Into the Bush: Under African Skies

Marlette Bess was born and raised on the sunny southern California coast. By her early twenties she found herself alone with no family. Although Marlette came from humble beginnings, she always dreamt of travelling to exotic places. This fuelled a lifelong desire for travel and adventure. Marlette’s impetuous naïveté and shoestring budget lead her on her first international adventure to Israel where she worked long, hard days on a kibbutz. Saving her money, she next ventured on to Europe, no longer innocent about the ways of the world. With her travel mate and future husband at her side, the next big journey was to Africa. They crossed the Sahara Desert from West Africa to Nigeria then onto Senegal during the drought of 1973. Together they enjoyed meeting the people, seeing the animals and experiencing the continent’s beauty. While other Americans were celebrating the Bi-centennial in 1976, Marlette and her husband were on a bus loaded with people, pigs and parcels, traveling through Central America. The couple saved their money and continued to travel to many countries throughout the world including Egypt, Canada, Australia, Italy, New Zealand and many other places. Marlette has lived in California, Oregon and Montana. Her travels have taken her too many parts of the world: Thailand, Turkey, India, Burma, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, American Samoa, Australia, and much of Europe, both alone and with friends. Her latest adventure was cruising the Baltic Sea and discovering Iceland. Through her many world travels, recently she has developed a renewed interest in the beauty and mystery of North America. Why does Marlette write? At first writing was a hobby. She had never been that interested in English in school and thought you had to know how to spell to be a writer. After a downturn in her health, recovery writing has been a way of life...it acts as therapy. Marlette is a novelist, not so much writer. Give her three hundred pages and she’ll give you a complete story! Marlette writes Women’s Contemporary Fiction with a focus on relationships. Hope you enjoy her stories!