In 1999 at the opening reception for an exhibit of my jungle drawings, a friend suggested that I a story to accompany some of my drawings.  As I drove home, an idea for a story popped into my head.  The next night I wrote the first draft and over the next three months I refined it, selected some of my drawings for the story and added some new ones. By year’s end, Hampton Roads Publishing Company had published my first book, OBO, the story of a young monkey searching for paradise in the African rain forest.

A second book, based on a fantasy from my childhood and titled When I Was a Little Boy, I Was a Black Panther was released in October, 2002, and a third book, Africa – A Little Rhino Coloring Book was published three years later.

Currently I am working on two projects, The Wedding, set in India, and Costa Rica – A Little Rhino Coloring Book.  Due to the popularity of the Little Rhino Coloring Book I am planning on a series that will include settings in Southeast Asia, India, and the American rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.

Each of my books is designed to teach as well as entertain.  OBO includes a glossary of African wildlife and The Wedding will have a similar glossary plus an educational map.  The Little Rhino Coloring Book series includes factual information on each of the animals that appear in the books, including the current survival status.  A number of schools have used OBO and Africa - A Little Rhino Coloring Book as support tools for the Standards of Learning.

Some of the illustrations in my books were drawn on location when I lived in Nigeria, while others are based on sketches and photos I made in West Africa, India, Mexico, Costa Rica, or at one of the zoos I visit often in Washington, D.C., New York (Bronx Zoo), Seattle, Washington, and Paris.