The Motivation Behind Cinderella By Any Other Name

2019 is the year of realizing stuff.
I just wanted to write that because it's such a faux airhead thing to say.
I've been realizing stuff for quite a while. Since at least 2016. But lately, it's been all about me and the things I've been taking for granted which are actually kind of interesting.
For example, my body. In my mind, I have always thought that I take relatively good care of my body because I at least think about exercising, don't eat that much junk food and just generally try to eat my vegetables.

The truth is, I eat for something to do, sometimes, even when I am not the least bit hungry. I eat if I feel tired or sick because I imagine that its just my energy flagging and I need to fuel the engine. I drink way too much tea.
So this year, I'm thinking first.
I look at the food on my plate and ask myself, "Is this too much? If I halve this food, will I still be satisfied?"
Nine times out of ten, the answer is yes.
It's about control you see. For a large part of my life, I felt like I had no control over any aspect of it. I was in reactive mode.
Things happened to me, and I reacted to them. Nine times out of ten, it ended badly - for me.
In my forty plus years of living, I have never been the one to choose a boyfriend. They always chose me. I took whatever job was offered, whether it was in pharmacy or freelance. There was no feeling of "I choose this."
The only things I feel I ever chose were:
1. To keep my baby.

2. To write stories.
I didn't realize how much I was letting life happen to me until probably last year.
I think that this happens to a lot of people. We are spectators in our own lives...
Nadia is an extreme example of that.
Things happen to her, and she feels like she's a prisoner in her own life. If it ain't one thing, it's another. How does she navigate her way through and does she find herself in the end?
I love Nadia, I relate to her story, I really hope you will too.
You'll let me know on Valentine's Day, won't you?
Cinderella By Any Other Name is Available for Preorder Now. Go on, click on the link.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

A Picumentary

Character Intro

In Search of Paradise is the first ever post-apocalyptic gay African romance that details the Struggle of being gay while attempting to survive the end of the world. You have been introduced to Ben, Anders, and Zawadi in other posts. Today we're just summarising what we know in form of pictures. Because otherwise there's just too much stuff to read.
Right?

Charity

You can pre-order your copy by going here, and hovering your mouse over the picture. It will give you options from Amazon to Kobo whichever you prefer, where you can pre-order In Search of Paradise at a very discounted pre-order rate. It's discounted because we want as many people who can, to pre-order so that we can raise a goodly amount for the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

The Book Cover

I want you to take a closer look at the cover. Look at Anders' face. Do you see it? His face actually spells LOVE. The black and white background behind Ben and Anders' silhouettes is actually a picture of Uhuru Park in Nairobi. The bottom colored portion of the book cover is shaped like a pyramid and shows the devastation of the Apocalypse. After you read the book you'll have even more appreciation of how awesome that is. 

And Finally

Pre-order period ends on 3rd November which is closer than you think. So hit that link today.

A Look Behind the Curtain

Now that you've had time to read Erase and Rewind it's time to take a look behind the scenes. A few facts that might interest you about the writing of.
First of all you might have noticed that there was some kind of foreign language in the story.

“What is that?” she exclaimed in fear taking an involuntary step back.

“Djab”, the sailor said falling to the ground.

Devil.

That language is Haitian Creole. I used google translate to write so I hope I got it right. Let me know if I fucked up huh?
I like to do that though. I like to mix and match cultures according to their lore and beliefs. A thing that I find is that there is a lot of intercourse between the cultural beliefs of different peoples. The people of Hispaniola who are featured in this story carried their beliefs in a boat from West Africa and then modified it from Christian beliefs, and the cultures of other peoples they came across. The thing is that ultimately, we all come from the same root.

This week is a good one to remember that huh?
There is also no escaping that mix and match that has taken place because it's like HIV. It gloms itself onto your DNA and you can't kill it without killing yourself.
Which makes me question all these so called cures people are claiming to have. If you've found the cure for HIV it means you can now cure viruses. All viruses. Because they all behave in the same way and that's why you can only manage them.

It's the same thing with supremacy. Be it white supremacy, kikuyu supremacy, wherever you find it in the world. People think it's a cure but it's not. It's a blindfold. A blindfold to assist the person donning it to escape from reality.
One thing I like about myself and it's reflected in the way I write is that escaping from reality is not in the cards. My books might give you a new way to look at that reality, a way to gain new perspectives; but not to kid yourself about it.
Some people don't like that. They prefer the 'bury your head in the sand' approach. More power to you. :)