Of Annual Leave and Readings for 2017

Tags

African Literature, Annual Leave, Reading List, suspense, thriller

I enjoy reading; well, who doesn’t for crying out loud. But of late, and it’s been a long of late, I’ve shelved my reading to the back bench and pushed poetry, in particular, haiku to the forefront. I’m so behind with my readings, that it’s almost an embarrassment. So this year, my annual leave or vacation days accruing to me is more than welcome.

I’m enjoying my almost three months annual leave with this book haul from my TBR pile.

Assorted books l should say so wish me luck so l can complete the reading. 🙂

I will try to review some of them but not all. 🙂 I may also review some books I’ve already read but which I couldn’t capture for this post. (my poor attempt at photography. (Lol) so please stay tuned. 🙂

 

 

APED – Prompt 17: My Visitor

Tags

dead body, Ghost, mahogany, mystery, Rains, thriller, watchdog committee

Done for A Prompt Each Day, a daily dose of inspiration.

We are to use Use a minimum of three words from the set of ten here in your post. You can write in any form, poetry or prose, as long or as short as you like.

My Visitor

I moved into the house on a cold rainy day. The clouds would not let up and everywhere was wet. From my bedroom window, I took in the garden behind the rumbling old house which needed pruning. The silver droplets kissing the leaves of the mahogany tree in the middle of the garden mesmerised me. But that tree would have to go. It was ancient. That night I dreamed of the mahogany tree begging me not to touch it. I woke up sweating, not understanding the dream. I wasn’t superstitious but throughout the day, a feeling of unease settled on me like an unwanted suitor.

In the evening my new neighbour came over to introduce herself. Mary Kwame was nice enough but she talked too much. Over hot tea she filled me in on the local gossip.

“We all wondered who would move in here, you know.”

I cocked an eyebrow at this. “oh, and why was that?”

Mary swiveled her head, yes, that is what she actually did. Swiveled her head to see who was listening in even though we were alone. And then her voice dropped to a whisper. “This house is haunted you know. Someone died here. You must be brave”

An amused chuckle escaped my lips. “Mary, stories of ghosts and apparitions don’t scare me.

” “But Grace, you haven’t seen or heard anything yet.” She wailed.

The dream I had the night before popped into my mind and a shiver ripped through me, despite the hot tea.

Suddenly Mary gave a loud cackle, her eyes afire with an unholy light. “a ghost just passed through.”

I had enough. “Mary, I’ve had a busy day unpacking. I think we should call it an evening.”

Thankfully she took the hint and left shortly, apologising for overstaying her welcome. I told her not to worry, closing and locking the door firmly.

I slept soundly, perhaps too much. For I woke up to a commotion behind my house. Glancing at the bedside clock I noted the time to be 9.30. I still had a lot of unpacking to do. I tried to ignore the noise at the back of the house. The voices were many and I couldn’t make out a single word. Then I heard a loud knocking at the front door. Dashing to the bathroom attached to bedroom, I rinsed my face and mouth and hurried up to the door. Somehow I knew before unlocking the door that the news wouldn’t be good.

A handsome man stood before me. My heart did a flip. “Good morning, madam. I’m the neighbourhood watchdog committee chairman. My name is Opoku.”

“Opoku, how can I help you?” I hoped my voice sounded sexy.

“I’m sorry madam, but yesterday’s rains washed up the remains of a body buried under the mahogany tree in your yard.”

“What!”

“Yes. We suspect the body must be that of Mary Kwame. She used to live near you. She’s been missing for four years now. The Police are on their way.”

Cydonia, Rise of the Fallen – Book Spotlight!

Tags

Cydonia, histroy, paranormal, thriller

Today, I’m highly privileged to be hosting on my blog a sweet sister and friend, blogger and author, Seyi Sandra David. Sandra has just released  a mega novel, Cydonia, Rise of the Fallen, her most brilliant and ambitious work so far.  A fast paced, gripping and suspense thriller.  Here’s the blurb:

”A mere thirty days… …is what ex priest, Aaron Cohen has to stop a devastating attack on earth from elusive and ruthless forces but events soon took an alarming turn for the worse. The Vatican came under attack when a demonic bloodhound under the command of Tyrus, Lucifer’s son, went on rampage. They left destruction on their trail. As events unfold with alarming speed, Aaron Cohen’s life spiralled out of control, chased by forces beyond human comprehension; he embarked on an adventure to protect the Ark of the Covenant and the stones of fire from brutal forces intent on annihilating the human race. Set against an extraordinary and enigmatic church of St Mary, Axum in Ethiopia, Aaron fought with demons, escaped assassins’ bullets and every attempt to halt impending doom seemed slimmer than ever.”

Wow, grip your seats!!

 

Enjoy this Excerpt

”THE BIG clock in Ilford town centre in East London resounded at seven in the evening. The town centre was still bustling with shoppers when a glittering black GMC 4×4 slid past the shoppers and came to a screeching halt at Cranbrook road, a few miles from the town centre. Three men got out of the jeep and dashed into the Golden Oaks pub, brandishing AK-47 assault rifles.

 The pub was packed full of people that cool Wednesday evening, and the men heralded a tense atmosphere as they barged in. There were muted gasps from everyone. Aaron Cohen was among the throng of people in the pub. Instantly, he knew they were looking for him.

A woman stifled a sob and her whimpering grated on Aaron’s nerves. Slowly, he slipped his face cap down to hide his identity: it would do him good to stay hidden.

 There was complete silence.”

For copies of this amazing novel, please visit here for those in the UK and here for those on in the US! Be sure to grab copies for the holidays! 🙂

Sandra’s Bio

Seyi David loves to write and she has done that for several years. She has worked as a reporter, teacher, and accountant. She had a brief stint as an actor while at the university before she finally decided to write novels full-time. She is a committed blogger and a columnist for Black Heritage Today, a London-based Magazine, and Rev Up Media.

Her first novel, ‘The Impossible President’ sold out of its first print run in 2004.  She wrote a short story, ‘Tales of Five Lies,’ which gripped readers worldwide. ‘The Feet of Darkness,’ her second novel is still on sale worldwide. Seyi lives in London with her husband, Kay and three children, Samuel, Elizabeth, and Emmanuel.