Why did you choose the name "Seventy Thousand Camels" for you story?

A lot of people have asked this question and I simply tell them they need to get to Chapter 23 to find out, and, to the end of the book to understand what I can only call an "epiphany" or analogy/metaphor/moral for the story told.

How did you survive all that has happened to you and still remain so grounded and altruistic?

My natural willfulness and oppositional defiance are major contributors to the portion about survival.My brand of Spirituality is the reason I remain altruistic as well as obvious psycho-pathological empathy. An innate proclivity towards realism and living in the now, as well lessons derived from the life I've lived, help to keep me grounded.

One of the opening paragraphs mentions the book is about hope and strength. Where do you think your strength comes from and how has it supported you over the course of your life?

As already explained in question two, I was born defiant and questioning; I was also an optimist. If someone told me the sky was orange but I knew it to be blue, even the vilest of tortures would not have made me admit it was orange. I had to have the last say when confronted, and if for some reason, I'd concur with my adversaries, I'd ensure I had the last say eventually. Being defiant helped me cope with most obstacles in life. Up till I received enough "knocks on the head" in my late 40's, I also maintained my undying optimism, where I truly believed good would always triumph over evil. Optimism and defiance gave me my strength to call tomorrow "another" day Scarlett O'Hara style, but my hope came almost solely from my Spirituality and commitment to my children.

After the end of your fifteen year marriage, online dating had a big part to play in finding new relationships. What's your advice about finding love online?

Unfortunately I have become very cynical and anti online dating. I do not recommend it as a means for finding a truly meaningful, enduring relationship. Online dating can be a tool for good friendships forged yes, so long as you are aware your chat is not exclusive. In my opinion online dating is a smorgasbord which often attracts opportunistic personalities. It is also potentially addictive as you come home to the "rush" of the who might have written to me today only to be bitterly disappointed, or left with the need to wile away precious hours looking for another rush. Many times too when meeting a potential date, I found that the person who shows up is nothing like the person in the profile picture both physically and/or intellectually.

Is a profession within the prison system something anyone can do, and which would you recommend, Juvenile or Adult corrections and why?

I personally do not believe just anyone can work within the prison system, and especially not in Juvenile Justice. The best candidate for work in this often pessimistic environment is a personality type who is laden with empathy, fortitude, a good self esteem, and a great sense of humour. To join Corrections you need to believe in restorative justice. You are dealing with the person first, and then their offending behaviour and criminal act. Too many corrections staff join for either the perceived thrill of such an environment, or in order to brag they got to meet "so and so" which is actually a major breach of confidentiality. This kind of attitude and a "cowboy" approach to law and order hold the potential of placing both prisoner and staff at risk of violent repercussions and, does absolutely nothing for behaviour modification and rehabilitation in lieu to a prisoner's release back into their community. Not everyone in the prison system is an evil scoundrel. As far as personal preference for Juvenile Justice or the adult system goes; hands down for juve. Most adults are recidivists and adult corrections is very much set up as a "us and them" punitive environment where the "kind screw" is looked upon as weak and a traitor by many of their colleagues, whereas Youth Workers in Juvenile Justice are actually encouraged to be kind and empathetic in order to counsel the children in custody rather than just lock 'em up and throw away the key. Having said this, children are ten times more difficult to manage than their adult counterparts due to gross immaturity, early inception inside a controlled environment, and the type of oppositional defiance I know only too well.

What would you tell your younger you today?

I would be very emphatic about life not truly being what you perceive it to be in the moment. That everything we experience, everyone who enters our lives are vehicles for our own learning and spiritual growth. That every painful experience will pass and to stop wasting time wishing on a better outcome if only "I'd done this or that, lost more weight, or had a better job". That education is more important for our future than a romantic love life or a particular aesthetic look. That marriage and children are for whole personalities and not as salvage tools for a dangerously low self esteem. That being truthful and kind win the war, but the battles must be chosen carefully. That money is important because it assists one in experiencing travel and social altruism and philanthropy. A good education will therefore provide a good income via the achievement of a solid profession. Finally, that God truly does exist, but it's not monotheistic, man made, or separate from us.

If you lost Adam for whichever reason, would you be able to cope?

This is a very difficult question to answer and believe me, I've often asked it of myself and stated NO, I WOULD NOT. The reality loving, fortuitous side of me knows only too well I'd eventually heal from the enormous, unimaginable pain of such a loss in my life, but the emotional side of me refuses to consider such a loss, let alone complete healing from it. Adam literally saved me from myself and over the past ten years, has been the only constant and unbending support in my life which has been fraught with challenges, and continues being fraught with them as I learn more life lessons. It took me a long time to even allow Adam to love me without continual opposition and deliberate sabotage, so now that I not only accept his love wholeheartedly, but bask in it day in and day out, not having him in my life till the end seems unimaginable and inconceivable, but you know, I've also got to walk my story's talk and get on with it! Life does go on in spite of ourselves, but let's pray we never need to live out the rest of our lives without one another?

Do you still speak to your mother?

It took a lot of continuous narcissistic behaviour from "Gilda" my mother, for me to finally realise classic narcissistic behaviour is incurable. To try to reason with Gilda ad infinitum would be to give in to the adage: the definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. I'm done trying to draw blood from a stone. I think I finally realised I'll never obtain Gilda's understanding or empathy when I told her my son had been admitted into a psyche ward over Christmas 2019 for extreme violent behaviour against himself and others and all I received from her was a Christmas card explaining that Christmas is all about Jesus' birthday instead of "cats and koalas dressed in Santa suits". I have asked Adam to intercept my mail and dispose of Gilda's future correspondence to me so I don't go back on my promise to let her go. In typical Adel defiance however, I couldn't help sending her a rebuttal Christmas card letting her know I would never again write to her, and what kind of mother and grandmother is she? I envisage not too long in our future I will need to address her impending death (she is 84) and sort out her affairs, but for now it's a case of out of sight, out of mind for MY OWN peace of mind.

Will you pen other books in the future and if so, what are the themes?

I have several more books in me including one I had almost completed before I decided to publish Seventy Thousand Camels. This book which I will endeavour to finish soon is a collaboration with my son Edan regarding our journey living with his Aspergers Syndrome or for others who do not believe Aspergers stands out on its own as a diagnosis, with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The book will hopefully carry a foreword by globally recognized Aspergers Syndrome authority, Dr Tony Atwood.