My name is Sheila Bosire. I am born again I love Jesus as my personal savior. And an author as well.
My writing journey has been enjoyable, challenging rewarding. It all began way back in high school when I wrote stage plays for our class drama club and the plays did well and I was encouraged to keep writing.
After high school I submitted some articles to Young Nation periodically and also got to write for a Christian newspaper called Destiny. At this stage I took part in an essay competition organized by Wajibu magazine (an ecumenical Christian magazine journal) dealing with social issues and won an honorable mention.
These small strides ahead encouraged me to write all the more even as I joined Kenyatta University
At Kenyatta University I studied Literature as my major and Sociology as my minor with English as a subject. I did some writing classes especially in 3rd and 4th year. At the end of my study period there my first children’s book was published by Phoenix Publishers. One of my lecturers recommended me to them.
I continued writing articles for Nation periodically and other forums. At this time, I was looking for a job and once again one of my lecturers recommended me to Oxford University Press and I worked with them on some projects. These we’re not writing projects but rather proofreading and some editorial job training. At this time, I began a double career as an author as well as an editor.
I am grateful for this because I had learned that I needed to supplement my personal writing with something that earned me a living more regularly. I had learned that authors are paid a royalty annually and in our publishing environment fiction books and other genres were considered after educational school and college material.
An author is well advised to have other means of earning a living.
My involvement in the publishing world expanded as I got to do more work with several other publishing houses. Eventually I started a magazine journal named ‘Belief’ whose subject matter was from an apologetics and ecumenical Christian perspective. I used the magazine as an outreach tool and got to witness to those in other faiths and share with Christians from different denominations during this time.
A major breakthrough opportunity opened up for me through this magazine and I won an opportunity from the US Nairobi Embassy to join a team of 9 from other African countries to travel to the United States on an informative visit through the ‘International Leadership Visitors Program’ on the freedom of worship in its diversity in the USA. We learned quite a bit during that month long tour. I have written more about it in my magazine blog: www.beliefmagazine.wordpress.com
I also started a publishing company i.e. Canon Literature Media concurrently with the magazine. My biggest challenge has been capital but the Lord has been faithful to increase us gradually. Previously I had worked for a startup i.e. Mvule Africa Publishers which was run by leading Kenyan publishers who I looked up to and was mentored by. I didn’t stop writing and have continued writing to date with some children’s literature and adult Christian fiction as well as educational material.
My testimony is the continued guidance of the Lord through His word and the Holy Spirit as well as learning constantly from my peers, mentors and through other sources. It is important to read widely and broadly as a writer. We especially need divine assistance in these times where our world is changing rapidly in many ways and sometimes very crucial values are downplayed and even seen as outdated yet the word of God and what He expects of us remains the same.
The books nominated are a children’s book Our Generous Father God and Sell Me a Prayer which is a novel touching on how to navigate church life in the face of many challenges especially greed for money and fakes.
