Fika with Vicky welcomes Peta-Gaye Nash. Peta-Gaye is the author of Told Ya! Stories, our focus book for episode 76. Multi- genre, she’s also penned a children’s literature series and her work Bushy Head will also be part of our discussion.

I believe the term focus book is the perfect description for Told Ya! Stories. If a focus point is a place “at which rays (as of light, heat, or sound) diverge or appear to diverge,” then Peta-Gaye Nash’s writing is a place where rays of understanding diverge into the world. Not shying away from difficult subjects, this work will truly have you crying one minute and marveling at the strength and resilience of humanity the next.. You may not always feel comfortable, but that’s the point of roller coaster rides and, it would seem, roller coaster books, as well.

About Told Ya! Stories: This fascinating collection of stories are about the interactions of immigrants from the Caribbean with life in Canada.They are about things that surprise or confuse the author Peta Gaye-Nash. She explains; "It is how each of us sees life through the peculiar lens of our own experiences and environment, so that when we come together, our behaviours and motivations reflect the uniqueness of who we are - our gender, socio-economic background, culture, religious beliefs and so on." Swinging seamlessly between the slapstick and tragic in each life, these stories traverse the serendipitous circumstances of poverty that govern the harsh landscape of "paradise".

About Peta-Gaye Nash: Peta-Gaye Nash is a multi-genre writer of adult short fiction, children’s literature and poetry. She is known for captivating storytelling, vivid characters and insight into the human experience. Her new short story collection, Told Ya - Stories is published by Tamarind Tree Books, 2024 and explores themes of class differences, adversity, endurance, and resilience.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica and having lived in Ontario for over twenty years, Peta-Gaye draws inspiration from the rich tapestry of the Caribbean, her mixed race heritage and the immigrant life. She is the author of short adult fiction, I Too Hear the Drums and seven children’s books, all available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Her short stories and poems have appeared in several anthologies and she blogs on her website petagayenash.com about all manner of things, especially personal growth and self-help. In 2015, she won the Mississauga Arts Awards (the Marty’s) for Emerging Literary Art and in 2022 she won the same for Established Literary Art, as well as two Observer Literary Awards in her hometown, Kingston, Jamaica. Peta-Gaye lives and works in Mississauga, Ontario with her husband and children.

Find Peta-Gaye at petagayenash.com