Ali Anthony Bell

Born in the Rocky Mountains in Montana, USA in 1960, where my father worked with the Blackfeet tribe, I learned the values of respect for nature and all peoples. My parents were active in the civil rights movement of the 60’s and we moved to the inner-city ghetto on the west side of Chicago in 1969 (novella "From the Rockies to the Windy Cities).
I passed my high-school equivalence diploma (G.E.D) in 1977, at 17, in Santa Clara county, CA. with an average of 91%, scoring 98% in English literature, the highest score on their records at the time. This diploma had been the condition set by my parents for my liberty. I started studying at the San José City College in the fall of ’77 as a Studio Arts major, while working and paying my own rent. I was sure at the time that I would be a painter.  
On the 7th September, 1983, when I set my foot in Paris France for the first time, I had no idea that I would live in France for the next 26 years. Arriving in France had been a major life objective for me throughout my youth, having acquired an “idée fixe”. It was on a grant to study film-making that I finally achieved this goal, after having made 2 short films while attending a cinema school in the Twin Cities, Minnesota (novel "1983-1984 Surfing the Purple Wave").
After spending 26 years in France, I moved to Morocco in September 2009, where I found peace and wonderful people. I embraced Islam the 12th May 2010 and changed my name to Ali. My first two years in Morocco were the basis for the novel "From the Red City to the White House". At present I am a teacher, a coach, a translator, a public speaker, and an author, using my skills to help people achieve their potential, and participating in the development of Morocco.