Welcome
I write Quirky Stories with a Twist of Lemon; and Poetry with a Pinch of Salt.
A Dance With Words
Welcome to my website.
My name is Quenntis. I’m a leap year aquarian rabbit from South Africa, which means I’m basically a flying wooden rabbit that leaps over clouds. When I write, my words jump off the page, onto the stage, and into the airy heights of your imagination.
I’m married to the most amazing woman I know and I adore my 3 children in various stages of growing awesomeness. They have front row seats to my punny puns, silly songs, and wordplay on a daily basis.
Even though I retired from a performing arts career in 2003 when the SARS epidemic abruptly ended a Cats tour in China, my love of the stage continues to influence my work as a creative artist, a teacher, a poet, and a writer living in Taiwan.
I teach the most amazing kids by day and get to dance with words by night. I love teaching and writing for children because they have an insatiable curiousity about the world, about magic, and about how their own unique magic makes them who they are.
My degrees in Drama & English, Classical Ballet & Dance Musicology, and Creative Writing all point to the page being the best stage for my creativity to flourish.
I’m fascinated about how the best stories invoke a physical reaction in our bodies and our minds. We know ourselves better by the end, and we learn something new about the world beyond the borders of our own skin, and the limits of our limbs. Isn’t storytelling the best kind of magic?
South Africa
I arrived in a racially divided South Africa in 1976, along with color TV.
I grew up in Durban, but moved to Cape Town to be a professional dancer. My career ended in June 2003 when I injured my ankle dancing in Cats in China. I lost all 9 lives as a stage kitten. My dreams of global feline fame and fortune were forever paused mid-air.
The end of one gracefully furred life meant time and space for a new adventure! After an intensive TEFL course, I was back on my feet in no time.
Taiwan
In September 2003, I arrived in Taiwan to teach English using my performing arts skills.
When I had time and energy I wrote for Redroom, put a novel on Authonomy, and had online poetry conversations with writers around the world. I even found my way back to the stage. Over 5,000 students experienced my Drama Tours and Travelling Tales Storytelling Projects.
I was a staff writer, editor, and voice artist for Rainbow Time Magazine while completing an MFA in Hong Kong. I helped develop the magazine’s interactive educational design. Co-hosting weekly radio storytelling programs for ICRT for two years was a highlight.
World
The world can be a scary place, but we can make a difference by being a creative part of it. It doesn’t matter what country we live in or what language we speak. Stories are the magic glue that holds the world together.
If I can touch the heart of just one reader in the world with my words, my voice, or my life on the page, then I have made a difference.
Please consider joining my Weekly Email Newsletter or signing up for my free substack newsletter, a body of words.
I also plan to start a Podcast and a YouTube channel.
Manifesto in 5 Affirmations
I pledge to celebrate my rarity.
I promise to continue the dream of my ancestor(y)s.
I will be Quenntis.
I am before I do.
I honor my muse.
I pledge to celebrate my rarity.
Out of all the billions of people on this planet, I turned out to be me.
And there is only one of me.
That makes me a very rare creature indeed.
So I will be me, and I will celebrate the quirky creature that I am.
I promise to continue the dreams of my ancestor(y)s.
I am the result of many generations of human beings that have come before me.
These ancestors dreamed of a better future.
And it is this future I am living in right now.
I too am dreaming of a better future for my children and the children of my children.
I will continue to be Quenntis.
For there is nobody better qualified or brave enough to take this already-taken position.
I am before I do.
I also take missteps and make mistakes.
It is all part of being a lifelong learner.
I am human.
So my actions don’t define who I am, they help me to grow into a better me.
I honor my muse.
To be inspired & to be creative I need to show up to work every day.
I respect & trust my muse enough to let her do whatever she wants to do.
She’s creative.
She’s playful.
She likes rules, but she also likes to bend & break those rules.
She surprises me all the time.