The most important day of my life was a day I cannot remember. It was the day of my birth in Oudtshoorn, South Africa, where Lesley Marlene Riley made her first and noisiest entrance. My brother decided I should be named Dolly, and that is the name by which most people know me. My parents tried to call me Lesley, but it just never worked. When I was six weeks old, my parents moved to Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where I was declared an illegal immigrant and they were given twenty-four hours to remove me from the country. After much dancing, my father managed to sort the immigration out, and I was thankfully allowed to stay. At school, essay writing was my favourite homework subject, and after marking one of my essays, my English teacher suggested I consider writing as a career. Of course I wanted to be a pop star, but for that you first have to be able to hold a note, which was certainly not my forte. After school, I went to the Tech, where I studied secretarial skills and later became a personal assistant. The Rhodesian war escalated, and now married with three children, we lived on the Mozambique border, a real hot spot, where I had to learn to shoot and, if necessary, defend my family. At the end of the war, we moved to South Africa and later to the Transkei, where I bought a florist/gift shop. My English teacher had piqued my interest, and I took a short story writing course and have written numerous short stories for my own pleasure. I live in East London, South Africa. My interests are antiques and floral art.