My Mind Words Paper:
new african book

Naijastories.com is the leading community for Nigerian writers and book lovers, combining elements of a writing critique website and a social networking site. Of Tears and Kisses, Heroes and Villains is Volume 1 of the ‘Best of NaijaStories’ series. The 30 stories featured in this anthology were all originally published on this website between March 2010 and March 2011.

Read on NAIJASTORIES.COM – 200 NSpoints per story

Buy Paperback from the NaijaStories Createspace Store

Buy in Kindle format and Print from Amazon.com

Buy the NOOK version from Barnes&Noble online

Buy the eBook from Smashwords.com

**If you live in Nigeria and want the book delivered in PDF to your inbox, please contact admin@naijastories.com for payment details (via Zenith Bank and GTBank).

REVIEWS

These are stories about us or about our neighbours or something we’ve encountered in the news. They are what our friends tell us, their pain and joy, their passion and rage, their yearning and their cry against injustice. I enjoyed lots of the stories not just because of their simplicity and brevity but also for freshness they bring to storytelling and public discourse.

- Sylva Nze Ifedigbo. (Author, The Funeral Did Not End)

Here we are, with our abortions, our bereavement, our lust, our petty showdowns, our pederasts, our In-Law wahala, our problems chatting up girls in the diaspora, our memories of childhood, our fights, our incest, our love, our examination stress, our metafictional accounts, our encounters with university campus cults, our broken families, our… well, you get the idea. We rob banks, but we also eat salty beans to show our children we love them.

- Tade Thompson (Writer/Editor)

These short stories are not constrained by the need to attain fame. They all are, first of all, good works written with sharp perspectives that are related to various societal issues. There is a unique allure in every story. They have not been sifted through a Western colander. Support this anthology and show that there is a worthiness of effort in putting it together. This anthology is indeed the birth of writers that have newly been empowered. Go get a copy for yourself.

- Joseph Omotayo (Blogger/Book Critic)

A Time to Heal (2011) is an inspirational novel set in Historical Africa of the early 60’s. The story borders on the tale of two young lovers, Tori and Chidi, bond by the covenant of marriage but separated by the realities of ethnic differences. A Time to Heal is a bold story that sets out to show the healing power of forgiveness and love. Embracing the multi-cultural nature of the African society to appreciate its diversity and re-evaluate its glitches, A Time to Heal casts a flood light on the debris that weakens the development of our societies starting with the smallest and most significant unit, the family. This creative work takes readers through a journey of uncertainties and excitement as it narrows in on the triumphs and failure experienced by Toriola and Chidi in the face of a civil war.

In A Time to Heal, Chidi finds the very essence of his existence tested when he is called on to fulfill a family obligation that exists beyond his nuclear family. He finds himself on a journey of self-discovery as his close companions, Dozie, Azuka and Jude, lure him to fight for a course he has no faith in. Chidi’s decision excludes Tori from his plans and ultimately from his life. In search for consolation, companionship and support, Tori rekindles her soured relationship with her parents, and clutches to the warmth offered by a stranger. The individual paths chosen by this young couple widens as time pass by, as each struggle to understand and uphold their new found ‘self’. Chidi gives in to the clarion call of his kindred to join in the fight for their recognition and respect against superior forces, leaving Tori to re-discover the true meaning of family, loyalty and love. Consumed by the heart ache of loneliness, Tori question every value she had ever upheld as she finds herself torn between loving another and waiting for the one that betrayed her love.

A Time to Heal tells a compelling truth simplified to inspire the average reader in an enchanting yet revolutionary way. This book is now available in soft back, hard back cover and eBook format from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Westbow Press and other online resellers.

Website: Find the book on Amazon here

An online PhD in writing or literature is an option for people who have a passion for books. Superior writing such as this often requires advanced knowledge and training.

Dreams at Dawn - stories from Fidelity Bank's 2010 International Creative Writing Workshop series was launched on June 24 at the Lagos Resource Center. Edited by Helon Habila, Tsitsi Dangarebga and Madeleine Thien, the book contains 14 short stories including James Eze’s The Last Good Man in America, Eghosa Imasuen's et Hair, Nnadozie Duke Onyekuru’s Upside Down, Elvis Iyorngurum’s Scars of Our Last Day, Tolu Oginlesi’s The Funeral, Stanley Azuakola’s Penitence, Uche Peter Umez’s Face Like A Mask, and Emilia Udom’s No Fault of Mine.

Toni Kan, author of ‘Nights of the Creaking Bed’, described the stories in this collection as "tinged with nostalgia and regret but mostly regret. The characters that people this collection are men and women blindsided by circumstance, people who wonder how they have come to the sorry passes that their lives have become. The stories speak directly to the heart of what it is to be Nigerian at this very moment with all the dysfunction and anomie and rage. These stories mine the depths of our collective anxieties, our unspoken fears and hysteria. They speak directly to the things that keep us awake at night."