Poplar Bluff native takes long road to dream of writing

Creating a world with words and thoughts started at a young age for Poplar Bluff native Sandra Davis, who now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is working on the last book of her trilogy “Daughters of Dasheen.”

She embarked on her journey at Wheatley School where she received guidance and inspiration. As so often happens, life threw a roadblock in her path but she was able to keep her dream alive.

A talkative child, Davis learned early “my gift to gab irritated so many people. I had to find a way to express myself without annoying them. So instead of talking so much, I began to write.”

Davis

She would hide under the house with “my thoughts, pencil, and paper. It was a space just for me. A place where my imagination was free to roam.”

Free to be different

at Wheatley school

When she entered sixth grade “my creative expression was unleashed under the guidance of Mrs. R.E. Ray,” Davis said. “It was there, in our tiny classroom, I met a most unusual teacher. A teacher who renamed me Baby Turner and gave me the freedom to be different.”

The teacher presented her with “notebooks to record my thoughts and poetry,” Davis said. “Because of the freedom and inspiration given to me, I landed my first job reading and writing letters for Mrs. Pettus, a visually-impaired woman,” whose “ability to paint her emotions through a combination of letters from the alphabet filled my heart with joy as I was able to communicate her thoughts and feelings to her family and friends in a way that only she could express. After her demise, her words stopped dancing, so I seldom wrote anymore.”

After integration, the teenager graduated from Poplar Bluff High School and the dental assistant program at Three Riverc College. As a teenage mother, Davis went to work in St. Louis to quickly realize the only thing she loved less than her career was St. Louis. Returning home she worked in a medical clinic before moving to Kansas City, Kansas, where she again worked as a dental assistant during the day and wrote poetry at night. Next she earned a good salary at General Motors, but building tire rods did nothing for her creativity.

A side journey

blazes new trails

Her next step was the first black women employed by Pitney Bowes, a shipping business, as a professional sales representative. She said, “I kept my nose to the grindstone and exceeded far beyond everyone’s expectation, including my own.”

After three years she opened an upscale consignment boutique which she managed at night and worked for Pitney Bowes during the day.

After Davis closed the boutique, she began consulting with McDaniel and Associates Insurance Company. She soon was assigned project manager for a documentary film and was offered a short term contract in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

While her family, especially her late father Lonnie Davis, encouraged her to venture out, St. Thomas was too far from home. He wanted her to return home to work with him creating the SEMO Pride Magazine. They were working to establish the project when her father died. She gave her notice in St. Thomas and returned to Poplar Bluff only to discover many unresolved issues. She returned to St. Thomas feeling defeated and broken, but it was “a place that would nurture me and keep me safe,” she said.

A visit to a bookstore and discovering the works of Zora Neale Hurston rekindled her love for words, but she continued to work as an insurance underwriter until Hurricane Hugo. After the storm, she interviewed with VITELCOM to become an account executive where her love for writing was a positive for the job.

After five years, she opened an award winning cookie company only to close after the negative impact of 9-11. She went to work for Sprint in Las Vegas. Later moving to Verizon in Las Vegas, Denver, Colorado and Wentzville, Missouri, where she was forced to retire for health reasons.

Returning to Poplar Bluff to recuperate, Davis studied jewelry design which combined with her writing kept her motivated.

‘Daughters of

Dasheen’ are born

After relocating to Atlanta, she enrolled in writing classes, joined the Atlanta Writer’s Club and began working on her trilogy “Daughters of Dasheen.”

“I am not your traditional author and my stories are not traditional,” she said. She writes about a diverse group of characters, interracial relationships and “my creative vision as a black author.”

Inspiration for Davis comes from the islands, folklore and the colloquial language of the West Indian culture.

While her work is fiction, she spins tales with social issues experienced in everyday life across the world.

Shes completed two novels in the trilogy: “The Chosen One” and “The Revolt.” The third novel “The Rebirth” is to be released later this year.

Other projects include a children’s book and her ancestral cookbook.

Davis said, “I can’t tell you how happy I am to give birth to all of the characters I have kept alive in my heart and mind. I really have the easy job of playing with my imagination. My sister Carol Harris has the difficult job of making my imagination make sense. She is the best editor, friend and sister in the world. She’s the magic sauce.”

Calling herself “quite fortunate. My family has always been so supportive,” she said. “They offer support, encouragement to keep going and honesty, I am contented living in Georgia with my computer and sweet tea. Today life is good.

“I write books, give talks and consult with aspiring authors on how to navigate the publishing process. When I need a little inspiration I retreat to my studio and string my beads or I find my way to the kitchen and prepare a good meal for the family I love so much, until I can escape to the beautiful Caribbean Islands.

“I can honestly say that I’ve had an amazing journey. God has blessed me beyond measure. With all the twists and turns I’ve encountered, I have managed to still have my feet above ground sharing life and laughter.”