Feb 22, 2024
My guest this week is Roxana Motiwalla Trabulsi (Of Mud and Honey, Ten16 Press. January 2023). Her debut is based on her parent’s struggles in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in Yemen as the country morphed into a Communist regime, her father was jailed as a political prisoner, and her mother and siblings were placed under house arrest. We discuss the emotional toll and responsibility of writing your own family’s history and how signing with a small press proved the perfect venue to not only tell the story of a little-known country but also gave Roxana the flexibility to publish the book while her parents were still alive. She also shares serendipitous contacts she made through her Internet research and finding the perfect editor who supported her vision.
Born in London, United Kingdom, but raised in Dubai, Roxana now lives just outside of Boston in Massachusetts, where she writes and teaches English Literature at a school for children with learning differences. A graduate of Northeastern University, she worked as a marketing professional for an audio company for several years. She and her husband moved to Tokyo soon after they were married and have lived there twice in the last twenty years. She sits on the board of the local farmer’s market where she has not only contributed to creating a sustainable community but has also been able to bring new and diverse programs such as a self-sustainable seed library to her town. Ultimately, she revels most in her role as mum to her three children. She loves all things farmers market, travel, yoga, art and design, and of course, reading. She lives with her husband, her teenage son, and their four-year-old cockapoo.
To learn more about Roxana, click here.