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A Courageous Young Winnie
Winnie – Daughter of Azania follows a young woman who faces tough obstacles to save her mother and community. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The incident that happened after the passing away of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela- South Africa mother of nation in 2018 is what give birth to the story. Winnie Mandela is the second wife of the South African freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela. After her death, the ruling party which is African National Congress ANC leadership decided to give the woman a deserved iconic burial. This was criticised by opposition political party, EFF leader. The party leader Julius Malema accused the ruling party of being hypocrisy. He said the ruling party could have celebrated the woman better while alive and not after her demise but instead abandon her and made her life full of controversies. Malema said Winnie was never celebrated unlike her husband but only lived a life mauled with scandals despite using all her life to serve the party and the South Africa. The impact of Winnie Mandela during the struggle years made me to think about this iconic woman and I decided to develop a character not only in her name but someone who loved her community which I made to be Azania- the name accolades to South Africa.
Winnie is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind her character development?
Like I said earlier, I want a well developed young female protagonist that love her people and ready to sacrifice her life for her community and after reading about the pain, the agony, the lies and controversies surrounding Winnie Mandela I believe she is the right character i want. Winnie was one of the few party women qualified to become South Africa president but because of her divorce to the most influential man in the South African history- Nelson Mandela, her political lifestyles was not only silenced but also lived with several compromised life. However, even at this, she expressed her total love to the party and her people till death.
Another thing that contributed to the story development was an outstanding bravery displayed by one of my church members, a lady of 17 who singlehandedly apprehended three hefty men that hijacked a taxi she was travelling with. She even used a gun to break one of the men legs during the fight that ensued inside the taxi until arrested them and hold them down until police arrived. All these contributed towards the development of developing a courageous young Winnie.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
One of the main theme in the story is unconditional love especially to all people- both good and evil just as bible commanded us to do. Winnie Mandela’s life might be full of controversies yet she stood firm that she will never form or join any political party apart from ANC even when the stake was high to do so. She reserved her love to the ANC party to grave even when leaders betrayed her love she remained loyal to the people and to the party. She led so many reconciliation team in her personal capacity to implore some who left the party to return to the party including Julius Malema. She show her commitments and submissive to the party and refused to form or join any other political party.
Secondly, the issue of racism which is one of the main issues in South Africa also addressed and that the only way to conquer this is also through love.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I anticipating to release two more books before the end of the year. As an immigrant in South Africa who has witnessed all side of the story- love, hatred, racism, xenophobia and afrophobia including some of the reasons all these exist.
The two books have answers to mant of these. They are not fictions books but answers to some of the immigrants and citizen questions not only in Africa but across the world.
The first book is title “My Brother from Another Mother” and though it is presented as a fiction but has many facts of what an average immigrant faces in South Africa. This is currently in proofreading stage. It expected to be released before October 2021.
The second book title “The Xenophobic State” is a memoir. The book exposes hidden people behind racism, xenophobia in South African and their arguments. It also explained how xenophobia and racism becomes the normal or daily routen. Who are these group of people and what do they want? The book is expected to be released in December 2021.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook
also get kidnapped?
To save her mother and her community, a 16-year-old Azanian girl embarks on a journey that will make her into a kidnapper. Winnie is the only daughter of the late community hero Nelson Mapuka, a man whose love for Azania led to him sacrificing his life for the community. However, her mother’s weird illness makes her embark on the journey to find help, after all hope disappears.
Along the way she falls into the clutches of Jacky and Kurt, professional kidnappers who are desperately in search of a lady around her age to fulfil the wish of a frantic Mayor, Honourable Dagado, and his witchdoctor. Just when Winnie thinks death is the only way out, the unexpected happens, opening doors for revenge and revealing secrets that will shock the community.
Like her father, the love of her people is built into Winnie, but will her non-racial love and bravery be enough to save her mother, as well as a young white lady, from the community hoodlums and kidnappers?
My Personal War Within: A Struggle to Find Inner Peace
![My Personal War Within: “A Struggle to Find Inner Peace “ by [Ted Bagley]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51QXyTjARNL.jpg)
My Personal War Within is a journey through Ted Bagley’s upbringing and life until adulthood. Growing up in a world of prejudice and not quite understanding the sense in it. Wanting to worship but not being able to do it at any house of worship. This book offers a look at the fight for civil rights from the perspective of a little boy. Wondering about segregation but somehow accepting it as the norm.
Ted Bagley takes the reader on a scenic journey through his life. His descriptions are vivid and help the reader develop the appropriate mental image. It is a well-written book with a historical backdrop. It is lovely how the author has woven history into his story in a way that makes the book incredibly enjoyable.
The book flows easily and is written in simple language. The author’s writing reads like a velvety baritone narration. The story while not flashy or sprinkled with pizzazz is very much enjoyable. It provides a different perspective on civil rights and the struggle for it during Ted Bagley’s youth. This book does not make that generation feel out of place in a different era. It embraces all and bares all. While I enjoyed the candid nature with which this engaging story is told, I felt that is sometimes digressed, swerving occasionally into little side stories.
This book has a different tone from Ted Bagley’s other book, Demolition of Democracy, but it still has the Ted Bagley spirit. It is an important book especially with the current wave of racially charged violence playing out in our country. It is important to understand how unfounded and unnecessary racism is. Ted Bagley says that some of the people who hated him in his childhood do not actually remember why they did today. Hating him for the color of his skin was sort of just required.
My Personal War Within is well written and eye-opening. The language is polished and I recommend this book to anyone looking for an intriguing civil rights history lesson with a personal touch.
Pages: 180 | ASIN: B0793SPWP5
Betrayal In Black
![Betrayal in Black (A Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Book 4) by [Mark M. Bello]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51tzMBsVgML.jpg)
In a fictional city, a black couple is coming back from a fair when they are mistakenly stopped by a police officer, unfortunately, it ends with a murder. What follows is the complex dichotomy inside the police department, the obstacles that a mother and recent widow has to endure for justice, and the length to which the parties that seek to benefit from this tragedy will go.
A Betrayal in Black by Mark M. Bello is a story that doesn’t shy away from the harsh reality that black people in America face and how they have to adapt in order to survive.
A Betrayal in Black opens up in a lighthearted way and then transitions to a much darker and cruder story. Throughout the story I felt that the author had a clear understanding of law and police affairs.
When it comes to the technical parts of the story, Bello does a great job of immersing the reader into the world of law and order, with details that show the deep knowledge he has over legal prosecutions and police internal affairs. However, while this is immersing, it sometimes gets tedious and almost didactic, for example, when describing what a grand jury is, it almost feels like you are reading a law school book. But this is a minor flaw in an otherwise engaging story. The dialogue was interesting, and could even be funny at times.
A remarkable thing about this book is how it details every single aspect that goes into a case, from the murder itself to the conviction, all throughout detailing the victims grieving and the lawyers seeking justice. A particularly moving chapter is when the wife of the victim is speaking with their mother and they are retelling a story of how racism has evolved in this country, and, as angry as she may be, she can’t show it, because she is a woman of color.
This book was written in 2019, but the murder it describes is all too recent. The different ways black people have to think to present themselves to white people in order to be considered “equals” and not be dismissed as rude, is all too familiar. The themes in this book come at a crucial time, where stories like these are needed to paint a more vivid picture of the struggles minorities face in America. A Betrayal in Black is a must read.
Pages: 272 | ASIN: B0827D7LGX
The Ties That Bind: From Slavery To Freedom
William Bowie a slave and skilled carpenter along with his family were freed by the will of Roderick McGregor of Prince George County Maryland in the year 1858. Fifty- Five years later in 1913, his grandson William Augus Bowie and John Whitelaw Lewis co-founded the Industrial Savings Bank in Washington DC and together they would make important and lasting contributions to the African-American community of Washington. Thomas and John Vreeland Jackson were manumitted by Richard Vreeland in 1828 in Bergen County NJ. Oystermen by trade they would go on to become two of the first black property owners in Bergen County and conductors of the Underground Railroad who helped thousands of slaves to escape to freedom. In 1823, Joseph VanArsdale was freed by the will of Abraham VanArsdalen in Somerset County, New Jersey. Joseph would become one of the earliest black property owners in Princeton, New Jersey. This is their story in Slavery and Freedom.
Black and White
![Black and White by [Burgess Jr., Ben]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Li9ed2kXL.jpg)
This is a drama filled novel following the lives of four main characters who are all connected in different ways and share similar struggles. A modern day Romeo & Juliet novel but focused on interracial couples and the stigma and struggles they are forced to endure despite racism being a supposed thing of the past.
Set in a city filled with violent crime and heavily focused on the animosity that exists between black communities and the police, this story explores the stories from all points of views. From the courtroom of a major murder trial to a high-profile rape case and the subtle racism that exists in big city law firms, you will learn how to respect other people’s points of view after reading this compelling story.
Ben Burgess Jr. has written a fantastic book that makes you feel you are a fly on the wall of all the scenes. The author makes you feel like you are in the outcast communities actually feeling the struggle young black people feel on a daily basis. You can’t help but feel disgusted towards police at points in the story but then the next chapter has you feeling empathy for the police as you hear the same story from their point of view.
This all leads to a roller coaster of emotions as you watch the story unfold from different characters perspectives and you feel yourself torn between which person you should root for. The undertone throughout all sides of the story is the huge amount of prejudice both sides of an interracial couple have to deal with which is a sad reality that despite how far we have come as a society, we are still so judgmental of others even when it has no affect on us at all.
There are some graphic sexual scenes that, for this story, are necessary to make the story truly feel real and believable. Although you feel uncomfortable reading them, I think that is the exact feeling the author was hoping because the truth of sexual crime is harsh and hard to swallow.
This is a novel begging to be turned into a movie or TV show or at the very least will have many novels written in the series because once you reach the end of the book you have become so enthralled by the tale you don’t want to say goodbye to your new found friends and want to see where their journey through life takes them next. The world needs more stories like this to continue to bridge the gap between races.
Pages: 340 | ASIN: B0732MBZQB
LITERARY TITAN 