heart Is Not My Own September 26, 2012 (Toronto) – Penguin Canada is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Michael Wuitchik’s compelling novel, My Heart Is Not My Own (previously Three Stone Fire), set to publish in Summer 2013. The book was acquired in a competitive bid by Penguin’s Commissioning […]
Back to the beginning….
Thanks to my agent, Drea Cohane, My Heart Is Not My Own is finally getting into the hands of acquiring editors. And so my thoughts return to the beginning…. In 2000, during the civil war in Sierra Leone, I visited a refugee camp in Freetown. I remember several images from that trip, but one in […]
On standing out….below the radar, in Sierra Leone
I’ve often been asked if I’ve ever felt uncomfortable in Sierra Leone. The answer is yes, when I was there in 2000, during the war. It was a year after ‘the second coming of the demons’, which is how Sierra Leoneans often refer to January, 1999, when the rebels retook most of Freetown. When Joseph […]