I have always been a storyteller and I always will be. I tell stories both as a writer and as a theatre director. I choose the stories that I tell not only to entertain but also to ask questions about what it is to be human.

There is one fundamental story that I can’t help writing – about how I am navigating whatever happens each day of my life. In this story I have taken on many roles: daughter, sister, cousin, mother, divorcée, aunt, widow, lover, godmother and éminence grise.

Each role has helped shape me into the person I am today. And through the many unexpected twists, turns, setbacks and triumphs, my love of stories has been my constant companion.

Even in the toughest times, widowed with two children, when I struggled to balance everything around me, the power of stories was the grounding force in the life of my family.

Suddenly cast in the role of sole provider, I had little time to spare, but I would always spend the few precious hours I did have in reading, or telling, stories to my children. Their responses, questions and comments would energize me in unexpected ways.

That was when I realised the true power of storytelling (not only for the listener, but also for the teller) as well as the essential awareness of both self and others that stories could bring to our lives. I carry those memories with me always, and they continue to be the driving force behind all my works.

My work is crafted using a combination of in-depth research, on-going interactions with diverse peoples around the globe, with the goal of creating stories that are immersive, fantastical and meaningful, while still finding themselves grounded in the reality of human experience.  

By caring and advocating for others while still standing up for my core values, I use my craft of storytelling to connect with hearts and minds across the world.

I am an empathetic writer. I write to engage with people. It’s always a two-way street for me.

And to finish on a fun fact; I am officially titled The Lady J.A. Zarifian of Glencoe. Not only does that make me ‘A Lady’ which is just so much fun to say (not to mention allaying my mother’s fears for my upbringing), but most importantly, it was bestowed because of my commitment to the conservation of Nature Reserves in Scotland, the last great Wilderness Land in Europe. Pretty cool, huh?