Francine Thomas Howard

After a three-decade career as a pediatric occupational therapist specializing in the treatment of children with physical disabilities including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and muscular dystrophy, Ms. Howard opted for early retirement. Driven by her desire to preserve the remarkable oral history of the multiple branches of her family tree, Ms. Howard began writing down family stories with no thought to publication. In the winter of 2009, she entered her grandmother’s story, Page from a Tennessee Journal, into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. Two weeks after the contest ended, Ms. Howard was contacted by AmazonEncore.

Ms. Howard’s stories reflect her multi-ethnic heritage: African, European, Native American. She delights in writing tales that explore the multicultural legacy of African descended people throughout the Diaspora. In addition to Paris Noire (a tribute to another of her three grandmothers) and Page from a Tennessee Journal, Ms. Howard has written The Sisterhood Hyphen (Parker Publishing).

Ms. Howard resides in the San Francisco bay area with her family.