N.R. Walker's Blog, page 30

Good Morning Monday ~ Interview with Santa Aziz

Something a little different this week.  This is release week! And it’s with great pleasure that I can introduce someone very special to me, and special to my book, Blood & Milk.

Santa Aziz first contacted me a little while ago as a reader, to express her love for my books. She mentioned she was from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and I was instantly intrigued! We exchanged a few emails, and I was floored that my books had reached someone in Africa!

Skip ahead a few months, and in our conversations I mentioned my WIP (work in progress) and how it was set in Tanzania with the Maasai people. I also explained how I was so unsure whether publishing the book was even going to happen because I feared I would be wrong, or worse, disrespectful, in some way. I mean, research is great but pales in comparison to experiencing first hand, or having ever been there.

Then Santa shared with me her history and experiences, and I almost fell off my chair! I begged her to read my first draft – not that it took much begging because she was super excited LOL. And beta-read she did. Her feedback was fantastic and heartfelt, and any reservations about publishing Blood & Milk were gone. After spending weeks wondering if I should/could/would publish it, I read her email telling me my words give African LGBT people hope, and I sent the manuscript to my editor that very day.

Blood & Milk, without any doubt in my mind, would never be published without her input, her experience with Maasai, and her encouragement so the people she knows and encounters daily could have a book they identify with.

So please let me welcome Santa Aziz S. to my blog! I hope you don’t mind my gushing introduction LOL   Please tell everyone a little bit about yourself…

SA: Hi N.R, wow, this is like a dream come true. I am very honoured to be the one you picked among your countless fans! Thank you for all!

Soooo, I am Santa Aziz S., I am a Congolese citizen from Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. I am a mother of a beautiful, adorable (drive me crazy) 14 months old girl; I’m straight and a LGBTQ activist which specialized in orphanages and homeless shelters. I am the General Director of a local NGO,  Maisha Mazuri, A Better World for all of us, (also known as ABW).  Maisha Mazuri is Swahili which means “a better life”. 

I L-O-V-E to read! Fiction or non-fiction altogether. I am French literate so please, excuse me if I rumble a bit…lol. But I grew up in English speaking countries which are an added bonus.

My passion to help LGBTQ centre comes from the fact that I have great grandparents from Portugal on my mom side and great grandparents from Pakistan from my father side, I am Muslim and live in Christian country, I am a woman and believe me, all that is a good combination to be at the front of discrimination. I tend to believe it is because of that I can easily relate to those who are discriminated based on their sexual orientation.

NRW:  Wow. Your work is phenomenal! And helping so many young LGBTQ people is a remarkable achievement.  

I spend my week working and looking after my two kids, driving them to and from their sporting commitments. If I do have some downtime (which isn’t very often) I love to spend it reading. Explain a typical week for you.

SA: I wish I could be like you super mom, but noooo. My typical week is….mmhhhh…. from Monday to Friday I have work. On Thursday, I go to a support group to help with logistic on karate lesson for women. On Friday I might go out with my friends. On weekend, I am 90% at ABW and 10% chasing my daughter around.

NRW: I think it’s safe to assume you’re more than a super mum!!  LOL   You’ve lived in many parts of Africa, and spent two years in Tanzania? What was it like? What was your favourite and not-so favourite thing of your time there?

SA: let me start with the least favourite thing! Well, you know how everywhere people have their customs and habits? In Tanzania is gossip! It’s like their hobby or something. I hated it, still do. They ask so personal question even if they don’t know you and like to gossip…much more than corrupting! Ooppss.

I have spent 2 years straight in Tanzania, and I kid you not, it is everything that you see in pamphlets and travel agencies brochures. It was a blast and so much more. I have drank so much “madafu”, coconut water… eating seafood in various cooking style (from Indian to Arusha style). It was there I had to perfect my Swahili. I travelled inside the country up to Ujiji in Kigoma. And my eyes almost fell out my eyes when my aunt house was opposite to the legendary museum, where David Livingstone met Henry Morton Stanley in 1871! If you are wondering who are those dudes… well, thank God Wikipedia and Google are there for that hahahaha.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujiji

NRW:  Speaking of food, as part of your feedback for Blood & Milk, you mention ugali. It is something Damu and Alé eat a lot of. You even showed me pictures which I added to this post. (It looked delicious, I might add[image error]  It reminds me a lot of Indian food, which we see a lot of in Australia)  Is ugali a staple in your diet? Can you explain to our readers what it is? And what other foods are traditional for you?

SA: Ugali is a must in my diet! A MUST!! It can be cooked with maize flour, cassava bread flour, sorghum, semolina, soy and even better corn flour. Typically, is like a hot bread without yeast and not cooked in the oven. The flour is dropped into boiling water and we stir it up with a special spoon called “mwiko” for a dough shape like consistency and it is eaten with hands (right one of course). Better to eat it with vegetables, sauce, meats etc. 

Other traditional foods:

Beans: cooked with palm oil
Caterpillar: yes, yes…but yummy, typical for DRC
Sukuma wiki: it is a vegetable commonly eaten in Kenya
Bokoboko: it is rice, overcooked rice like a porridge which is mixed with camel meat or sheep meat or even goat meat eaten with a “sour/bitter/sweet” sauce composed with goat fat, dry grapes, sugar, garlic, vinegar, onions and cinnamon ( muslim)
Chapatti: made with corn flour in dough, then rolled flat in a circular form like a pizza and fried with a quarter spoon of oil in a pan for 10 to 20 seconds. Eaten with vegetables/ beans/ eggplants/minced meats/duck gizzard
Futari: it is a combination of tubers boiled with salt, palm oil, tomatoes and onions, sometimes we can add beans or peas.

There are so much traditional foods but nothing is really good without a good hot “pilipili” (various kinds) which is pepper.

NRW: Something a little more serious: In Blood & Milk, both Damu and Alé are subject to discrimination and are ostracised for being different. In your feedback, you explained this is very common in Maasai culture. In real life, Damu may or may not have been an outcast for his mother dying during childbirth, but for other reasons like being born with birthmarks, and being born with hair. This is fascinating to me, if not concerning, as these are things the newborn child cannot control, like their sexuality. In Australia, same sex marriage isn’t legal here (yet) but you said it will never EVER be allowed in Africa?

SA:  It will never be allowed. I wish I could be wrong, I wish there will be a day that my statement will be proved wrong. But, with what the community is facing in Zimbabwe, Uganda or even here in DRCongo and Kenya…I doubt that it will be so soon.

When I say Africa also, I mean those remote places where beliefs are still so strong and where the outside world ways of living will never reach. Since 30 November 2006, same sex marriage is legal in South Africa. I have been in Alexandria where there are hidden gay clubs, in Kenya too even though it is ILLEGAL to be gay in those countries. But those are big cities.

What I am talking about is the rest of Africa, those remoted places where there isn’t even access roads, electricity or running water, those places like where Damu lived. Those are the worst. I have testimonies and stories that are heartbreaking.

NRW:  Oh no

Spencer Cohen Book Two is now on ARe, iTunes, and Smashwords

Spencer Cohen, Book Two’s run on KU is up, and its now live on ARe, iBooks, and Smashwords.

You can also still grab it at Amazon.

Still waiting for B&N. Will post links when I have them.  [image error]

Hope and gratitude

I’ve been struggling lately, with a lot of things which I won’t get into with you now, but I have to admit I’ve seriously considered putting down my pen for good.  But today I wanted to share something lovely…

I received an email from a reader that restored my faith a little (or a lot)  and here is a snippet of how that conversation went:

Dear Ms. Walker,

I just finished reading “Exchange of Hearts”, and I wanted to tell you how very much I enjoyed this warm, sweet love story. It was the perfect way for me to end this tragic day, with the senseless, tragic slaughter of 50 young gay people in Orlando. I was (am) sad beyond words, and finishing your beautiful love story enables me to go to sleep tonight with hope that in the end, love will truly conquer hate. Again thank you for writing such a beautiful story. This world desperately needs more messages of love, forgiveness, healing and hope; and stories like this provide that truth. I look forward to reading more of your books…maybe a follow-up to Harrison and Levi’s story??? Once again, thank you for this wonderful book.

Sincerely,

Rob

My reply

Hi Rob,

Thank you for your beautiful email. The events of Orlando have broken my heart

Blood & Milk, and Donations to LGBT Africa

This was scheduled to be posted a few days ago, but I held off posting in the wake of the horrific mass murder in Orlando.  :(   But then I realised, maybe that’s the reason I should post it.  Because not only are hate crimes still happening, but anti-homosexuality laws are still a thing, now, in 2016.

From my research for Blood & Milk, and from all I have learned, I can tell you the prospects for LGBTQI people in Africa are pretty grim.  In fact, according to ILGA, out of the 83 countries in the world where anti-homosexuality laws are still in place, 33 of those countries are in Africa.  Punishments include imprisonment, torture, and death.

Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania where, if found guilty, the sentence is imprisonment. And as we see in Blood & Milk, the Maasai laws for this “crime” are not so lenient.

I have had the help from a LOT of different people for this story, including several people from Africa. But the most help has come from a  woman by the name of Santa Aziz, who works “in secret” helping African LGBT people, but who also lived in Tanzania with first-hand experience, information and guidance on Maasai language, diet, and culture.  (I have an interview with Santa which I will post asap – she really is an amazing woman.)

But Santa has helped me with so much more than just the technical things.

I’ve doubted myself with this story, a hundred times more than I have with any other thing I’ve written. And every time I get to the point of not publishing the book, Santa says something to me that drives me forward.

The first time was before I sent it to my editor. Santa told me she works, in secret, with LGBT people in her country who live in fear for their lives everyday, and she sneaks them my books for them to read. She said it gives them hope. Real, legitimate hope, and it makes their nightmarish days a little brighter. And having something they can relate to would mean more to them than I could possibly imagine.

Her email touched me so deeply, I cried. I sent the manuscript to my editor that day.

Then when it came time to load it into Amazon for pre-orders,  again I struggled for hours trying to decide whether I should publish this book at all. I knew some people would be opposed to me writing this story…

Then Santa sent me another long email of hope and gratitude for giving these people, her people, a voice, including this:

i know it might be difficult to comprehend the importance of such small gesture, but believe me when i say that it will be a HUGE thing for us. really… for anyone in Africa speaking swahili and who can understand that.

And you know what? I hit publish right then and there. Because it’s not about me, and it’s not about whether someone else thinks I don’t have the right to write this story.

It’s about giving hope to LGBT people in a small part of Africa.  Real hope for real people who struggle every day, for whom this story will make a positive difference. And if this story can do that for even one person, then it should be published. When LGBT African people plead with me to please please publish this story because they need something they can relate to, then I absolutely should.

I’ve contacted The African Human Rights Coalition, an organisation who do wonderful work with LGBT people in Africa, about donating a percentage of royalties of Blood & Milk.  I will post more when I have the confirmation.

If you’re interested and able, you can donate at the following links:

African Human Rights Coalition

AHRC Crowdfunding

Because, in light of the hate-crime that cut short the lives of 49 people in Orlando, it’s more important now than it was before that we speak up for those who cannot. Not just in America, or Europe, or Australia, but in Africa too.

Because love is not, nor should it ever be, a crime.

❤

Good Morning Monday ~ Blood & Milk Excerpt

I have a little something special for you this week!  I’m still away from home so I’ve scheduled this in advance to make up for my lack of social media presence.

Given it’s just ten days until Blood & Milk is released, I thought I’d share with you a little excerpt. This is how Blood & Milk begins…

PROLOGUE

It was twelve months on. A full year had passed, yet my world had stopped completely. The men who stole my life were charged and would serve time for their crime. No one called it a hate crime, but that’s what it was. If I was expecting some sort of finality to come with the court findings, I didn’t get it.

I was still hollow. I was still numb to the world, and I was still alone.

I was also awarded damages, civilian victim and medical.

A nice healthy sum that meant I could pay off my debts after not working for twelve months, and more. Though no amount of money would make this right. No amount of money would bring him back.

My mother came along for the final hearing, though I could only guess why. I had barely spoken two words to her in the last year. Maybe she came so she could vie for the sympathy card with her friends. Or maybe she thought she could have one last twist of the knife…

“Now it’s all over,” she said, nodding her head like her words were wise and final. “You can put all this homosexual nonsense behind you.”

I looked at my mother and smiled. I fucking smiled. I raged inside with a fury to burn the world, and maybe she saw something in my eyes―maybe it was a ferocity she’d never seen before, maybe it was madness―and my words were whisper quiet.

“You are a despicable, bitter human being, and you are a disgrace to mothers everywhere. So, when you go to your church group, instead of praying for my soul, you should be praying for yours. You have only hate and judgement in your heart, and you are doomed to an eternity in hell.” I leaned in close and sneered at her. “And I hope you fucking burn.” I stood up and stared down at her. She was pale and shocked, and I did not care. “If you think my words are cold and cruel,” I added, “I want you to know I learned them from you.”

I walked away, for the final time. I knew I’d never see her again, and I had made my peace with that.

I didn’t care for the money. I didn’t care for anything. I longed for sleep, because in my dreams, I saw him. And that night, almost one year to the day since he was gone, in our too-big bed, in our too-quiet flat, in my too-alone life, I dreamed of Jarrod.

He sat on our bed and grinned. I longed to hear his voice, just once. It’d been a year and I craved the sound of his voice, his touch. But when I reached out for him, even in my dream, as in my waking nightmares, he was gone. I sat up in our bed, reaching out for nothing but air. He was gone, really gone.

But in this dream, on the bed were he’d sat, was a plane ticket. Mr Heath Crowley, it said. One way ticket to Tanzania.

 

Good Morning Monday! June already?

Man, this year is just flying by. Can you believe it’s almost half over?  And, as always, it’s been another busy week for me. I know, I tell people I’m busy and I complain of being busy all the time, but jeez, just one hour to sit down and do nothing would be fab! LOL

Anywho, so last week saw the French version of Cronin’s Key released! It made #3 in Fantasy, and  #33 in the whole Kindle store of France on release day, which is stellar!! You can find it on Amazon  and on Smashwords and on All Romance eBooks.  I’m hoping to have the paperback version ready soon!

I have a few tweaks to make to Blood & Milk before ARCs go out this week. I’ve had some great feedback and it’s helped with the nerves a little. Everyone has loved it, and by all accounts thus far, I’ve done the culture of the Maasai justice – which is a huge relief for me. Though I’m sure I’ll be a nervous wreck on release day.  There will be a lot of opinions about this book, so there’s a good chance I’ll be avoiding the interwebs for about a week or three after release. LOL

I’m *still* waiting on my WordPress upgrade (apparently Bluehost need to make security features or some crap) and this can take a week or something. And I have made contact with a web designer who can hopefully make my site a whole lot prettier (and functional) than it is now.

I’ll be sure to advise if there will be any down time.  :)

I have started my new WIP this week!  I wanted to be at 10K by Friday, but with translations and formatting on CK1,  pre-read feedback and tweaks on B&M, and other real life shenanigans, I’m only at 3K.  It’s the story of Henry, who is very recently single, after being told by his long term partner he is overweight. So he joins a gym, where he meets personal trainer, Reed.  And because I let the characters tell the story as I write (that is, I don’t plan or plot – I’m a total pantser) I had wondered if this story would be angsty, serious, comedy, long, short… I had no clue.

Well, as it turns out, Henry is funny.  Even just a prologue and one chapter in, he’s already made me laugh out loud a few times, and want to hug him once.  Still no clue on the length of this story, but I’m aiming for 30-35K. After writing Blood & Milk which ended up 85K and research heavy, it’ll be nice to write something short and fun.

For those wondering how my CrossFit challenge is going… I’m four weeks into a six week challenge (three sessions per week) and I can tell, even in those four weeks, my fitness has improved a lot. I did a fourth session this week so I could bring my daughter along, and she loved it. She said I did better than she was expecting me to LOL.  I have a long way to go before I’m at the level of those who do the full-on sessions. While I can do the WODs, though I do the beginner sets instead of the advanced. What I have learned from CrossFit: my body will hurt a lot, my knees are permanently bruised, and burpees fucking suck.  :D

But, after the six week challenge is up, I fully intend to sign up for normal classes.

Cronin’s Key – French Translation? Oui!

I’m very excited to announce the first Cronin’s Key book is now available in French!!

And in less than 12 hours, it has reached Number 8 in Erotica, and Number 3 in Fantasy in Amazon France!

You can find it on Amazon  and on Smashwords and on All Romance eBooks.  I will post the links to B&N and iBooks when I have them, and it will be available in paperback very soon!  :)

BLURB:

L’inspecteur de la police de New York, Alec MacAidan a toujours été familier avec l’étrange. Après tout, sa vie n’est qu’une suite de phénomènes inexplicables. Mais quand un homme blessé lui laisse des indices cryptiques, puis est réduit en poussière devant lui, l’avis d’Alec sur le bizarre change pour toujours.

Cronin est un vampire ancestral, qui a passé ces derniers mille ans à attendre Alec. On lui a dit que son destiné serait un homme armé d’un bouclier, mais il ne s’attendait pas à ce qu’il soit humain, et encore moins que ce bouclier soit un insigne de police.

Les deux hommes, tenaces avec de fortes volontés, en sont encore à apprendre comment faire face à l’attirance liée au fait d’être destinés l’un à l’autre, quand le Destin les jette en plein mystère.

La rumeur se propage rapidement, provoquant des troubles en Égypte. Des clans de vampires fuient après la nouvelle qu’un vampire aurait des dons pas comme les autres, s’acharnant à déclencher la colère de la Mort.

Alec et Cronin sont plongés dans un monde étrange qu’Alec n’aurait jamais pu imaginer. Ce qu’il a appris à l’école sur les anciens pharaons et sur les dieux égyptiens était très loin de la vérité. Au lieu de ça, il découvre de première main que l’Histoire n’est pas toujours ce qu’elle semble être.

❤

M/M Memorial Day Scavenger Hunt!

Welcome to the 2nd annual MM Memorial Day Scavenger Hunt!

10 Days, 31 Stops, and loads of prizes! The rules are simple: At each stop on the tour you’ll find a military themed picture with a word or words. Collect the words and figure out the secret phrase (HINT: It’s lyrics to a song). Once you think you have the correct phrase, enter it into the Rafflecopter at any of the stops.

Three winners will be selected from all the correct phrases for the three prize packs.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

Our stop’s word is:  YOU

Prize Lists:

1st Place Prize

– $25 Amazon GC from Sassy Girl Books

– $10 Amazon GC from Aria Grace

– $10 Amazon GC from Two Chicks Obsessed

– $5 Amazon GC from Jessie G

– $5 ARe GC from Kai Tyler

– Winners Choice of 2 Audio Books from Amy Lane

– Winners Choice of 2 eBooks Susan MacNicol’s backlist

– Winners Choice of 3 ebooks from The Rock Gods Series from Ann Lister

– eBook of Trouble Comes in Threes by Decadent Delights

– Winners choice of any eBook on JR Gray’s backlist

 

2nd Place Prize

– $10 USD Amazon GC from NR Walker

– $10 ARe GC from MM Book Escape

– $10 Amazon or ARe GC from Chris McHart

– $5 Amazon GC from Andrew Jericho

– Winners Choice of any ebook on Jessie G’s backlist

– Winner’s choice of eBook from Jaime Reese’s backlist title (ebook gifted via Amazon)

– eBook from Brita Addams

– eBook of The Shape of Honey from Ki Brightly

– eBook of My Zombie Boyfriend by T. Strange

 

3rd Place Prize (US Only)

– $10 USD Amazon GC from BFD Book Blog

– $10 USD Amazon GC from Joyfully Reviewed

– $10 ARe GC from Prism Book Alliance

– $5 Amazon CG from Carly’s Book Reviews

– Signed copies of all three published Kethric Wilcox books

– ebook Hitting Black Ice by Heloise West

– Set of Mile High Romance eEooks from Aria Grace

– eBook of Fire and Rain by Andrew Grey

– eBoook of Unexpectedly Lucky from Carly Rose

FOLLOW THE HUNT!  AND GOOD LUCK!!

Good Morning Monday! Another week, another post! Go me!

I am really on a roll with these weekly update post things. LOL  Not exactly sure what I have to talk about this week, but here goes…

So, last week I finished my short story. It’s 18.5K words, completely full of fluff and smut, and was a lot of fun to write. It took waaaay longer than expected, but RL and other mishaps got in the way.  It’s called Perfect Catch, and is about two Aussie guys, best mates, Cal and Troy.  They’re absolutely perfect for each other but their lives have never been sync, until now. They go away for a boys weekend of fishing, and suddenly its not about fishing anymore.

Good Morning Monday! What’s news this week…

My apologies for missing last week’s post – I was away (kids’ tennis, again) and we were that busy, I didn’t even take my laptop out of my bag.  We actually had a weekend at home this weekend! OMG they’re a rarity these days, it’s just a shame the entire time was spent doing housework and other mundane, real-life chores (the glamorous life of an author/mother LOL).

This week, Spencer Cohen Book One came off Kindle Unlimited. His 90 day exclusivity to Amazon ended, so he’s also now available at All Romance eBooks and Smashwords and Apple, and has been approved for distribution to B&N, so I’ll post that link asap.

The Italian translation of Red Dirt Heart comes out this week! And even the title, Cuore di Terra Rossa, is gorgeous. I will post the links as soon as I have them!

I do love my Italian publisher, and highly recommend them to all my author friends. Triskell Edizioni have been wonderful to me, very professional and they love their authors. I can’t praise them enough. I have actually just signed the Spencer Cohen Series to be translated, and my Italian readers can expect to see them early next year.❤

In GRL news, my flights are booked and our itinerary is done! My family and I will be doing four weeks of touring the US and briefly into Canada (for three days lol) before GRL. I know the timing isn’t perfect, and I’ll be exhausted going into GRL, but it couldn’t be helped. My husband has a work conference on in Las Vegas mid-September, which left a four week gap in between.  So, instead of coming home for those four weeks, we are seeing Las Vegas, Nashville, New York, Boston, Quebec, Montreal, Niagara Falls, Washington DC, San Fran and LA, then finally on to Kansas City.

I’m busy getting the family part organised, while ignoring everything else I need to think about (like swag lol) for  GRL.  But don’t forget, if you want me to have signed books at GRL for you, you MUST pre-order them. You can find the order form HERE – and you have until September 1st to pay for them.[image error]

Blood & Milk is still on schedule for June 23rd.  I have sent it to more beta-readers, with a different perspective on race and religion to me, looking for any possible red-flags, while my editor is working on it.  In case you missed the cover reveal I did two days ago, here is the gorgeous cover Sara York made me. I found the photo of Damu ages ago and *had* to have it. Sara made it pretty for me[image error]

And on a different note, I’ve just finished my second week (sixth session) of crossfit. Everything hurts, but the pain is getting better. Kind of. LOL  I do feel better for it though, even if my thighs feel like there are knives stabbing them and my arms are like cooked spaghetti.  >.<

So, until next week…

❤