Davida Siwisa James

Davida Siwisa James is a native of Philadelphia. The author has lived in Philly, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and currently resides outside of L.A. in the California Mojave High Desert with her husband, Robelto.

Davida is an alumna of UCLA, with a B.A. in English, and attended the Penn State Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, PA. She is an award-winning short story author, and has numerous published newspaper articles and university magazine articles. Her body of creative writing includes several unpublished manuscripts, short stories, essays and poems. She boasts an 18-year career in arts management for performing arts centers, and has served as a public relations director for a university. She currently has a freelance writing/editing business and is constantly working on numerous writing projects.

Books Published

Davida has three published books: "Imagined Lives", "The South Africa of His Heart" A Memoir about Love, Loss and Serendipity; and The Caribbean Writer: Vol 14 (an international literary journal) -Short Story: "The Commute".

IMAGINED LIVES

This powerful and unflinching memoir takes us into the life of a woman who both witnesses and participates in extraordinary events starting in the turbulent and historic 1960s. In this poignant autobiography, we are privy to the secrets and lies, anguish, heartbreak, trauma, joy, successes and passion of a life well lived. Through it all, the author has one theme as the backdrop of her life—that love is the only answer.

Go on an unforgettable journey that explores…

Cliffside condos. Condemned houses. Boarding school. A battered mother. An abusive stepfather. Paris nights. The English Channel. Legends at the Apollo Theater. Murderers. A junkie boyfriend. A South African expatriate. An overdose. Caribbean hideouts. Broadway openings. Hurricanes. Carnival. And love. So much love.

The South Africa of His Heart

It is 1976, the summer of the Soweto student riots in South Africa. The massacres sparked world awareness of the horrors of apartheid and, many believe, were the catalyst for the eventual fall of apartheid fourteen years later when Nelson Mandela walked out of prison.

A twenty-two year old woman enrolls in a college prep program in Harlem and meets a South African expatriate thirty-plus years her senior. He is there teaching English. Amidst the turmoil of that summer, they fall in love, marry and make plans to move to Nigeria .

Set in New York, the Caribbean, London, Paris, South Africa and Los AngelesThe South Africa of His Heart is a moving thirty-year memoir about how the circles in life can lead us to astounding places–often by chance. Ms. James shares the true story of the lifelong impact her South African husband made on her life.

What unfolds is a touching, unconventional love story about dedication and a spiritual connection that bridged their physical separations. In a series of fateful discoveries, many years after their last encounter, she uncovers surprising and profound revelations about her first husband.

Life in Brief

"Life in Brief" is a collection of short stories, essays and poems which includes "The Commute" - a short story set in the Caribbean that details a woman's mesmerizing commute to work through the hills of St. Thomas. Breathtaking ocean views, iguana, falling mangoes and slave markets mark her path to work. What makes the story unique are the reflections the author shares about other commutes in urban areas such as New York City and Los Angeles as she juxtaposes descriptions of the city commutes to the breathtaking views of her current drive. It is the winner of the the Marguerite Cobb McKay prize for a Caribbean author. "The Commute" was selected to be included in an anthology "Seasoning for the Mortar" published in 2004 featuring the best published submissions of the journal's first 15 years.

WEBSITE:   www.thewriter4you.com and www.davidasiwisajames.com

EMAIL:   [email protected]
BLOG:   http://www.deejammin.wordpress.com/