Empi Baryeh's Blog, page 23
June 1, 2018
Sizzling Summer Party #TRRParty
The Sizzling Summer Party is on from today 1 June until 30 June. Join over 100 authors in celebrating romance. Discover new authors and books, Play games, join the fun and win prizes!PS. You will need to register and be logged in at TRR before they can play the game. Registration is free and easy.
Join the Party
May 29, 2018
He didn’t have to dream of home | Chapter One: Part 2 of Forest Girl #ComingSoon #PreOrder #AAromance
It's 3 Weeks to release day! (I'm gearing up for my happy dance)
A huge thank you to those who came by the past two weeks to read the excerpts, and especially to all who left me a comment. I hope you enjoy this week's excerpt too.
If you missed the first two posts, here are the links:
PrologueChapter 1: part 1
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ BLURB¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨Esi Afriyie has been in love with Michael Yaw Badu since childhood. When he receives a scholarship to study in America, all hope seems lost ... until he returns to Ghana ten years later. An arranged marriage contracted by their families makes her dreams come true, but does the reality of being Mrs. Michael Badu live up to the fantasy?
Michael may have married Esi, but he is in love with someone else—Forest Girl, a mystery woman he encountered just once in the forest. His heart belongs to her, and he doesn't need his beautiful wife awakening his carnal desires. He is even willing to sacrifice his marriage for another encounter with Forest Girl.
Reality is not what either Esi or Michael imagined. Esi is disillusioned; Michael feels trapped.
Will Michael give in and allow his heart to discover a love that was always meant to be, before it's too late?
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨PRE-ORDER NOW¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨Amazon USAmazon UK Amazon CA(and all other Amazon outlets)
Smashwords (more outlets coming soon)
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨EXCERPT¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨(PS. written in UK English)Here's Chapter one: part two where we get to know more about Michael.
By the time he’d talked about his stay in America and subsequent return to Ghana, his new job at AgroChem, and his actual journey back to Ebinom, he’d spoken for over thirty minutes. His mother, in turn, told him about all the happenings since his departure; his brother, Sefah, taking over the duties of running the family farms, Serwaa still unmarried, his father’s transition into ancestry.“It has been a year now. We have already done your father’s first anniversary assembly, since we were not sure when you would be arriving,” Maame Badu explained. “That’s the way of life. You are born one day, you fulfil the tasks you were put here to do, then Ɔdomankomatakes you back. It is a journey we all have to make someday.”Michael’s heart shuddered. A sense of foreboding always lodged in his chest whenever his mother spoke of death as though she were ready to go any day, as if she wanted to go. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her.“You’ll go to the cemetery with Sefah and Serwaa, and they will show you where we laid your father to rest. May his soul rest in peace.”Michael nodded. Images of the man who had been his childhood hero—and still was—flashed through his mind. The man who had showed him how to hunt and skin his catch, who had taught him how to be a man. He missed his father. The shock he had felt upon receiving the letter informing him of his father’s death still lingered.The old man hadn’t been sick, the letter had stated. Michael had been grateful for that. His father would have hated to have been ill for any period. It would have meant being weak and a burden to the people he was supposed to protect. No! Strong today, gone tomorrow. That was exactly how his father, the hero, would have chosen to go.It hadn’t been possible to leave America at the time, but an opportunity had presented itself several months later, an opportunity to return home and test a fertiliser, Formula F, which he had helped develop.When he and his mother finished talking, he dined with his family and distributed the gifts he had brought them.The journey from Accra to Ebinom had been tedious. Preparation towards the trip had taken a lot out of him. By seven o’clock, he was ready to call it a night, so excusing himself, he kissed his mother’s cheek and retired to his room.
***Moments later as Michael lay in bed, hands crossed beneath his head, eyes staring at the ceiling, he smiled a simple, noncommittal smile. The familiar smells, and the sound of crickets chirping outside filled him with joy. Home. He may have come from humble beginnings, but he’d always been proud of his heritage. “Humble beginnings do not diminish a man,” his father used to say. He’d kept those words in his heart. He breathed a contended sigh.Ten years ago, he had been an ordinary village boy who should have been satisfied with everything he had. He could have stopped schooling and worked on his father’s farms as Sefah had done, then get married and bear children.However, he had wanted more. His desire to attain greater heights than his father had ever reached had propelled him and filled him with a yearning for something greater. He had wanted to point to himself someday, if not as somebody else’s hero, then as his own. At an early age, he’d been able to see how nature dictated their lives, how a little drought, locust attack, or bush fire could affect the harvest. Couldn’t something better than plain animal droppings or other local manure be used to toughen the crops against the vagaries of the weather, he had wondered. At school, his favourite subject had been Agriculture where he had learnt about mechanised farming in the developed world. His fascination with how one country could produce enough to feed itself and many others had fuelled his desire to learn how such a feat could be achieved. His Agricultural Science teacher had encouraged him. “Our village folk are too dependent on the food they get from the soil and the livestock they rear,” he’d often say. Such words had watered the seed already planted in Michael’s mind. He not only strove to excel in his studies, but in every area he could; prefect for most of the time he’d been in secondary school, placing among the top three students in his class, and remaining one of the best athletes the school had ever produced. He chuckled, remembering several girls vying for his love, but he hadn’t paid them any attention. Just when he’d finished his A-levels, destiny had favoured him—his uncle, Wↄfa Tawiah, in America had helped him obtain a visa to further his education. Michael would forever be grateful to him.While studying for his masters in America, he had met Lena Brown-Ankrah, a Ghanaian undergraduate student and very attractive woman whose maturity and intelligence had immediately caught his attention, as had her chic fashion sense. Like every modern girl, she felt it her right to have whatever she wanted, but it was that very sense of determination which attracted him. He’d left her back in Accra where, by this time, she’d be back home from work, indulging in a glass of wine while preparing dinner.He shifted to a more comfortable position, contemplating the changes he’d noticed. Ebinom had expanded beyond its original borders. Had it become home to new settlers, or was it simply the result of expanding family units? The thought of growing families filled him with a strange yearning. He dismissed it immediately. With his upcoming project taking off soon, children were the last thing he needed to think about.Bringing his mind back to the present, he took stock of his old room. His father’s house looked and felt more comfortable. Well…Sefah’s bed creaked, and Serwaa slept on a mattress on the floor, but even those were an improvement over the lumpy, straw mattresses and woven mats they’d had growing up. With these thoughts swirling in his mind, he finally welcomed sleep, and for the first time in a long while, he didn’t have to dream of home.
Did you enjoy this excerpt? Please, leave me a comment and remember to come back next week to meet my heroine, Esi.
Add Forest Girl to your Goodreads TBR.
Share this post by using the social media share buttons below.
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨GIVEAWAY¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
Enter below for a chance to win a $10 Amazon GC or Paypal credit or GH₵45 BookNook Store coupon (for Ghanaian residents).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A huge thank you to those who came by the past two weeks to read the excerpts, and especially to all who left me a comment. I hope you enjoy this week's excerpt too.
If you missed the first two posts, here are the links:
PrologueChapter 1: part 1
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ BLURB¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨Esi Afriyie has been in love with Michael Yaw Badu since childhood. When he receives a scholarship to study in America, all hope seems lost ... until he returns to Ghana ten years later. An arranged marriage contracted by their families makes her dreams come true, but does the reality of being Mrs. Michael Badu live up to the fantasy?
Michael may have married Esi, but he is in love with someone else—Forest Girl, a mystery woman he encountered just once in the forest. His heart belongs to her, and he doesn't need his beautiful wife awakening his carnal desires. He is even willing to sacrifice his marriage for another encounter with Forest Girl.
Reality is not what either Esi or Michael imagined. Esi is disillusioned; Michael feels trapped.
Will Michael give in and allow his heart to discover a love that was always meant to be, before it's too late?
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨PRE-ORDER NOW¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨Amazon USAmazon UK Amazon CA(and all other Amazon outlets)
Smashwords (more outlets coming soon)
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨EXCERPT¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨(PS. written in UK English)Here's Chapter one: part two where we get to know more about Michael.
By the time he’d talked about his stay in America and subsequent return to Ghana, his new job at AgroChem, and his actual journey back to Ebinom, he’d spoken for over thirty minutes. His mother, in turn, told him about all the happenings since his departure; his brother, Sefah, taking over the duties of running the family farms, Serwaa still unmarried, his father’s transition into ancestry.“It has been a year now. We have already done your father’s first anniversary assembly, since we were not sure when you would be arriving,” Maame Badu explained. “That’s the way of life. You are born one day, you fulfil the tasks you were put here to do, then Ɔdomankomatakes you back. It is a journey we all have to make someday.”Michael’s heart shuddered. A sense of foreboding always lodged in his chest whenever his mother spoke of death as though she were ready to go any day, as if she wanted to go. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her.“You’ll go to the cemetery with Sefah and Serwaa, and they will show you where we laid your father to rest. May his soul rest in peace.”Michael nodded. Images of the man who had been his childhood hero—and still was—flashed through his mind. The man who had showed him how to hunt and skin his catch, who had taught him how to be a man. He missed his father. The shock he had felt upon receiving the letter informing him of his father’s death still lingered.The old man hadn’t been sick, the letter had stated. Michael had been grateful for that. His father would have hated to have been ill for any period. It would have meant being weak and a burden to the people he was supposed to protect. No! Strong today, gone tomorrow. That was exactly how his father, the hero, would have chosen to go.It hadn’t been possible to leave America at the time, but an opportunity had presented itself several months later, an opportunity to return home and test a fertiliser, Formula F, which he had helped develop.When he and his mother finished talking, he dined with his family and distributed the gifts he had brought them.The journey from Accra to Ebinom had been tedious. Preparation towards the trip had taken a lot out of him. By seven o’clock, he was ready to call it a night, so excusing himself, he kissed his mother’s cheek and retired to his room.
***Moments later as Michael lay in bed, hands crossed beneath his head, eyes staring at the ceiling, he smiled a simple, noncommittal smile. The familiar smells, and the sound of crickets chirping outside filled him with joy. Home. He may have come from humble beginnings, but he’d always been proud of his heritage. “Humble beginnings do not diminish a man,” his father used to say. He’d kept those words in his heart. He breathed a contended sigh.Ten years ago, he had been an ordinary village boy who should have been satisfied with everything he had. He could have stopped schooling and worked on his father’s farms as Sefah had done, then get married and bear children.However, he had wanted more. His desire to attain greater heights than his father had ever reached had propelled him and filled him with a yearning for something greater. He had wanted to point to himself someday, if not as somebody else’s hero, then as his own. At an early age, he’d been able to see how nature dictated their lives, how a little drought, locust attack, or bush fire could affect the harvest. Couldn’t something better than plain animal droppings or other local manure be used to toughen the crops against the vagaries of the weather, he had wondered. At school, his favourite subject had been Agriculture where he had learnt about mechanised farming in the developed world. His fascination with how one country could produce enough to feed itself and many others had fuelled his desire to learn how such a feat could be achieved. His Agricultural Science teacher had encouraged him. “Our village folk are too dependent on the food they get from the soil and the livestock they rear,” he’d often say. Such words had watered the seed already planted in Michael’s mind. He not only strove to excel in his studies, but in every area he could; prefect for most of the time he’d been in secondary school, placing among the top three students in his class, and remaining one of the best athletes the school had ever produced. He chuckled, remembering several girls vying for his love, but he hadn’t paid them any attention. Just when he’d finished his A-levels, destiny had favoured him—his uncle, Wↄfa Tawiah, in America had helped him obtain a visa to further his education. Michael would forever be grateful to him.While studying for his masters in America, he had met Lena Brown-Ankrah, a Ghanaian undergraduate student and very attractive woman whose maturity and intelligence had immediately caught his attention, as had her chic fashion sense. Like every modern girl, she felt it her right to have whatever she wanted, but it was that very sense of determination which attracted him. He’d left her back in Accra where, by this time, she’d be back home from work, indulging in a glass of wine while preparing dinner.He shifted to a more comfortable position, contemplating the changes he’d noticed. Ebinom had expanded beyond its original borders. Had it become home to new settlers, or was it simply the result of expanding family units? The thought of growing families filled him with a strange yearning. He dismissed it immediately. With his upcoming project taking off soon, children were the last thing he needed to think about.Bringing his mind back to the present, he took stock of his old room. His father’s house looked and felt more comfortable. Well…Sefah’s bed creaked, and Serwaa slept on a mattress on the floor, but even those were an improvement over the lumpy, straw mattresses and woven mats they’d had growing up. With these thoughts swirling in his mind, he finally welcomed sleep, and for the first time in a long while, he didn’t have to dream of home.
Did you enjoy this excerpt? Please, leave me a comment and remember to come back next week to meet my heroine, Esi.
Add Forest Girl to your Goodreads TBR.
Share this post by using the social media share buttons below.
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨GIVEAWAY¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
Enter below for a chance to win a $10 Amazon GC or Paypal credit or GH₵45 BookNook Store coupon (for Ghanaian residents).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
May 25, 2018
#BookReview: Write With Fey by Chrys Fey
BLURB
Catch the sparks you need to write, edit, publish, and market your book!
Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication offers an abundance of data in one handy book. From writing your novel to prepping for publication and beyond, you’ll find sparks on every page, including 100 bonus marketing tips. You’ll also discover how to write specific scenes and characters, adding depth to your work.
•Spark One: Being a Writer
•Spark Two: Story Essentials
•Spark Three: A Book’s Stepping Stones
•Spark Four: How To
•Spark Five: Character ER
•Spark Six: Editing
•Spark Seven: Publishing
•Spark Eight: Marketing
•Spark Nine: Writing About
•Spark Ten: Final Inspiration
With so much information, you’ll take notes, highlight, and flag pages to come back to again and again on your writing journey.
My Review
One of the things I liked most was the range of topics the book covers, making it suitable for a wide variety of authors. The chapters are short and to the point with great examples to highlight some of the points.
As a published author, I found the sections about marketing particularly useful and will definitely be referring to it from time to time.
That said, there was one section about creating a Style Sheet. This was the first I've heard about style sheets, and yet the author does not elaborate enough on this, so completed the section with a lot of unanswered questions.
Overall, this is a useful resource and I would recommend it for all authors particularly those early in their craft and established authors who want to try something different.
**I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review**
May 22, 2018
He was home | Read Chapter One: Part 1 of Forest Girl #ComingSoon #Excerpt #AAromance
The countdown continues: 4 Weeks to release day. Are you getting as excited as I am? You're here, so I'm going to take that as a yes!
Thanks to all who left me a comment last week. I hope you enjoy this week's excerpt even more. If you missed last week's post, read it here.
Here's the beginning of Chapter one where we meet the hero, Michael Badu.
Genre: Multicultural Romance, AfricaLength: Full-length novel
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ BLURB¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨Esi Afriyie has been in love with Michael Yaw Badu since childhood. When he receives a scholarship to study in America, all hope seems lost ... until he returns to Ghana ten years later. An arranged marriage contracted by their families makes her dreams come true, but does the reality of being Mrs. Michael Badu live up to the fantasy?
Michael may have married Esi, but he is in love with someone else—Forest Girl, a mystery woman he encountered just once in the forest. His heart belongs to her, and he doesn't need his beautiful wife awakening his carnal desires. He is even willing to sacrifice his marriage for another encounter with Forest Girl.
Reality is not what either Esi or Michael imagined. Esi is disillusioned; Michael feels trapped.
Will Michael give in and allow his heart to discover a love that was always meant to be, before it's too late?
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨PRE-ORDER NOW¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨Amazon USAmazon UK Amazon CA(and all other Amazon sites)
Smashwords (more outlets coming soon)
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨EXCERPT¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨(PS. written in UK English)
Did you enjoy this excerpt? Please, leave me a comment, and don't forget to come back next week for more.
Add Forest Girl to your Goodreads TBR.
Share this post by using the social media share buttons below.
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨GIVEAWAY¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
Enter below for a chance to win a $10 Amazon GC or Paypal credit or GH₵45 BookNook Store coupon (for Ghanaian residents).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to all who left me a comment last week. I hope you enjoy this week's excerpt even more. If you missed last week's post, read it here.
Here's the beginning of Chapter one where we meet the hero, Michael Badu.
Genre: Multicultural Romance, AfricaLength: Full-length novel¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ BLURB¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨Esi Afriyie has been in love with Michael Yaw Badu since childhood. When he receives a scholarship to study in America, all hope seems lost ... until he returns to Ghana ten years later. An arranged marriage contracted by their families makes her dreams come true, but does the reality of being Mrs. Michael Badu live up to the fantasy?
Michael may have married Esi, but he is in love with someone else—Forest Girl, a mystery woman he encountered just once in the forest. His heart belongs to her, and he doesn't need his beautiful wife awakening his carnal desires. He is even willing to sacrifice his marriage for another encounter with Forest Girl.
Reality is not what either Esi or Michael imagined. Esi is disillusioned; Michael feels trapped.
Will Michael give in and allow his heart to discover a love that was always meant to be, before it's too late?
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨PRE-ORDER NOW¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨Amazon USAmazon UK Amazon CA(and all other Amazon sites)
Smashwords (more outlets coming soon)
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨EXCERPT¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨(PS. written in UK English)
Did you enjoy this excerpt? Please, leave me a comment, and don't forget to come back next week for more.
Add Forest Girl to your Goodreads TBR.
Share this post by using the social media share buttons below.
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨GIVEAWAY¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
Enter below for a chance to win a $10 Amazon GC or Paypal credit or GH₵45 BookNook Store coupon (for Ghanaian residents).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
May 15, 2018
The Dead Become Ancestors | Read an #Excerpt from Forest Girl #ComingSoon #PreOrder #AAromance
Woohoo! Forest Girl is out on Pre-Order. If you're like me, you want it in your hands already! So here's what I've decided to do. I'll share an excerpt here on my blog every week until the book releases in 19 June!
Scroll down for this week's excerpt.
¸.•´¨ ❥ ¸ . •´¨ PRE-ORDER NOW ¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
Title: FOREST GIRLAuthor: Empi BaryehGenre: Multicultural Romance, AfricaLength: Full length novel
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ TAGLINE¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
He fell in love with her at first sight, but didn't recognize her when he saw her again.
¸.•´¨ ❥ ¸ . •´¨ BLURB¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ Esi Afriyie has been in love with Michael Yaw Badu since childhood. When he receives a scholarship to study in America, all hope seems lost ... until he returns to Ghana ten years later. An arranged marriage contracted by their families makes her dreams come true, but does the reality of being Mrs. Michael Badu live up to the fantasy?
Michael may have married Esi, but he is in love with someone else—Forest Girl, a mystery woman he encountered just once in the forest. His heart belongs to her, and he doesn't need his beautiful wife awakening his carnal desires. He is even willing to sacrifice his marriage for another encounter with Forest Girl.
Reality is not what either Esi or Michael imagined. Esi is disillusioned; Michael feels trapped.
Will Michael give in and allow his heart to discover a love that was always meant to be, before it's too late?
¸.•´¨ ❥ ¸ . •´¨ PRE-ORDER NOW¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ Amazon USAmazon UK Amazon CA(and all other Amazon outlets)
Smashwords (more outlets coming soon)
¸.•´¨ ❥ ¸ . •´¨ EXCERPT¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
This is an excerpt from the Prologue (yes, I have one of those), which gives an idea of the setting and sets the tone for the story. (PS. written in UK English)
Ghana, early 1990s
A few dense forests, a few animals, a few good roads, some tall buildings…that was people’s image of Africa—a little of everything everywhere. However, if we considered the essence of life, the things that really mattered—like love—then maybe things would cease to seem so basic. Take a Ghanaian village like Ebinom, a small settlement just sixty kilometres north of the city of Kumasi, their only connection a ribbon of rough road that turned what should have been a forty-five-minute journey into three hours of misery as drivers attempted to dodge potholes. It proved an added torture for those travelling by commercial vehicles, which, even when available and no more than two days in a week, lilted from side to side under the weight of their overloaded cargo, tossing passengers like trees dancing in the evening breeze. A typical village, littered with mud houses and dirt roads, the natives were hardworking men and women who tilled the soil and reared livestock for their livelihood. They held tradition in high esteem and made it their concern to meddle in one another’s affairs in their commitment to be each other’s keeper. The village folk lived out their lives, as had generations before them, celebrating victories and mourning their dead together. At close of day, many gathered in their homes and greeted the evening with songs and folktales. A few hours of sleep, and the next morning began a day very much like the previous one. Today, Ebinom was bereaved. Unforgiving death had given up on lurking in the corners and laid its icy hands on one of their most resourceful men. The village square brimmed with mourners who shamelessly expressed their grief with tears and wailing. The cool breeze ceased its whiffling as if it, too, were aware of the elegy in the air. The desolate tune rekindled the tears of mourners, particularly the women, who seemed especially blessed with the ability to cry on demand. Opanyin Badu had been in his mid-eighties when he was called to take his place with the forefathers. A hardworking man with three big farms a distance from the village, he had been loved and respected for his generosity and regard for all. His competence in work, from which many village folk benefited, earned him a place among the elders at an early age of forty.When the women had finished displaying their mourning prowess, the men, majestically clad in their funeral cloths, sombrely paid their respects to the lifeless body of a onetime great man. The adowa dance ensued, and the old women took over. While dancing adowa, the older generation was envied for the elegance of their advanced age, because somehow, their delicate frames possessed the grace required for this dance. With every step, turn, and shrug, their smiles acquired a mystic quality as though they had soared into a higher realm.Despite the mournful occasion, the crowd cheered the dancers on. A bit of alcohol and the resulting ambience gingered some others to join in. Amidst the drumming and dancing, they marched to the burial grounds. While parents mourned, children gathered in various courtyards, telling folktales among themselves until bedtime, for children weren’t allowed to see the face of death. At the end of what may have been construed as an unproductive day, the people retired to their various homes, with many shamelessly drunk and hardly in control of themselves. One couldn’t be sure whether anyone had sound sleep when a person died, but life had to go on.
As for the dead, they became ancestors.
I hope you enjoyed this setting-the-stage excerpt. Leave me a comment (pretty please with a cherry on top), and don't forget to come back next week to meet my hero.
Add Forest Girl to your Goodreads TBR.
Share this post by using the social media share buttons below.
Scroll down for this week's excerpt.
¸.•´¨ ❥ ¸ . •´¨ PRE-ORDER NOW ¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
Title: FOREST GIRLAuthor: Empi BaryehGenre: Multicultural Romance, AfricaLength: Full length novel
¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ TAGLINE¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
He fell in love with her at first sight, but didn't recognize her when he saw her again.
¸.•´¨ ❥ ¸ . •´¨ BLURB¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ Esi Afriyie has been in love with Michael Yaw Badu since childhood. When he receives a scholarship to study in America, all hope seems lost ... until he returns to Ghana ten years later. An arranged marriage contracted by their families makes her dreams come true, but does the reality of being Mrs. Michael Badu live up to the fantasy?
Michael may have married Esi, but he is in love with someone else—Forest Girl, a mystery woman he encountered just once in the forest. His heart belongs to her, and he doesn't need his beautiful wife awakening his carnal desires. He is even willing to sacrifice his marriage for another encounter with Forest Girl.
Reality is not what either Esi or Michael imagined. Esi is disillusioned; Michael feels trapped.
Will Michael give in and allow his heart to discover a love that was always meant to be, before it's too late?
¸.•´¨ ❥ ¸ . •´¨ PRE-ORDER NOW¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨ Amazon USAmazon UK Amazon CA(and all other Amazon outlets)
Smashwords (more outlets coming soon)
¸.•´¨ ❥ ¸ . •´¨ EXCERPT¸.•´¨❥¸.•´¨
This is an excerpt from the Prologue (yes, I have one of those), which gives an idea of the setting and sets the tone for the story. (PS. written in UK English)
Ghana, early 1990s
A few dense forests, a few animals, a few good roads, some tall buildings…that was people’s image of Africa—a little of everything everywhere. However, if we considered the essence of life, the things that really mattered—like love—then maybe things would cease to seem so basic. Take a Ghanaian village like Ebinom, a small settlement just sixty kilometres north of the city of Kumasi, their only connection a ribbon of rough road that turned what should have been a forty-five-minute journey into three hours of misery as drivers attempted to dodge potholes. It proved an added torture for those travelling by commercial vehicles, which, even when available and no more than two days in a week, lilted from side to side under the weight of their overloaded cargo, tossing passengers like trees dancing in the evening breeze. A typical village, littered with mud houses and dirt roads, the natives were hardworking men and women who tilled the soil and reared livestock for their livelihood. They held tradition in high esteem and made it their concern to meddle in one another’s affairs in their commitment to be each other’s keeper. The village folk lived out their lives, as had generations before them, celebrating victories and mourning their dead together. At close of day, many gathered in their homes and greeted the evening with songs and folktales. A few hours of sleep, and the next morning began a day very much like the previous one. Today, Ebinom was bereaved. Unforgiving death had given up on lurking in the corners and laid its icy hands on one of their most resourceful men. The village square brimmed with mourners who shamelessly expressed their grief with tears and wailing. The cool breeze ceased its whiffling as if it, too, were aware of the elegy in the air. The desolate tune rekindled the tears of mourners, particularly the women, who seemed especially blessed with the ability to cry on demand. Opanyin Badu had been in his mid-eighties when he was called to take his place with the forefathers. A hardworking man with three big farms a distance from the village, he had been loved and respected for his generosity and regard for all. His competence in work, from which many village folk benefited, earned him a place among the elders at an early age of forty.When the women had finished displaying their mourning prowess, the men, majestically clad in their funeral cloths, sombrely paid their respects to the lifeless body of a onetime great man. The adowa dance ensued, and the old women took over. While dancing adowa, the older generation was envied for the elegance of their advanced age, because somehow, their delicate frames possessed the grace required for this dance. With every step, turn, and shrug, their smiles acquired a mystic quality as though they had soared into a higher realm.Despite the mournful occasion, the crowd cheered the dancers on. A bit of alcohol and the resulting ambience gingered some others to join in. Amidst the drumming and dancing, they marched to the burial grounds. While parents mourned, children gathered in various courtyards, telling folktales among themselves until bedtime, for children weren’t allowed to see the face of death. At the end of what may have been construed as an unproductive day, the people retired to their various homes, with many shamelessly drunk and hardly in control of themselves. One couldn’t be sure whether anyone had sound sleep when a person died, but life had to go on.
As for the dead, they became ancestors.
I hope you enjoyed this setting-the-stage excerpt. Leave me a comment (pretty please with a cherry on top), and don't forget to come back next week to meet my hero.
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May 13, 2018
Lovers; not friends | #MothersDay excerpt from Expecting Ty's Baby by @empibaryeh #SexySnippet
Hello friends, and welcome back to Sexy Snippets. Today, I'm sharing a snippet in honour of Mother's Day! So it's clearly not going to be a 'sexy' piece, but I thought it was cute. This snippet comes from my soon-to-be-published (unedited) book, Expecting Ty's Baby. A scene between the heroine, Patricia and her mother.
Here you go. Enjoy
May 7, 2018
May 3, 2018
Playing with words: Biannual vs Biennial
So these are two words that I often seem people use interchangeably. They both have something to do with 'two' and 'yearly', but let me say it right from the start - they do not mean the same thing.
BIANNUAL
[bahy-an-yoo-uh l]
Adjective
1. occurring twice a year; semiannual.
BIENNIAL
[bahy-en-ee-uh l]
Adjective
1. happening every two years:
biennial games.
2. lasting or enduring for two years:
a biennial life cycle.
3. (Botany). completing its normal term of life in two years, flowering and fruiting the second year, as beets or winter wheat.
Noun
4. any event occurring once in two years.
5. (Botany). a biennial plant.
Now you know
Empi
BIANNUAL[bahy-an-yoo-uh l]
Adjective
1. occurring twice a year; semiannual.
BIENNIAL
[bahy-en-ee-uh l]
Adjective
1. happening every two years:
biennial games.
2. lasting or enduring for two years:
a biennial life cycle.
3. (Botany). completing its normal term of life in two years, flowering and fruiting the second year, as beets or winter wheat.
Noun
4. any event occurring once in two years.
5. (Botany). a biennial plant.
Now you know
Empi
April 25, 2018
The 2018 Kofi Awoonor Literary Prize Competition
The Department of English, University of Ghana, under the sponsorship of the Kofi Awoonor Family, Friends and Chief Dele Momodu of Ovation International magazine, announces the Second Edition of The Kofi Awoonor Literary Prize. The biennial competition initially alternates between significant collections of Poetry, Prose and Essay, the three literary genres in which Professor Awoonor distinguished himself.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to win the Prize, a person must be an African and a currently registered student of the University of Ghana or must have graduated within the past ten (10) years (2008-2017).
ENTRIES
The Second Edition of the competition is dedicated to Prose Fiction. Each participant must submit four (4) copies of a full-length Novel or Collection of Short Stories, published (from 2008 to 2017), or unpublished. Unpublished works must be typed, double spaced and in Times New Roman 12 point font size.
SUBMISSION
Published works and hard copies of unpublished works (in Microsoft word format, printed on one side of A4 sheets and soft-bound) should be submitted in person or under registered cover to:
DEADLINE
The deadline for the submission of manuscripts is 15 July, 2018.
For details about prizes, click here .
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to win the Prize, a person must be an African and a currently registered student of the University of Ghana or must have graduated within the past ten (10) years (2008-2017).
ENTRIES
The Second Edition of the competition is dedicated to Prose Fiction. Each participant must submit four (4) copies of a full-length Novel or Collection of Short Stories, published (from 2008 to 2017), or unpublished. Unpublished works must be typed, double spaced and in Times New Roman 12 point font size.
SUBMISSION
Published works and hard copies of unpublished works (in Microsoft word format, printed on one side of A4 sheets and soft-bound) should be submitted in person or under registered cover to:
The CoordinatorIn addition to hard copies of unpublished works, soft copies should be sent to the following email address: awoonorliterarycontest@gmail.com
The Kofi Awoonor Literary Prize Committee
The Department of English
P.O. Box LG 129
University of Ghana, Legon
DEADLINE
The deadline for the submission of manuscripts is 15 July, 2018.
For details about prizes, click here .
April 24, 2018
A Fortune to Win by Suz deMello Review Tour
BLURB
Drug addicts Harvey, Lord Darlingside, and his supermodel wife, Mara, died by drowning in the Trevi Fountain while on a heroin binge. In a previous rare moment of sobriety, Harvey created a trust for their three children with a peculiar stipulation designed to ensure none would go his way: each must demonstrate maturity by making a substantial non-monetary contribution to others.
A Fortune To Win is the story of the Darlingside heirs' journey to love and their legacies.
MY REVIEW
This is a 3-in-1 book about three siblings who have to perform a non-monetary act of kindness in order to claim their inheritance, plus a bonus story about an ancestor of theirs.
Novella 1: Alice's Sheikh
This was a short and super sweet story. The hero is quite appealing (who doesn't love a hot and confident sheikh, right), and his first entry is grand. Alice is sweet. Their attraction is instant and undeniable. I enjoyed the progression from awareness to consummation :-). My only problem was that the story was too short, so it didn't allow room to truly explore conflicts or delve into deeper matters of character development. It left me a tad disappointed because this story could have been a real roller coaster of emotions and a clash of personalities. However, it was an enjoyable, fun read and the characters were likable. Great for readers looking for a simple, uncomplicated love story
Novella 2: Saving Sophia
Sophia's story started a tad slow for me, but it picked up very quickly and I found myself liking her a lot. Her best friend, a transgender woman, is murdered and Sophia finds herself volunteering in the charity shop in honor of her friend. This makes her a target too. Enter Nick, the detective assigned to her case. The two seem to be well-matched and their attraction is mutual. Nick does a very interesting thing with regard to work when he finds himself falling for Sophia. However, just like Alice's story, this is too short and does not create the kind of depth that I would have liked to see in this kind of plot. The author ends the story on a HFN and leaves no loose ends in the subplot. However, I found the resolution of the subplot too simplistic.
Novella 3: Peter's Story
Peter wakes up and finds a dead woman in his bed. His lawyer, Roxanne Fox, comes to his rescue. The case against him (and the judge's ruling) force Peter to re-examine his life and choices. One of the big changes leads him to discovering more about Roxanne whom he already finds himself attracted to. On the surface, Peter and Roxy's lives couldn't have been more different, but as they get to know each other better, they discover similarities that bring them closer together. This story attempts to deal with the issue of alcohol abuse and does an okay job of it - mainly (IMO) due to the length of the story. I would have loved to read more of Roxy's POV. E.g. I didn't really get whether she was always attracted to Peter or if it happened at some point in the story.
Bonus read: The Cowboy and His Countess, and Her Companion
This story is set in 1870 London (mostly) - a sort of prequel to the previous stories. I normally don't review bonus stories, but since this one is somewhat related to the first three, I thought I might as well say something about it. Though it is an M/F/F, it is quite a sweet romance and the story takes precedence over the sex. I found it to be an interesting read, but just like the other three, there wasn't room to explore some real issues raised or achieve serious character growth.
Overall, the book is an entertaining diversion, something to ease your mind with in between daily chores. Ms deMello's writing is fluid, which makes the stories flow well and easily. I'd be willing to try another of her stories - as long as it's a full-length novel.
*I received an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
