Author Biography
Born in England in 1935, a wartime child, taught Rosemary King to be resourceful, prudent, unafraid of difficulties and appreciative of every treat that came her way. She was married at 19 and went to live in Uganda where the qualities acquired during the war proved highly beneficial. Not only did the author open a nursery school to teach her own children, she also became the grease monkey for her husband's motor racing interest, took up sailing on Lake Victoria, and acted in and produced plays for the Nile Theatre. Moving to Spain, Rosemary opened a multi-lingual nursery and acted as agent/interpreter for her husband's company. After UDI, Rhodesia, later Zimbabwe, beckoned so back to Africa she went, immediately opening a third school. Then in quick succession Rosemary became part owner of a pickle factory, a toy factory (where she hand-painted faces on the toys); and, finally, a brass factory. Her hobbies were Bauernmalerei, weaving and garden design. After several years Rosemary ceased nursery teaching, and worked for the next 10 years in a plant nursery! On moving to a Retirement Village in later years Rosemary was asked to design the Clubhouse furniture and furnishings for the 140 residents, a total change from previous endeavours yet one she relished. Almost 50 years after arriving in Africa the author returned to England, joined the local U3A and became involved in village activities such as organising 'shows' and fund-raising for the Memorial Hall by collating many years of writing into a book of short stories relating to her colourful and varied experiences and travels to over 30 countries. Friends encouraged Rosemary to 'publish' her work as an anthology of short stories on African life, which she did as 'On the River'. With typical energy, the work 1st edition of 500 was printed and bound, and offered at a variety of locations in and around Lincoln. Encouraged by the local success of 'On the River', and pleased by her ability to contribute to local causes, a friend of Rosemary's introduced the author to literary agent, New Authors Collective, with a view to her work being offered to a wider audience. In the meantime, Rosemary's prolific talent for story telling had led her to expand the range of African tales to include delightful vignettes from other parts of the world. It was the New Authors Collective that introduced Rosemary's work to i2i Publishing who were delighted to have the opportunity, to publish such an entertaining, interesting and fascinating collection of short stories.
