Mme Jane Burfield met two of the world’s most infamous tyrants!

People often ask, “Where do you get your ideas for your stories?”I get eager to write when two seemingly unrelated experiences, thoughts or ideas inexplicably to rub up against each other, especially if they’re humorous…or murderous. I often use my personal experiences in my stories.

In 1973, when I was 16, I had two experiences that exploded my mind and shyness. I was part of a ten day international YMCA conference in Uganda – and we were required to have dinner with notorious dictator, Idi Amin. (Learn the full details in our documentary, The Mesdames of Mayhem.) And in that same year, I had to dance in front of Imelda Marcos. Oh, and she did wear lovely shoes.

I had to perform the bamboo dance in front of her in the Philippines. If I hadn’t taken ballet for nine years as a very young child, I might have had two woefully bruised ankles and been hobbled for life. I might have developed a hesitancy to seek out new adventures. And that would have been terrible because adventure and risk lead to personal growth in life – and to a good crime story!