Segilola Salami's Blog, page 5

Reading of Oscar the Ferry Cat with author interview

My daughter reads the children’s book “Oscar the Ferry Cat” in this episode of The Segilola Salami Show podcast. She also interviews the author Molly Arbuthnott, asking her questions any child would want answers to after reading a new book. I assure you, you need to click play now to listen to this episode that’s filled with laughter and cheer.

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider supporting it

 

About Oscar the Ferry Cat by Molly Arbuthnott

Oscar is an ordinary cat until, one day, his life is turned upside down.

When he finds himself alone on a ferry, he begins to search for a new friend.

How will he cope being on his own and will he ever find somewhere he can call home?

An inspirational story about friendship and coming to terms with loss.

Product detailsASIN : B07XC88RSHPublisher : Jelly Bean Books (4 Sept. 2019)Language : EnglishFile size : 14692 KBText-to-Speech : Not enabledEnhanced typesetting : Not EnabledX-Ray : Not EnabledWord Wise : Not EnabledPrint length : 16 pages

About The Segilola Salami Show

The Segilola Salami show is an audio podcast talk show hosted by the female Nigerian-British podcaster Segilola Salami who is also an author, freelance writer and blogger. Please click here to see the full list of Yoruba children’s books written by Segilola Salami.

The show is set in a virtual cafe and is a podcast on books and publishing. The aim of the show is to be both educative and informative but in an entertaining way. Guests from all works of life come on the show to talk about the books they have read or written and how books motivated or inspired them. Listeners of the show get to discover new authors and new books as well as learn something new. Also, as the show is set in a virtual cafe, it is a fun podcast to listen to at work, while running or even when driving.

The show is published weekly on Tuesdays at 9 am GMT London. Please click here to review the different ways to listen to or subscribe to this podcast to be notified when a new episode is released.

The Segilola Salami Show is a great audio podcast talk-show for writers and authors. If you would like to appear as a guest on this podcast, please click here for more info and to book your slot.Please leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) by clicking here!

If you are an author, blogger or book lover, please subscribe to my authors and bloggers mailing list to find out about new self-published books that need reviews. I send out monthly newsletters with details of authors and their books that need honest feedback.

The podcast jingle used in this episode was provided by Chris Lament.

Please download a copy of Yetunde: An Ode To My Mother by Segilola Salami on Amazon

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I would love to know your thoughts on today’s episode “Reading of Oscar the Ferry Cat with author interview “. Please leave a comment below.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Reading of Oscar the Ferry Cat with author interview appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Read a chapter from Miltan Epsilon: Book 1 of the Jazz Healy, Reunion Series for FREE

This blog post features an excerpt from the Science Fiction novel Miltan Epsilon: Book 1 of the Jazz Healy, Reunion Series by S.C. Mae.

Miltan Epsilon: Book 1 of the Jazz Healy, Reunion Series by S.C. Mae is suitable for readers 13+ and has no explicit content. It was published by Space Badger Publishing and is currently available as a Paperback (ISBN-13: 979-8749082746) and an ebook (ISBN-13: 978-0473567965). They were published on 05.05.21.

Synopsis of Miltan Epsilon: Book 1 of the Jazz Healy, Reunion Series by S.C. Mae

Jazz Healy is estranged – purposefully – from her mother, who runs a galaxy-spanning criminal organization. Twelve years ago she lost her father when pirates attacked a freighter delivering supplies to a frontier planet. Since then she’s decided it’s better, safer, to keep to herself. Even if means being alone. And often lonely.

Right now, she’s delivering pets, of all things, to a lawless space-station. Apparently even the most hardened criminals like animal companionship. One critter especially is making the cargo run worthwhile: a gene-splice kitten. Jazz will earn a cool hundred thousand Commonwealth dollars if she safely delivers the little fluff ball to its new owner.

But cargo that valuable brings out all sorts, from wannabe animal activists to tech cultists with enhancement fetishes. And maybe even Jazz’s mother. Though the cat is only one bullet point on her agenda.

Name of chapter: Chapter 1

Message: Jazz Healy slapped the cockpit dash of her Z-Class long-hauler but the extra life-sign on the internal scan refused to go away. She scowled. “That’s the last time I let Rankovic talk me into a job.”
The tiny splice-kitten in the cot at her feet mewled.

“Don’t stress, little one.” Jazz rose, mentally cursing that she hadn’t made time to replace the broken mote cameras in the cargo hold. “I’ll feed you when I get back.”

The surplus life-sign radiated too much heat to be one of the other baby animals, escaped from its pen.

That meant a person lurked below and Jazz wasn’t getting paid to transport people to Garbadon Minor.

After closing and locking the cockpit door she hesitated. Was it really safe to leave the kitten alone inside? Rankovic’s instructions had been to keep the red-and-black striped fluff-ball away from the other animals but that was out of regard for its safety – value, in all honesty – not theirs. The splice-kitten’s buyer was forking out a very large sum of money for successful delivery. So much, in fact, that Rankovic was willing to pay Jazz one hundred thousand Commonwealth dollars for nothing more than a basic intrasolar freight run.

Yes, definitely safer to keep the kitten behind a locked door.

She ran a diagnostic on the nanomachines that fortified her body – optimal; good – before rotating her cybernetic right arm and flexing its metal fingers. Finally, with her left hand, she drew her gun and set off.

Sneaking aboard should have been impossible. She had personally overseen loading, not once leaving the entrance ramp, and she’d closed that ramp as soon as the process finished. The animals had all been carried on by hand, their holding pens erected earlier from scrap pallets already in Jazz’s possession. There had been only one crate of supplies – feed, sedatives, straw, and the like – and she’d opened that in the company of the Customs officers who’d arrived with the delivery people. She’d even counted off everybody as they entered and left.

The internal scan, now hooked into her enhanced optics and displaying in the upper corner of her right retina, showed the life-sign continuing to drift aimlessly about the cargo hold.

She passed through the common room, an area filled with magnetized wooden chairs, a table grooved by a myriad cuts, cupboards, a bench, and other necessities for storing and preparing food. She barely spent any time in here nowadays, preferring to while away flights in the cockpit eating ration cubes and watching B-grade thrillers.

From there she ghosted through passenger alley, noting that each cabin remained locked and showed no signs of tampering. Her ship could berth nine but she had come to despise carrying human customers. They always wanted to socialize and took to complaining if she left them to their own devices. And the ones who didn’t want company usually planned to shoot or stab her while she slept. Nope, much easier to transport animals than people. At least, that’s what she’d thought until a few minutes ago.

Past the cabins the corridor branched, one appendage heading to engineering and the other to the cargo hold. Jazz skirted the engine housing – protected by blast-strength steel twice as thick as her – and stopped on the cargo hold balcony. Floodlights mounted in the ceiling gave scant opportunity for shadows to form on the large open area below but did highlight the many scuff and paint marks that decorated the grey walls and floor. The array of makeshift pens, open-topped and filled with straw, food and moisture-absorbent underlay, took up the center of the hold. Each hosted a young animal destined for a pet store on Garbadon Minor. Only the kitten in the cockpit had been privately bought.

The intruder stood out like a wheel-fruit in a field of crawling grass. A man, thickset, wearing a poor imitation of a Customs Officer’s uniform, the jumpsuit’s blue pants tucked into faded and fraying boots. He leaned over one of the pens, his back to her.

The scan showed no other unexpected life-signs. Jazz brought her gun to bear, braced herself, and said in her roughest voice, “Stop right where you are, put your hands on your head and turn around slowly.”

The man squealed and whirled about, both arms flying upwards. The words ‘Port Authority’ were plastered across the torso of his jumpsuit in thick white script. Brown hair in that awful yet timeless bowl-cut style and a bunch of multi-colored bracelets on his right wrist completed whatever look he was going for. He dropped into a half-crouch, hands pointing at the ceiling, sweat patches under his arms.

“Who the hell are you?” Jazz said.

“Um,” the man stammered, then sucked in a deep breath and stood upright. “My name is Darren Tollett, Port Authority, Exotic Animals Division, and I demand you turn your ship around this instant.”

Jazz let out a gravelly chuckle. “Never heard of it.”

“It’s a very important division, I can assure you. You are carrying prohibited fauna, therefore you must immediately regress to Halinder Intergalactic on Garbadon Major. Upon arriving you will be charged with unlawful export as well as aiding and abetting illegal genetic exploitation. Depending on the state of the animal in question, you may be charged with animal cruelty as well.”

“I see. Well, I’m not turning around.”

“If you do not I will have no choice once we reach port but to press additional charges for kidnapping.”

Jazz started down the stairs, her gun never wavering from the intruder below. “How did you get onboard my ship?”

Tollett, or whoever he was, lowered his hands to rest on his head. “I came aboard with the other Customs’ officials, of course.”

“No, you didn’t.”

He bobbed his head emphatically. “Yes, I did.”

Jazz reached the cargo hold floor but moved no further forward. Best to stay well out of arms’ reach. Wisdom borne of experience. “Then you should have left with them.”

“I would have but I was busy looking for an animal listed on the manifest but not present here.”

Jazz cocked an eyebrow. “Oh really?”

“Yes.” Tollett dropped his hands to his sides before vigorously rubbing them on his pants. “There is a kitten listed on the manifest that is not in any of these pens. I want to know where it is.”

“There must be a mistake on the manifest then.” Garbadon Major didn’t do manifests for living organisms. They did scans and bio-prints. Time to reverse the heat. “And, speaking of charges, I’m sure as hell gonna do you for trespassing. I don’t know who you are, but I know you didn’t come aboard with the official Customs’ crew. They arrived in a group of three and they left in a group of three, happy as pigs riding choppers.”

Tollett furrowed his brow. “Cool, I guess. Weird but cool. Cooler if they’re wearing leather helmets and have nose rings.”

Before Jazz could figure out a response to the sudden change in persona, her peripherals – silver teardrops at the outer corner of each eye – picked up a blur of movement and something pressed into her side. The following pulsating jolts told her she’d been bushwhacked by a high-grade incapacitator. Typical Commonwealth police issue. She snarled and turned towards the new threat, fighting to keep her gun arm raised. Her assailant swore and jammed the incapacitator into her again.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” she ground out, coming face-to-face with a skinny teenage girl wearing a deactivated stealth suit. The kid’s eyes widened, the freckles on her face wobbling in surprise. No, the freckles weren’t wobbling. Jazz’s vision was. If she didn’t act fast her nanos would overload and the kid wouldn’t need to do any better than she was already.

Footsteps sounded behind her and then another incapacitator – where had this Tollett guy stashed that? – entered the fray.

“Dammit!” Jazz managed before her nanos rebooted and excruciating, pulsating pain racked her entire body.

The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was the girl’s squeaky yet triumphant voice: “Score one for the animals, you jacked-up scum-su—”

***

This blog post “Miltan Epsilon: Book 1 of the Jazz Healy, Reunion Series by S.C. Mae” was submitted by and with permission of the author. If you enjoyed reading this free chapter and would like to read the rest of the book, please buy your own copy today via your favourite book retailer or from Amazon.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Read a chapter from Miltan Epsilon: Book 1 of the Jazz Healy, Reunion Series for FREE appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

15 proverbs and philosophies that will help us control our narrative

In this blog post, I share my favourite 15 proverbs and philosophies that I feel would help us take control of our narrative and future. It is an excerpt from my upcoming motivational and self help book with working title “A CLARION CALL FOR AFRICANS: THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM OTHERS TO GROW OUR COMMUNITIES“.

Whilst I refer to Africans in the book, I believe that the lessons in the book is applicable to each and everyone of us as human beings.

WHAT Africans, as individuals, need to do to control their narrative and their future

I was watching a Chinese drama sometime ago and heard a character say:

“those who wish to seek to advocate morality for the world, should first govern one’s country. those who seek to govern one’s country should first manage one’s household. those who wish to govern one’s household should first rectify one’s character, rectify the thoughts and purify one’s heart. Expand one’s knowledge before peace could befall the state. A gentleman’s heart knows no limits, his patience is boundless and vast. Question of the day, what defines a gentleman?”

What he said made so much sense to me that I had to make note of it. In fact, it became the subject of discussion between a friend and myself.

As Africans, we are quick to condemn our leaders without first working on ourselves as individuals. What the teacher said in the drama beggar’s the question, should we be working on ourselves as individuals, to allow us grow sufficiently to bring about change in our communities?

I also remember maybe 10+ years ago watching an interview with a man from Hong Kong. The key point that I took away from that interview was when he said “Asia knows more about Africa than Africa knows more about Asia!” I could not imagine a more truthful statement at that point.

So, I would like to ask you, how much do you really know about another country that is over and above what the media tells you?

In our schools today, especially in Africa, how much African history and world history is being taught to our children other than the usual Isaac Mungo Park discovered the River Niger?

Do you see the point I am trying to make here? Should you spend more time educating ourselves about our true history and the history about other nations? How can we trade with other nations if we do not understand them?

There’s a saying that I have heard a few times along the lines of “know thyself and know thy enemy!” Do you understand what this means?

BELOW ARE 15 OF MY FAVOURITE PROVERBS AND PHILOSOPHIES

Some of them, I made up myself. Do you know what they mean? Can you think of a situation where they apply to your life?

Winning a battle does not mean you won the warI think this may be hard for some people to comprehend. I find that these days, a lot of people want to win every single battle, we right every time without looking at the bigger pictureA word is enough for the wiseThere are some issues that people do not have to drum into your ears every single day for you to see the importance of what the person is saying.For instance, if you are told to not spend every single penny of your income, if your parents are not multimillionaires but you refuse to, you have only yourself to blame if you do not have any savings for a rainy dayThere are some lessons in life we HAVE to learn. HOW we choose to learn it, is up to us. We can either learn that lesson the easy way or the hard way. But one thing is for certain, that lesson will be learned – Segilola SalamiFor instance, when my daughter was a toddler I asked her to not touch our heated towel rail. When my back was turned, she touched it and the heat shocked her. I turned and saw the shocked expression on her face. She couldn’t even cry. I smiled to myself. She chose to find out the hard way. So if someone tells us something based on their experience and we choose to ignore them. As long as that is a lesson we have to learn, we would learn itHeaven helps those who help themselvesI think this is pretty self-explanatory – you cannot pray to whatever you believe in without doing the work.That’s why somewhere in the bible it says – faith without works is deadNo matter how much someone hurts you, speak out words of harm to that person. Remember, what goes around, comes around. Even the bible asks Christians to pray for their enemiesThis perfectly leads to – Whatever you wish for someone will come back to youMy favourite prayer/affirmation – whoever’s presence in my life that is not for my good, whoever’s presence in my life will cause chaos, cause unhappiness, take away my peace of mind, my God, my Creator, please remove that person from my life and the life of my familyMy Creator, I thank you for removing anything that is in me, around me, in my home, around my home, in my child, around my child, that steals our peace of mind, that does not serve us for our benefitMy Creator, anywhere that I or family have been tied down to, nailed down to, imprisoned, physically or spiritually, I thank you for setting us freeMy Creator, any debt that I have, physical or spiritual debt, I thank you for clearing that debtMy Creator, any debt that my father or my mother has, physical debt, spiritual debt, I thank you for clearing that debtI am not responsible for the sins of my father, I am not responsible for the sins of my motherThere are somethings that my parents have done that made me wonder if I am paying for their sins. So I affirm that I don’t want to bear the responsibility for their sins even if it is only in my imaginationMy child is not responsible for the sins of her father, my child is not responsible for the sins of her motherEven if there is a negligible chance of this happening, I don’t want my child to be responsible for any wrongs that I have committed in my lifetimeIf you keep chasing a goat, once it reaches a dead end, it would turn around and head butt youNo matter how strong you think you are, if you keep chasing after someone, eventually, the person would turn around and headbutt you if they feel that they have nowhere else to turnYour dream must be bigger than your environment – I saw this with my aloe vera plant. I didn’t transplant it from its nursery pot and it did not grow bigger than its baby size.This next saying is from a Yoruba movie, the village head is called Baale (father of the land). He was being a bully, so the villagers said to him “eyi ni Ba awa ni Le” meaning “you are the father, we are the land”How can you be a father of a community without the community?You can only lead if people agree for you to lead themOur leaders are only as powerful as the masses allow them to beThis is a Yoruba saying “kokoro to’n je efo, lara efo lo wa”. This means “the insect that eats a leaf is on the leaf”The English version of this is “it is those who are closest to us that do us the most harm”In Nigeria, we have a lot of open air markets. The markets are usually noisy because lots of people are haggling. That’s why we have this saying: when you go to a market, you do not focus on the noise in the market, you focus on what you go there to do.If I am not mistaken, there’s a similar saying in the bible about someone that visited someone to borrow some money. He met them eating and joined them to eat. A visitor arrived and borrowed some money. After this person had finished eating, he asked his host to lend him some money and the host told him that it was in his presence that he borrowed someone else the last money he hadThat’s why it is important to focus on what you are after and do not get distracted with what someone else is doingYou are only as strong as your weakest linkI think this saying is pretty self-explanatory. A community is only as strong as its weakest linkThere is no smoke without any fire. There is always an element of truth in most situations. Heck, even a broken clock is right twice a dayWhilst watching a Chinese drama, a woman said something about Confucius that I had not heard before, so I wrote it down for future reference. In the drama, the woman said “Confucius compared women to villains, so as ladies, all the more we should always remind ourselves of the way of the gentleman”When I heard what the woman said, it reminded me of something similar that I had heard. That men do not doubt themselves when they charge what they are worth for their services.In the past, I used to doubt myself as a freelance writer. I would second guess myself wondering if anyone would pay me what I was really worth. I had had people tell me that they were doing me a favour in offering me a job.Since I started thinking of myself as a man when I charge my rates, the imposter syndrome that I used to feel disappeared. In fact, I think my energy and vibrations changed that I stopped receiving emails from people telling me that my charges were too much.When it comes to making money, more women need to think the way a man would

Well that’s 16 but who’s counting eh?!

 BUSINESS

Before we get into the business at hand (pun intended), do you know why we go to school?

We are told to:

Go to school, study hard so we can get a jobWork hard at our jobs so we get promoted then we can get a mortgage for a houseContinue to work hard so that we can pay off our mortgage early, own our home and then be free to do whatever we want.

 

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If you have found this blog post on “15 proverbs and philosophies that will help us control our narrative” beneficial, please make a donation to support my podcast The Segilola Salami via PayPal or order your own copy of my new book “A CLARION CALL FOR AFRICANS: THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM OTHERS TO GROW OUR COMMUNITIES” NOW

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post 15 proverbs and philosophies that will help us control our narrative appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Author Marc O’Brien chats with 6 year old podcaster

6 year old podcaster interviews her first guest, author Marc O’Brien, on The Segilola Salami Show podcast. It was a most interesting interview listening to my daughter asking Marc the type of questions any young child would ask an author when they meet for the first time. I assure you, you need to click play now to listen to this episode that’s filled with laughter and cheer.

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider supporting it

About author Marc O’Brien

Author Marc O’Brien is also a poet and has graced The Segilola Salami Show podcast with his presence on multiple occasions.

After realising that the skills that he obtained from Barry University in 1988 while studying Communication Arts were important in daily life, author Marc O’Brien decided to take his trade in a whole new direction.

Whilst living in Las Vegas, author Marc O’Brien put together a strong portfolio of fictional works that challenge the reader to interpret and learn from his writings. Blue Note Publications were the first to bring his thoughts to the public when they assisted Marc through self-publishing Peter The Peteeatrick Panda’s Playground, Peter The Peteeatrick Panda and the Pandy Chip Pancakes and A Special Person to Ride.

About The Segilola Salami Show

The Segilola Salami show is an audio podcast talk show hosted by the female Nigerian-British podcaster Segilola Salami who is also an author, freelance writer and blogger. Please click here to see the full list of Yoruba children’s books written by Segilola Salami.

The show is set in a virtual cafe and is a podcast on books and publishing. The aim of the show is to be both educative and informative but in an entertaining way. Guests from all works of life come on the show to talk about the books they have read or written and how books motivated or inspired them. Listeners of the show get to discover new authors and new books as well as learn something new. Also, as the show is set in a virtual cafe, it is a fun podcast to listen to at work, while running or even when driving.

The show is published weekly on Tuesdays at 9 am GMT London. Please click here to review the different ways to listen to or subscribe to this podcast to be notified when a new episode is released.

The Segilola Salami Show is a great audio podcast talk-show for writers and authors. If you would like to appear as a guest on this podcast, please click here for more info and to book your slot.Please leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) by clicking here!

If you are an author, blogger or book lover, please subscribe to my authors and bloggers mailing list to find out about new self-published books that need reviews. I send out monthly newsletters with details of authors and their books that need honest feedback.

The podcast jingle used in this episode was provided by Chris Lament.

Please download a copy of Yetunde: An Ode To My Mother by Segilola Salami on Amazon

***

I would love to know your thoughts on today’s episode “Author Marc O’Brien chats with 6 year old podcaster”. Please leave a comment below.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Author Marc O’Brien chats with 6 year old podcaster appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Read for FREE a chapter from the young adult fiction TRUCE: Novis Initiis by Risha Chaurasia

Do you like teen and young adult fiction? This Sunday Snippet allows you to read for FREE a chapter from the novel TRUCE: Novis Initiis by Risha Chaurasia.

TRUCE: Novis Initiis by Risha Chaurasia is published by Book Media and is aimed at readers 13+. It is currently available as a Paperback (ISBN 978-8194913748), Hardcover, 978-8194913740 and Ebook (Amazon ASIN B08TLZBTYC). All three versions of the book were published on 20th January 2021.

Synopsis of TRUCE: Novis Initiis by Risha Chaurasia

Truce explores the themes of friendship, love and self-discovery in a fun way. The story revolves around 5 protagonists-Tiya, Ron, Udit, Cayra and Edi, with each one of them facing their own challenges.

The story takes you through their journey of tackling their problems and blooming into confident young adults. But, they don’t do this alone. They do this through the power of friendship and relationships.

The story beautifully portrays the reality of today’s youth and provides a fresh perspective to the reader.

It’s all about finding the right people at the right time!

Name of chapter: Chapter 3- Take Me Back

The day of the finals finally arrived. We woke up, all enthusiastic and full of life. We could hear the cheering and music from far away. This was going to be one electrifying match. As we enter the field, the crowd welcomes us with a standing ovation. It was a sight to see.

We warm-up, and after meeting with the principal and the opposing team, we take our places. The referee blows the whistle, and the match starts. For the most part of the first 20 minutes, the ball was in our control. Our passing was on point, and Cherrywood was having a hard time tackling us. The match continues with not much action until the 35th minute.

Ron had the ball, and he raced down the field. He passes it to Noah. A few meters away from the goal, Noah passes the ball to me, and I shoot. The ball goes flying into the net, and the ground erupts with applause. 1-0!!!!!

Valerie: I didn’t know what happened, but when Udit shot the first goal, my heart fluttered. I jumped up from my chair with joy. I had in fact started getting attracted to him and felt ecstatic about the part that he had shot the goal.

After I shot the goal, I felt an urging need to look up at Valerie. I found her looking back at me. Our eyes met for a split second, but I looked away.

We resumed play, and the second half was even better. In the 57th and 78th minute, Ron scored, and in the 66th I did. This time around, also I looked at Valerie, and there she was smiling at me. Cherry Wood scored in the 83rd minute, and by the last 5 minutes, they were down by 2. We had the match in the bag.

As the referee blew the whistle to end the match, the ground exploded with applaud and cheer. All of us ran into the field and shouted till our throats went sore. It was a surreal experience.
…………………………

After a day of rest, the school had organized a 2 day trip for everybody. And this trip provided me the ideal spot to ask Valerie out: the beach!

Everything had already been set up. She tidies herself, and we go to the beach. The sun was almost setting. The sky was a confection of a million brilliant colors. It looked like a scene straight out of a movie.

“Oh my god, Udit! This is so pretty! You don’t need my help,” she says, looking at the picnic I’d set up by the rocks. She turns towards me, and there I was, down on one knee, with a rose in hand,

“Actually, I do. Don’t let all this hard work go to waste. I’ve been practicing saying this, here goes nothing,

When I first met you, I couldn’t have even imagined saying this. I didn’t think I’d fall in love with you snoot. But guess what? I have, harder than ever. Never have I felt this way, and standing with you right now feels so right. Looking at you feels right, talking to you feels right. Every damn thing about you feels right.

And I promise if you say yes, I will be more than just a boyfriend to you. I will always be there, no matter what. I promise to treat you like a queen, to respect you, and give you all my love. I promise to make the little things count and never ever feel insecure.

Valerie, I am not someone who gets attached easily, but with you, everything has been different. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and it’s terrifying. I don’t know if I would be able to be the perfect boyfriend, but I can promise that I will always love you. I will never do anything to hurt you. So Valerie Jenkins, would you make me the happiest man on earth by being my girlfriend?”

And she said yes! And nothing could have been better than that!
We understood each other without saying a word. There were days when I said some pretty mean things to her, but in the end, she knew what I was doing was for us, to stay with her. Just a look and I’d understand what she meant.

And ours wasn’t a smooth sailing, flawless fairy tale. We had our share of obstacles. But none was strong enough to break us.

We never gave up. At times when breaking up was the most feasible option we ruled it out. We kept going because in our hearts we knew that breaking up was simply not a choice. She was the biggest blessing. How can you just let your biggest blessing go?

And love is not seasonal. You are not in love with somebody until it is easy for you. You are in love when you get out of your way to be with them, when tags or people or lies matter nothing over being with each other. We kept on fighting for and with each other. For me nothing was more important than her.

But things weren’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows. The biggest test lay ahead, the sort of test neither of us was prepared for.

***

Today’s blog post was provided by and published with permission of the author.

If you have enjoyed reading this Sunday Snippet from TRUCE: Novis Initiis by Risha Chaurasia, please buy your own copy today!

 

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Read for FREE a chapter from the young adult fiction TRUCE: Novis Initiis by Risha Chaurasia appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Cathy Davis: An inspiring story about divine intervention and hope

Author Cathy Davis is this week’s guest on The Segilola Salami Show podcast. Cathy shares with us her inspiring story of divine intervention and hope and how it led to her writing her first book Myrcles. I assure you, you need to click play now to listen to this most intriguing conversation with Cathy Davis.

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider supporting it


About Cathy Davis

Cathy Alves Davis is the CEO of MYRCLES. She is an author, inspirational speaker and part-time life coach.

For more than two decades now, Cathy has counseled, encouraged, and given hope to women everywhere. Cathy has appeared on QVC, “Nightline,” and the ABC and NBC news. Cathy also wrote a feature story for Breast Cancer Wellness Magazine titled “Stay In The Day.” And Cathy was featured in an article in PWC Living Magazine called “Finding Strength and Inspiration in ‘Myrcles,'” written by Emma Young.

By appearing on the show, Cathy hopes that her book “Myrcles: A True Story of Divine Intervention, Hope and Inspiration” and her amazing story of Divine Intervention during her battle with Stage 3 Breast Cancer would help others battling with Breast Cancer and bring them Hope.

Feel free to connect with Cathy on Facebook by clicking here.

About The Segilola Salami Show

The Segilola Salami show is an audio podcast talk show hosted by the female Nigerian-British podcaster Segilola Salami who is also an author, freelance writer and blogger. Please click here to see the full list of Yoruba children’s books written by Segilola Salami.

The show is set in a virtual cafe and is a podcast on books and publishing. The aim of the show is to be both educative and informative but in an entertaining way. Guests from all works of life come on the show to talk about the books they have read or written and how books motivated or inspired them. Listeners of the show get to discover new authors and new books as well as learn something new. Also, as the show is set in a virtual cafe, it is a fun podcast to listen to at work, while running or even when driving.

The show is published weekly on Tuesdays at 9 am GMT London. Please click here to review the different ways to listen to or subscribe to this podcast to be notified when a new episode is released.

The Segilola Salami Show is a great audio podcast talk-show for writers and authors. If you would like to appear as a guest on this podcast, please click here for more info and to book your slot.Please leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) by clicking here!

If you are an author, blogger or book lover, please subscribe to my authors and bloggers mailing list to find out about new self-published books that need reviews. I send out monthly newsletters with details of authors and their books that need honest feedback.

The podcast jingle used in this episode was provided by Chris Lament.

Please download a copy of Yetunde: An Ode To My Mother by Segilola Salami on Amazon

***

I would love to know your thoughts on today’s episode “Gavin Routledge: The relief AND prevention of lower back pain”. Please leave a comment below.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Cathy Davis: An inspiring story about divine intervention and hope appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Read a FREE chapter from GOLD! — The Kincaid Saga, Book 1 by Thomas Greenbank

Are you looking for your next book to read? Do you like Family Saga Fiction? Then check out this FREE chapter from GOLD! — The Kincaid Saga, Book 1 by Thomas Greenbank. It is suitable for readers 18 and does contain some coarse language, sex scenes, drug use.

GOLD! — The Kincaid Saga, Book 1 by Thomas Greenbank was published by Tudogz Publishing and is currently available as an Amazon eBook (ASIN: B08N5ZVMZT) and was published on Dec 10, 2020. It is also available as a paperback (ISBN: 0648961109) and was published on Nov 28, 2020.

Synopsis of GOLD! — The Kincaid Saga, Book 1 by Thomas Greenbank

Malcolm Kincaid is a self-made man. He is also a ruthless businessman and opportunist. He knows what it takes to build and maintain a business empire, but how far will he be prepared to go to achieve his goals — and what will he sacrifice along the way?

Rachel, Malcolm’s one-time fiancé; his business partner, and the mother of his child, finds herself forced to work with the man she has grown to despise.

Unaware of his true parentage, their son, Lachlan—after first studying for a law degree—advances through the ranks as their company grows into a mammoth corporation, while Rachel does her best to mitigate Malcolm’s increasing influence on him. This task becomes more difficult when Malcolm appoints Lachlan as manager of a new mine.
Lachlan soon has his own set of challenges: A fractious and sometimes domineering wife with a drug dependency, a child of his own, and a conscience that often leads him into direct conflict with his Machiavellian ‘uncle’.

Over three decades, Malcolm Kincaid uses, abuses, and dominates associates and family alike, crushing all opposition in his pursuit of wealth and power.
When he allows the pollution of an Aboriginal settlement’s water supply, however, he faces justice of a kind he could never imagine.

GOLD! is a tale of greed, betrayal, family conflict, rape, and murder. It is also, however, a story of love and loyalty — and of how one man’s pride and prejudice can lead to terrible retribution.

Name of FREE chapter: Chapter 12.

Please note that the following excerpt from the novel GOLD! is a little over 1,000 words, so should take around five minutes to read. The action takes place near the Two Brothers gold mine, north of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, in 1980.

This excerpt takes place about one quarter into the story.

Malcolm had already opened another can of beer by the time Jamie started the Land Cruiser and headed down the access road toward the Highway. He stood on the verandah, watching as the taillights glimmered in the deepening twilight.

As Jamie neared the mine turnoff, he popped a cassette into the Cruiser’s player. John Lennon launched into ‘Beautiful Boy’, Jamie’s current favourite song, and he cranked up the volume as he swung onto the highway. Thirty minutes and he’d be home. Home to Rachel and his own Beautiful Boy, 17-month-old Lachlan.

Chapter Twelve

Rabbit

Warren Burroughs—Rabbit, to friends and coworkers—couldn’t remember a longer, more frustrating day. What started out as a routine run from his depot in Coolgardie to Kambalda—a mining town 60 kilometres to the south—and then up to Menzies with a ‘hot shot’ delivery before returning home, had turned into an epic comedy of errors.

Delays and unexpected problems were a fact of life in the transport industry, but today had been one to take the cake.

A round trip of a little less than 400 kilometres, the whole thing should have been done and dusted by mid-afternoon. When dealing with mining company hierarchy, however, things rarely went to plan. Although he had been on the road by six am, and arrived at his Kambalda destination before seven, it would be well past midday before he was on his way north again. The mine site office had not been aware he was even coming, let alone prepared his load.

Communication glitches like these were common. He settled himself in the corner of the office to wait while the staff located the replacement pump he was to deliver. Then, of course, they had to complete all the necessary paperwork and finally arrange for someone to load it onto the back of his ageing Kenworth for the next leg.

Next came the news that the low-loader organised to bring the pump out to him had broken down. He was welcome to drive on-site to collect his load, but first, he’d have to do a short induction course. Once he completed this, it was time for lunch, so there was another hour’s wait before he got the OK to proceed onto the mine site and collect his cargo.

After leaving Kambalda at a little after 1:30 he eventually reached his drop-off point around 4 pm.
Fortunately, things went more smoothly this time. Probably because they had been champing at the bit waiting for the pump; the breakdown having halted production for the past 24 hours.

Then, at 5:30 pm, he was at last on his way home. All he had to worry about now, he thought, was dodging kangaroos.

He was just passing Lake Goongarrie, a sprawling salt lake on his left side, when a voice called over the two-way radio.

“G’day there, Rabbit, you old bugger!” It was a voice he knew well.

“How you doin’, Ralph?” Rabbit replied, “Havin’ a good run? How’s the new rig going, by the way?”

The north-bound road train, its three trailers loaded with supplies bound for Menzies and beyond, thundered noisily past. Rabbit’s unladen rig swayed as it did so.

“Oh, you know,” Ralph said, “same old shit, different shovel. I’m having a better day than you, apparently. I hear they held you up a bit down at the Kambalda site.”

The bitumen grapevine was working to its usual standard, Rabbit thought. “Yeah, you could say that.” he replied, “Sometimes I swear that if I had a duck, it’d bloody well drown.”

Ralph laughed, though Rabbit didn’t hear it and continued with a sigh, “Yeah, you know the drill. This is WA after all; ‘wait awhile’.”

“You got that right,” Ralph replied. “Oh well, you keep it safe and stay upright Rabbit. I’ll catch you on the flip side.”

“Roger that. You too, Ralph.”

The radio was already starting to crackle, so there was no time for any real conversation. Still, it was good to hear a familiar voice now and then. Rabbit wondered how the old-timers had coped in the days before CB radios came into being. For that matter, spare a thought for the old bullockies and camel drivers who’d often go for weeks or even months without seeing another soul.

Rabbit reached down and upped the volume on his cassette player. A familiar Slim Dusty tune filled the air, and he began to sing along, grateful there was no one else there to suffer his discordant rendition. He noticed a light-coloured four-wheel-drive approaching the highway on his left, about a kilometre away. Someone had been working late, it seemed. The land around here was dotted with many small- and medium-sized mines. As desolate and uninviting as it looked, this was a genuine gold mine of opportunity, this barren land.

As he approached the mine access road, Rabbit eased back on the accelerator. Was that clown going to stop? Surely he’d seen the truck coming. His rig was hardly invisible!
Before he knew it, the Land Cruiser veered straight onto the road not fifty metres in front of him.
Rabbit jumped on the brake and clutch simultaneously, and as the tyres squealed in noisy protest, he braced himself for impact.

***

Jamie knew he should have stopped before driving onto the highway. He knew because he had driven out from this access road so many times before. He also knew that had he not consumed so much beer in the last few hours, he would have stopped.

But now it was too late for recriminations; too late for anything but to hold on and hope for the best.
The Kenworth’s bull bar caught the four-wheel-drive on the right front side, spinning it around like a toy. The rear of the Toyota then collided with the leading edge of the big rig’s trailer, which sent it careening off the roadway and straight into the large quartz rock with ‘Two Brothers Mine’ painted on it in bold, red letters.

Although the Land Cruiser was barely doing more than thirty, the force from the impact was enough to drive the engine block through the firewall and into the driver and passenger area. The steering column struck Jamie square in the middle of his chest, breaking several ribs and squeezing his lungs to around half their volume.

Immediately after the collision, the scene was eerily quiet. Rabbit’s eighteen-wheeler remained upright, but the driver himself was unconscious and would be for several minutes. Few truckies in those days, and in truth even in these days, bothered with seat belts. A trickle of blood snaked its way down his forehead and dripped onto the dashboard.

In the wrecked Land Cruiser, Jamie struggled to stay awake. A vain struggle, however. His heart, fuelled by adrenaline, was pumping hard; pumping his lifeblood out of his body, from severe crush injuries to his legs, and onto the floor.

Strangely, the cassette player was still working. As Jamie drifted into unconsciousness, John Lennon was singing; “Life is what happens to you as you’re busy making other plans.”

*****

This excerpt from the family saga GOLD! — The Kincaid Saga, Book 1 by Thomas Greenbank was submitted by and published with permission of the author.

If you have enjoyed reading this FREE chapter and would like to read the rest of the book, please buy your own copy of GOLD! — The Kincaid Saga, Book 1 by Thomas Greenbank via your favourite book retailer or from Amazon

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Read a FREE chapter from GOLD! — The Kincaid Saga, Book 1 by Thomas Greenbank appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb... RSS feed&utm_medium=Online&utm_campaign=grief course

Reading of Key Stage 1 Children’s Book The Adventure Park

My daughter reads from the key stage 1 children’s book called “The Adventure Park” in this episode of The Segilola Salami Show podcast.  “The Adventure Park” was written by Roderick Hunt and the version read on the show was given to my daughter by her school. I assure you, you need to click play now to listen to this episode that’s filled with laughter and cheer.

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider supporting it

About The Adventure Park by Roderick Hunt

The Adventure Park with Biff, Chip and Kipper is an Oxford Reading Tree Stage 5 children’s book. It provides children with a rich story context to help develop language comprehension and decoding skills. It also takes them into the less certain realms of fantasy through the magic key adventures.

Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA; UK ed. edition (January 1, 2011)Language : EnglishPaperback : 24 pagesISBN-10 : 019848271XISBN-13 : 978-0198482710Lexile measure : 460Item Weight : 2.12 ouncesDimensions : 9 x 6 x 1.25 inches

About The Segilola Salami Show

The Segilola Salami show is an audio podcast talk show hosted by the female Nigerian-British podcaster Segilola Salami who is also an author, freelance writer and blogger. Please click here to see the full list of Yoruba children’s books written by Segilola Salami.

The show is set in a virtual cafe and is a podcast on books and publishing. The aim of the show is to be both educative and informative but in an entertaining way. Guests from all works of life come on the show to talk about the books they have read or written and how books motivated or inspired them. Listeners of the show get to discover new authors and new books as well as learn something new. Also, as the show is set in a virtual cafe, it is a fun podcast to listen to at work, while running or even when driving.

The show is published weekly on Tuesdays at 9 am GMT London. Please click here to review the different ways to listen to or subscribe to this podcast to be notified when a new episode is released.

The Segilola Salami Show is a great audio podcast talk-show for writers and authors. If you would like to appear as a guest on this podcast, please click here for more info and to book your slot.Please leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) by clicking here!

If you are an author, blogger or book lover, please subscribe to my authors and bloggers mailing list to find out about new self-published books that need reviews. I send out monthly newsletters with details of authors and their books that need honest feedback.

The podcast jingle used in this episode was provided by Chris Lament.

Please download a copy of Yetunde: An Ode To My Mother by Segilola Salami on Amazon

***

I would love to know your thoughts on today’s episode “Reading of Key Stage 1 Children’s Book The Adventure Park”. Please leave a comment below.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Reading of Key Stage 1 Children’s Book The Adventure Park appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Book Reading: There’s an Elf in Your Book

My daughter and I read from her favourite Christmas book called “There’s an Elf in Your Book” in this episode of The Segilola Salami Show podcast.  “There’s an Elf in Your Book” was written by Tom Fletcher and the version we read on the show was bought by me at our local book store. I assure you, you need to click play now to listen to this episode that’s filled with laughter and Christmas cheer.

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider supporting it

About There’s an Elf in Your Book by Tom Fletcher

HO, HO, HEY! There’s an ELF in YOUR Christmas book! Get ready for another lively, interactive read-aloud in the Who’s In Your Book series–now in paperback!

Do you have what it takes to make Santa’s Nice List? An elf is here to test you in this participatory read-aloud. Don’t let the elf trick you into being naughty! Just follow his instructions to sing a Christmas carol, clap, BURP… Hey, wait a second! Children will be delighted to join in on the holiday fun.

Publisher : Dragonfly Books (7 Sept. 2021)Language : EnglishPaperback : 32 pagesISBN-10 : 0593430506ISBN-13 : 978-0593430507Reading age : 3 – 7 yearsDimensions : 25.4 x 25.4 cm

About The Segilola Salami Show

The Segilola Salami show is an audio podcast talk show hosted by the female Nigerian-British podcaster Segilola Salami who is also an author, freelance writer and blogger. Please click here to see the full list of Yoruba children’s books written by Segilola Salami.

The show is set in a virtual cafe and is a podcast on books and publishing. The aim of the show is to be both educative and informative but in an entertaining way. Guests from all works of life come on the show to talk about the books they have read or written and how books motivated or inspired them. Listeners of the show get to discover new authors and new books as well as learn something new. Also, as the show is set in a virtual cafe, it is a fun podcast to listen to at work, while running or even when driving.

The show is published weekly on Tuesdays at 9 am GMT London. Please click here to review the different ways to listen to or subscribe to this podcast to be notified when a new episode is released.

The Segilola Salami Show is a great audio podcast talk-show for writers and authors. If you would like to appear as a guest on this podcast, please click here for more info and to book your slot.Please leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) by clicking here!

If you are an author, blogger or book lover, please subscribe to my authors and bloggers mailing list to find out about new self-published books that need reviews. I send out monthly newsletters with details of authors and their books that need honest feedback.

The podcast jingle used in this episode was provided by Chris Lament.

Please download a copy of Yetunde: An Ode To My Mother by Segilola Salami on Amazon

***

I would love to know your thoughts on today’s episode “Book Reading: There’s an Elf in Your Book”. Please leave a comment below.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Book Reading: There’s an Elf in Your Book appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Book Reading: The Dragon Tree

My daughter reads from the children’s book called “The Dragon Tree” in this episode of The Segilola Salami Show podcast.  “The Dragon Tree” was written by Roderick Hunt and the version read on the show was given to my daughter by her school. I assure you, you need to click play now to listen to this episode that’s filled with laughter and cheer.

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider supporting it

About The Dragon Tree by Roderick Hunt

The Dragon Tree is an Oxford Reading Tree level 5 story book for children with Biff, Chip and Kipper.

The Level 5 Biff, Chip and Kipper Stories, written by Roderick Hunt and illustrated by Alex Brychta, provide a rich story context to help develop language comprehension and decoding skills.
Stories, More Stories A, More Stories B and More Stories C take the children from familiar, predictable events at home and school into the less certain realms of fantasy through the magic key adventures.
Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading.

Publisher : OUP Oxford; UK ed. edition (6 Jan. 2011)Language : EnglishPaperback : 24 pagesISBN-10 : 0198482450ISBN-13 : 978-0198482451Dimensions : 22.86 x 15.24 x 3.18 cm

 

About The Segilola Salami Show

The Segilola Salami show is an audio podcast talk show hosted by the female Nigerian-British podcaster Segilola Salami who is also an author, freelance writer and blogger. Please click here to see the full list of Yoruba children’s books written by Segilola Salami.

The show is set in a virtual cafe and is a podcast on books and publishing. The aim of the show is to be both educative and informative but in an entertaining way. Guests from all works of life come on the show to talk about the books they have read or written and how books motivated or inspired them. Listeners of the show get to discover new authors and new books as well as learn something new. Also, as the show is set in a virtual cafe, it is a fun podcast to listen to at work, while running or even when driving.

The show is published weekly on Tuesdays at 9 am GMT London. Please click here to review the different ways to listen to or subscribe to this podcast to be notified when a new episode is released.

The Segilola Salami Show is a great audio podcast talk-show for writers and authors. If you would like to appear as a guest on this podcast, please click here for more info and to book your slot.Please leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) by clicking here!

If you are an author, blogger or book lover, please subscribe to my authors and bloggers mailing list to find out about new self-published books that need reviews. I send out monthly newsletters with details of authors and their books that need honest feedback.

The podcast jingle used in this episode was provided by Chris Lament.

Please download a copy of Yetunde: An Ode To My Mother by Segilola Salami on Amazon

***

I would love to know your thoughts on today’s episode “Book Reading: The Dragon Tree”. Please leave a comment below.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Book Reading: The Dragon Tree appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...