Online Reporter
Tafadzwa Zimoyo
Zimpapers Entertainment Editor
IN a season where Women’s Month is celebrating bold voices and fearless creativity, television personality Adiona Maboreke-Chidzonga is making noise in a quieter but powerful way.
She is doing it through children’s storytelling.
Her debut book, ‘The Secret Under The Stone’, is not just another children’s title hitting the shelves.
It is a declaration that imagination still matters, books still matter, and African stories must start with African children.
In an interview with Zimpapers Entertainment Hub, Adiona who is married to former Big Brother Africa housemate Munya, affectionately known as ‘Diamond Boy’, said love stories, “especially those that spark imagination,” inspire her work.
That statement alone explains why, ‘The Secret Under The Stone’ feels less like a debut and more like the arrival of a long-simmering voice.
The book launched recently and is built around curiosity, adventure and wonder, the very qualities that adults often lose but children hold onto fiercely.
Unlike many first-time authors, Adiona is not new to creative expression.
Music came first, with song writing as her original outlet.
But stepping into the literary space was a different kind of leap.
“I haven’t published anything before. This is my very first book,” she said.
“I’ve written plenty of songs, but this is my debut as an author, and that makes it very special to me.”
The choice to write for children was deliberate and deeply personal.
“I have written a children’s book because of the limitless imagination that children have,” said Adiona. They’re not afraid to dream, and I absolutely love it.”
That fearlessness is exactly what, ‘The Secret Under The Stone’ celebrates.
The story encourages young readers to ask questions, explore ideas and trust their instincts, a message that lands strongly in a world increasingly shaped by screens and shortcuts.
But this is not fantasy.
“I want our children to see themselves in stories and feel inspired to tell their own.”
Written years ago, the manuscript waited patiently for the right moment.
That moment came through encouragement, collaboration and belief.
Illustrator Taremeredzwa Chirewa helped unlock the visual language of the story, transforming imagination into colour and form.
“Sometimes a story waits for the right moment,” Adiona said.
“And when it does, it reminds you why you wrote it in the first place.”
Her creative compass has been shaped by powerful African voices.
She cites Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Pettinah Gappah as her literary inspirations, women who have proven that African stories can travel globally without losing their soul.
Their influence reinforces Adiona’s belief that women’s voices must not be softened or sidelined.
Away from the book, Adiona’s life reads like a highlight reel – singer, television presenter, entrepreneur and now published author.
When people call her gifted, she smiles but keeps it grounded.
“I have been called gifted, yes,” she said.
“I always say my gifts are God-given. I never went to school for my artistic gifts, so I use them without fear, in honour of the One who gave them to me.”
Balancing multiple careers doesn’t overwhelm her but it fuels her. “The whole lot makes me tick,” she said.
Mathew Masinge