Afarin Rava: An Ongoing Project

Friday, October 13, 2023

An Ongoing Project

In February 2022, I created a children's book about Iran titled The Cat on the Map... and published it for a day but then unpublished it because
* in the Kindle format, on some devices, the illustrations appeared as black and white
* in the printed version, the cover of the paperback seemed flimsy
* producing a hardcover was impossible due to the limited number of pages

Then I got busy with other projects:
* as the weather got better, I began working on the sunroom
* I completed and published Reflections: A Journey of Transformation
* I went to Indiana to teach four summer classes at IUPUI
* when I returned from Indiana, I finished the sunroom
* I got busy following the #WomanLifeFreedom revolution in Iran

The revolution gave me a new perspective, and, with that, I had other ideas for the book, so I made some changes to the book and eventually started over. With the ongoing revolution, which began on September 16, 2022, the book project is also still a work in progress.

Dearest Devised Darling

Dearest Devised Darling: Anthology is a dedication to the brave heroes and enchanting heroines who have touched our hearts and taught us valuable lessons through their struggles and adventures — and to the authors who created these cherished characters. The contributors to this anthology, who wrote letters to their favorite fictional figures, are — in alphabetical order : Jay Armstrong, Wendy Bayne, S. S. Bazinet, Gail Boenning, Jane Cornwell, Holly Dobbie, Humzah Farrukh, Umiemah Farrukh, Marni Graff, H. C. Helfand, Ewan Lawrie, Trish MacEnulty, J. G. MacLeod, Sallie Moffitt, Natasha Morningstarr, Chris Palmore, Afarin Rava, Diane Riley, Nina Romano, Carolyn Ruffles, Edward Selender, Denis Shaughnessy, Wendy E. Slater, Paul Spalding-Mulcock, Diana Stevan, Vicky Whedbee, Gerry Wilson, Wanda L. Worley, and George Yuhasz.

Dear Twelve-Year-Old Me

Over thirty writers hoping to make a positive change in the world have contributed their valuable life experiences and advice to children and adolescents. This book is a collection of priceless life lessons shared by random people, each of whom wished they could reach out to their twelve-year-old self and whisper their precious lessons in a way that their younger self would hear, believe, and learn. Many thanks to B.H. Arias, P.D. Austin, Jerome Berglund, Mike Bowerbank, Rocío del Mar, Holly Dobbie, Hannah Downey, Glenna Gill, Ilya Gutlin, Claude Inkwell, Althea Hogsett, Karen Hoffman, Margaret Lindsay Holton, Roberta Beach Jacobson, Heather Lynn, IA McCleery, Kelly Miller, Sallie Moffitt, Danielle Moody, Natasha Morningstarr, Chris Palmore, Diane Riley, Nina Romano, Gloria Worley Ruberry, Edward Selender, Claire Sheehy, Leif E. Slusher, Paul Spalding-Mulcock, Vicky Whedbee, Peter B. Williams, Charles Dan Worley, and Wanda L. Worley, whose contributions brought this book to life.