A rare collection of diverse creators, The Lemon Tree is a kaleidoscopic work that contains some of the most creative women of our time. Nitza Agam, a Bay Area author, teacher, and poet, has compiled a work that reveals the truth behind what drives women writers and artists to express their creativity. Inspired by her late friend who hid much of her art in her attic, this work sheds light on women artists and writers, now for the first time, who convey what they have always known, some from an early age, their unwavering need to create using words or images or both. The essays reveal the struggles, the obstacles, the triumphs, and the joys of the creative process.
Inspired by her late friend who hid much of her art in her attic, and the stories of her writer and artist friends, Nitza Agam has compiled the truth behind what drives women writers and artists to express their creativity. What are the struggles, the obstacles, and the triumphs and joys? All reside in this diverse collection of women who have known, some from an early age, the need to create using words or images or both. They may have realized this while pursuing another path, or knew as children, the higher calling of documenting their lives, or expressing their inner selves. Nitza Agam kept journals since the age of eight, while Gretchen Butler knew when her children were toddlers that the kitchen actually was an artist's inspiration. Marlene Shikegawa knew as a young Japanese American girl the joy of seeing her drawings on a bulletin board at school and feeling "seen" for the first time. That moment of being seen, no longer invisible, drew these women to trace their "origin" stories.
Darshell McAlpine has been a writer for over thirty years. Her love of reading good books grew into a love of writing them and in November 2018 she published her first book, Leaving with My Marbles: Finding the Courage to Walk Away Intact. Earlier that year she launched Boss Lady Press, an independent book publishing company, as a resource for indie authors. Her sole purpose has been to write and publish great literary works and have people read them.
As the CEO of Boss Lady Press, she has been fortunate to help numerous writers become authors and has coached many others to transform their writing. In 2019, she partnered with Dr. Carolyn Stephens to publish several anthologies highlighting the lives of black women and men in the U.S. I Am A Black Woman: The Compendium and I Am A Black Man: Ascension of the Kings birthed a cultural movement. The I Am A Black Man: Ascension of the Kings documentary also marked her debut as an executive producer and the launch of Boss Lady Media.
Darshell holds a B.A. in Psychology and is pursuing her Master of Arts in Writing at Johns Hopkins University. You can find her curled up with a good book, wearing a ratty t-shirt and fluffy socks, either drinking something hot and dark or dry and red, somewhere in Texas where she lives with her husband.
An independent film director, producer and writer, Marlene Shigekawa specializes in creative projects that give voice to marginalized communities and the need for social justice. She was the co-director and executive producer for the feature documentary film, For the Sake of the Children, which captures the stories of four generations of descendants of those Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. It has screened throughout the U.S. and in British Columbia.
As the Executive Director for the Poston Community Alliance, she has worked with the tribal community for 20 years in preserving the legacy of the former Poston Incarceration Site. A former manager in Silicon Valley companies, she wrote a career reference guide entitled Succeeding in High Tech: A Guide to Building Your Career , published by Wiley Publishing Co.