The author of this delightful collection of short stories begins the forward with a confession: "I collect odd people... Much the way other people collect stamps or coins, I collect artists, deviants, egomaniacs, the sexually and morally confused, social faux pas, anarchists, true believers and rabid atheists." And Indonesia, a land where there is a very porous frontier between the natural and supernatural worlds, provided him with a rich hunting ground. In this collection, the reader will meet Thomas Perkasa, a gentle early childhood teacher with a secret passion for women's clothes; Maurice de Castillon, an eccentric artist who manages to break the cardinal aesthetic rule; the seductive Dewi Bambridge and her pesky drain dwarf; and Richelle Orlando whose passion for rebelliousness is tempered by an egg named Felicity. The author spent several years living in Indonesia and is quick to point out that the stories themselves are a blend of fact and fancy. What is not fiction is Indonesia where the tectonic plates of the natural and spiritual worlds rub their backs together and create the Ring of Fire.
About the Author: William (Bill) Powell is an international nomad. He has worked as an educator for the past 30 years in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Indonesia, and Malaysia. From 1991 to 1999, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of the International School of Tanganyika in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and from 2000 - 2006 as Headmaster of the International School of Kuala Lumpur. He was also been a theater manager, bartender, a bookstore clerk, gas station attendant, construction worker and newspaper editor. Bill is the author of fiction and non-fiction. His historical novels includes: The First Casualty (1979), Alia (2009), Chui and Sadaka (2010) and Malaika (2012). He has also authored two collections of short stories: During Mango Rains (2002) and The Drain Dwarf of Caringin Barat (2012). He is also the co-author, with his wife Ochan, of Count Me In! Developing Inclusive International Schools (2000) Making the Difference: Differentiation in International Schools (2008) Becoming an Emotionally Intelligent Teacher (2010) and How to teach now: Five keys to personalized learning in the global classroom (2011). He is a frequent contributor of educational articles to International School Journal, Journal of Research in International Education and Educational Leadership. At the present time, Ochan and he are working on a book entitled The OIQ Factor: How teachers can raise the organizational intelligence of schools (2013). When Bill is not speaking at conferences or writing, he can be found in the French Pyrenees collecting antique maps, cooking and tending a small flock of sheep.