Horror to Drama to Romance: Must-See Videos on Wadadli Pen on YouTube

This is one of those posts to remind you that Wadadli Pen has a YouTube channel and, if you’re a tech and/or social media savvy Antiguan-Barbudan that we’re hoping one of the interns we’re in process of recruiting will take to develop content for the channel. So as usual, I’ll be sharing some of what’s there (that title isn’t just clickbait, it has all of that), with a List! The top 10 trending vids on the vlog so far for 2023 are 10 – 1:

10 – the dramatized reading of “A Scary Night”, a story that earned honourable mention in the 2005 Wadadli Pen challenge.

I look at that cover photo and wonder how many of them are still writing – I know the one third from left, in black, is; that’s popular romance writer Rilzy Adams. But this bunch wrote some really creative stories; I hope they’re still story-ing.

9 – a 2021 appearance on ABS TV to promote the Wadadli Pen challenge season – not my favourite interview of mine.

No knock on the interviewer. I just clearly wasn’t ready but it did the job; 2021 was a good season and at this point our last season, until we return this year which is still the plan.

8 – the dramatized reading of “Nuclear Family Explosion”, a story that earned honourable mention in 2004, the inaugural year of Wadadli Pen.

Shout out to the Optimist Youth Drama Club and HAMA for these recordings of dramatized readings, by the way. We did them for distribution to local radio stations. I remember driving around to deliver the CDs myself, but the idea never caught on. What was the idea? Stories the length of your average song for easy slotting into radio playlists, and dramatized for entertainment value. The stations didn’t embrace the idea though, which is too bad as I imagined this plan helping to popularize stories, not just Wadadli Pen.It’s no secret that I still dream of bringing stories to other formats, e.g short films. & the recordings gave me content when I decided to start a Wadadli Pen YouTube channel – I’d previously uploaded them to my AntiguanWriter YouTube channel.

7 – A short video with pull quotes and music of some of the reviews of Antiguan and Barbudan literature from Antigua and Barbuda Literary Works Reviewed IX.

This works reviewed series is part of the blog’s mission to document and share the Antigua and Barbuda literary canon, and maybe more could be done with it on the vlog, but so far it’s one and done.

6 – the vlog’s most recent upload is a clip from a longer interview I did promoting, I believe, one of my Jhohadli Writing Project workshops, and writing in general in 2022.

5 – this is a video, I believe from 2022, of Best of Books manager, author, and Wadadli Pen team member Barbara Arrindell doing a book segment on ABS for International Literacy Day.

Love the backdrop.

4 – This is a World Book and Copyright Day event with Barbadian writer Cherie Jones sent to us by the US Embassy.

That sound you just heard was my TBR screaming under the strain of too many books, too little time.

3 – another author post, this one Kimolisa Mings, and this time a teaser for my CREATIVE SPACE art and culture column interview with her.

I try to practice restraint in terms of scheduling authors because CREATIVE SPACE is not Book Chat but I always enjoy a good author link-up.

2 – a clip of “Country Club Kids”, a short story of mine published in The Caribbean Writer, which I made part of my story a day, one minute reads Black History Month 2023 project.

Love these characters.

1 – Kimolisa again.

It’s been really interesting having followed her open mic days to having her in my workshops and editing her to seeing her fully embrace being a writer of popular Caribbean fiction, emphasis on Caribbean, emphasis on popular; it’s been quite the evolution.

As for the evolution of the channel, it’s still underperforming; so help us up those views with your engagement.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Callie Browning has “done everything wrong” and That’s All Right: The Bajan Author on the Secrets to Her Success (Guest Post)

Barbadian Callie Browning is a successful independent author. Her accomplishments include being named one of Oprah Magazine’s 16 Books by Caribbean Authors to Add to Your Reading List, one of Yahoo!’s 10 Must-Read Caribbean Books, one of the Jamaica Gleaner’s Top 10 Books for 2021 by Caribbean Authors, among many others – the only independently published book from my scan of each of the named lists. Her books include the novels The Girl with the Hazel Eyes and The Vanishing Girls, and the short story collection The Secrets of Catspraddle Village. I reached out to Callie because part of what I try to do here at Wadadli Pen is celebrate us (Caribbean artists) and create content from which we can all (artists everywhere but especially the Caribbean) learn. I’ve watched her moves and I think aspiring and practicing authors could learn a lot from her (I want to learn how to be both successful and anonymous – because good luck finding a photo of her through google).

I’m happy she has generously consented to share the secrets to her self-publishing success. – JCH

by Callie Browning

I started self-publishing as a lark. Now the joke is on me. Many people have asked me to show them a blueprint for my achievements. Each and every time, I’m clueless as to how to give them a satisfying answer. For me to attribute my success to writing an “incredible book” would never do justice to the bits of luck and chance that have come my way, my mindset about self-publishing or the sometimes insane work ethic that accompanies all of the above. When the divine Ms Hillhouse asked me to write this blog post, I again racked my brain to conceive of a proper explanation for my journey and for a while I came up short. But by sitting with it for a few months, I’ve finally come up with a few key takeaways.

I’ll start at the beginning.

In 2019 when I released The Girl with the Hazel Eyes, I had absolutely no idea how to properly launch a book. The first lesson I’ll pass on to you is don’t let that deter you. Having no idea is sometimes a blessing because it frees you from the shackles of what is sometimes antiquated thinking about self-publishing. That’s because the best-laid plans are no guarantee of success. I sent Hazel Eyes out into the world the very moment I got the final files for the book cover. You’ll come across tons of advice telling you NOT to do that. They’ll advocate teasing the cover, creating a book trailer, etcetera, etcetera. And I’ll tell you that maybe they’re right. But at the same time, Hazel Eyes is by far the most decorated war hero in my garrison so it’s proof that sometimes doing things backwards works out better in the end.

The second takeaway I’ll give you is from the master of pop culture books himself, Stephen King (even though I’ve taken some liberty with its definition). Stephen said to kill your darlings and I’ve applied this ethos to every aspect of self-publishing, not just the actual writing and editing. There are three darlings I’ve killed above all others: my ego, alleged formulas, and my pre-conceived notions. Here’s why:

Your ego will make you tell yourself that you spent three years writing this book, X dollars on a snazzy cover and countless hours formatting, marketing, and all the rest of it. Therefore, there’s no way you’re going to give it away for free. Darling reader, the numbers are against you. Estimates put the new books that enter the market at 10,000+ a day. Some of those books have experienced teams behind them and big marketing dollars. Giving it away for free (safely — try to make sure it doesn’t get bootlegged) is the best way to get readers and reviewers who are invested in you. I don’t know what came over me when I decided to give away Hazel Eyes for free one week after launching, but I did. And one of the readers became not only a close friend but also a stalwart champion of my work. She promoted it to her book club and to anyone else who would listen to her ramble on about it. LOL. And that snowballed into people telling other people who told other people. And those people also posted photos on Instagram and left reviews on Goodreads. All of which led other people to buy the book in the end.

Take time away from writing if you need to (which people tell you not to do) and come back to it when you have the mental fortitude. Yes, there is something to be said for the consistency of using your writing muscle but if your mind isn’t to it, sometimes the best thing you can do is just leave it alone. Sometimes following someone else’s formula makes you feed behaviours that don’t help you in the long run.

Pre-conceived notions need to die. If anyone had said to me that I’d become known for historical women’s fiction I would have said, “never!”. Simply because I tend to gravitate to fantasy books a lot and that’s what I thought I would write if I ever got the chance. Never fight the story that’s coming from your fingertips. Your natural writing cadence is your greatest gift and trying to force it to be something that it isn’t will not do you any favours. Even though my dream is to write a fantasy novel (which has been languishing for years on my computer), I don’t fight the stories that come very easily to me because I still enjoy telling them. Just write and see where it takes you.

My third tip is an extension of the previous sentence: surrender to things. Joanne asked me how I managed to get government funding for a European writing workshop and studio time for my upcoming audiobook. The stories around these two events may sound unbelievable and like the stuff of fairytales, but I’ll tell them nonetheless. Someone reached out to me on Instagram and asked me if I’d be interested in applying for a retreat. Even though I didn’t know the person from Adam nor what I was really applying for, I said yes. That person then contacted the Ministry of Culture, told them about the workshop and asked them to sponsor me. To my great surprise, they did. It’s important to point out that because I’m a shameless self-promoter who’s also fairly friendly that sometimes many people that I don’t know reach out to me because they like my work and offer to assist me with random things. (That’s tip number four — network, network, network) That’s also how I got funding for my very first audiobook, The Secrets of Catspraddle Village, an anthology of award-winning short stories. A Bookstafriend sent me a link about a seminar for an audiobook class which the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) was hosting. I signed up because I thought “eh, why not?”. What I thought would just be an informative seminar turned out to be an even bigger blessing. Every single person who attended was given studio time to help them record their audiobooks. (Shout out to the NCF for supporting Bajan culture, btw!) BUT please note that (a) I already had material written which was deemed good enough for my application to the writing retreat (b) Catspraddle Village was already compiled since I had planned to release the anthology this year. I say that to say this: (tip five) you don’t have to get ready if you stay ready. In both of those instances, I was (unknowingly) prepared.

I hope you’ve gotten to the end of my musings with the realisation that while I haven’t presented tangible items which you can action, I’ve advocated for a certain type of mindset which I believe is the common thread which I and many of my author friends have in common. All of our journeys are unique because I haven’t come across any two writers who can attribute their success to a single moment or action outside of always staying positive and being willing to put in the work. I have no agent, manager, or big budget behind anything that I’ve done. And yet, my books have been featured by Oprah Daily, Yahoo, In the Know, the Jamaica Gleaner, Hearst LatinX, Medium, the Barbara Bush Foundation and Publisher’s Weekly called one of my short stories “a standout.” Not to mention an entire anthology of stories which have all won awards.

I say that to say this to you: chart your own course and don’t be bogged down with doing things in a conventional fashion. Beautiful art resonates and will set its own standard in the end. Look at me; I’ve done everything wrong and it’s turned out alright.

Callie’s next book, The Secret of Catspraddle Village, is expected to drop on May 2nd 2023.

As with all content on Wadadli Pen, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

“Beyond Beaches and Cocktails: A Reading List of the Caribbean” – Are any of these picks on your Caribbean Reading List?

This LitHub link dropping in my inbox was all the excuse I needed for a post about Caribbean reading. Had I read any of these books? What would my Caribbean reading list look like? What would yours? Here’s a Sunday Post.

The article is by Eleanor Shearer, a British writer who is part of the Caribbean diaspora, whose book River Sing Me Home landed in January 2023 and is on my TBR.

Had I read any books on her list? Yes: The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey, The Book of Night Women by Marlon James, A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid; and I have seen an online stage production of Andrea Levy’s Small Island, the physical book of which is now in my possession and which I may start reading as soon as today. Of the other listed books, Kei Miller’s Things I have Withheld was already listed as a top 10 on my TBR, and CLR James’ The Black Jacobins and George Lamming’s In the Castle of My Skin are two more I have listed as books I should have already have read. I am overdue to read. I don’t have Derek Walcott’s Omeros listed on the TBR nor Curdella Forbes’ A Tall History of Sugar but I did recently-ish finish another of the latter’s books, Songs of Silence. It’s a solid list and as is the case when I have done lists of this type (e.g. this one years ago on the AALBC which includes other books by Miller and Roffey and throws in books by Junot Diaz, Jamaica Kincaid, and Jean Rhys, and my contribution to the Caribbean Books that made Me Bocas list which included, Anansi stories and calypsos, and books by V. S. Naipaul, Jamaica Kincaid, Edwidge Dandicat, and Dorbrene O’Marde), I am sure subject to change because definitive lists are next to impossible. I’ve even been on one of the LitHub lists alongside Una Marson, Alecia McKenzie, Afua Cooper, Elma Napier, Marion Bethel, Mahadai Das, Marcia Douglas, Myriam Chancy, and Velma Pollard; and there are more configurations possible between the classics and new Caribbean literature emerging every day. So, be sure to visit Blogger on Books to see my thoughts on Caribbean (and other books) I’ve read at least since My Space was a thing and ongoing.

Your turn. What books are on your Caribbean reading list?

I wasn’t going to write about Banned Books but…

YouTube pushed this at me (because they know I enjoy Roy Wood Jr’s Beyond the Scenes segments).

This PEN America report about book bannings for banned books week showed up in my inbox. But what does book bannings in America have to do with me, more to the point what does it have to do with Wadadli Pen? After all, it’s not like I have Caribbean book ban numbers to share. In fact, a quick google (cause that’s all I had time for) turned up only a 2018 twitter thread by Rebel Women Lit about the time the former eduction minister and current PM of Jamaica launched a campaign to ban books containing bad words, books like late Belizean writer Zee Edgell’s classic Beka Lamb. The same thread mentioned bans in the 1960s against books related to socialism and Black power, books like Alex Haley’s Malcolm X biography and Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.

Yes, book bannings can get ridiculous (let’s face it, they’re always ridiculous) but they also come at a cost – imprisonment, fines, law suits, and other financial and societal costs. Of course, the greatest cost is how it diminishes free thought and choice – underpinnings of democracy, and the opportunity books provide to expand your world.

When I was a kid coming of age in Antigua and Barbuda, it was calypsonian Latumba singing “culture must be free/they can’t muzzle me” in response to the banning of controversial songs from the airwaves – “they don’t even bound to play my songs on none of them two radio station”.

Believe it or not, I actually have some personal experience with books of mine being challenged if not banned.

With students who came out for my panel at the Anguilla Lit Fest, 2015. These are among students there studying my first book The Boy from Willow Bend which is on the schools’ reading list in Anguilla.

The Boy from Willow Bend was already on school reading lists when I was asked if I would consider cutting what was deemed to be sexual content – that request came through the publisher (from a school in another Caribbean country, not Anguilla) and, though grateful for the interest in my book, my answer was no. It’s a coming of age tale and as the main character moved from childhood to young adulthood feelings of attraction for the opposite sex and not quite knowing what to do with those feelings was a natural part of his journey. This character also experiences physical abuse and grief, loss and depression, poverty and abandonment etc. Ironically, the (admittedly off page but referenced) sexual abuse of a female character didn’t seem to raise any red flags. I was also once invited by the then language arts coordinator to the Ministry of Education here in Antigua to discuss some of the challenged content in the book. I remember being bemused (Jamaica Kincaid would never) at the whole scenario as she took me through the challenged areas underlined or circled in pencil. One challenge was for a bad word – the kind of bad words we said in conversation with each other as children and hoped no adult overheard or nobody told on us, and the other was for the same sexual feelings (but no actual sex) scene. In fairness, there is a physical reaction but I actually think you would have to know what’s happening to know what happened in that scene but maybe not; either way it’s a thing that happens. I couldn’t figure what I was expected to do. The book was several years published by then, nothing could be done to change that fact, and even if I could run a special censored version of the book, I wouldn’t. It was for them to decide to put (or in this case, keep it on the list) or not and I hope they would have vetted it before including it (its inclusion, again, meaning the world to me which is why I prepared this study guide). There is one other challenge-y thing, but it’s hearsay from a parent-teacher meeting where some parents allegedly objected to my book’s inclusion because of the use of the local vernacular. But, of course, that’s not all nor I hope the majority of parents.

I think literature and the arts provides opportunities for discovery and conversations, and in the controlled environment of a classroom an opportunity for context. In a world where young ones are exposed through their phones to more than we’ll ever know, having conversations about issues arising from reading a work of art together with the opportunity to guide said conversation seems a better option to me than the wild wild west of the internet.

I’ve told the story before of the parent at a medical lab who was taking my blood when she realized I had written the book Dancing Nude in the Moonlight. She related that a teacher at her daughter’s school was teaching it, which I knew as I had been invited to answer their questions (I don’t believe it was on the official schools reading list though).

It was a great session with enthusiastic and engaged students with great questions…and hugs.

She said some parents had contacted her to see what she thought about the book being taught, so she read it and told me (as she had them) that she had no issue with it, she thought her daughter could handle it. Dancing is a drama framed in a romance, which at the same time deals with societal issues. When I was her daughter’s age I was reading books like The Tempest and To Kill a Mockingbird in school – talk about societal issues. I believe it was important to the teacher who introduced Dancing to her students to introduce them to local and Caribbean authors (not to put words in her mouth but we know that’s an issue), to imagine their world (the kind of work I try to do here with Wadadli Pen) but eventually, as I understand it, it was a losing battle, her efforts were cancelled – and Dancing has since gone out of print.

I wanted to end though on a positive note; action – what can readers do to support books and take the air out of book bans. The American Library Association has a whole list of which, I would say, relevant to us here in the Caribbean…

read the books they don’t want you to read and the books they do want you to read, read and boost the books that you do read, and if you’re concerned about the books your children are reading, maybe read with them and have conversations about it, and advocate for books that are challenged at your children’s schools because, sure, books are dangerous but in the best way, they open up your mind, your empathy, your awareness of worlds beyond your world, your imagination, you don’t have to agree with them or even like them, but a book that challenges how you see the world is sometimes the best book reading experience, and the impact is not a fixed thing, it can change you or it can reaffirm you, or it can do nothing more than entertain you, and that’s okay too

…books are powerful things as are the various arts (and media generally), and that’s why autocracies try to silence artists (and burn books) because heaven forbid people think and feel other than what a strongman wants them to think and feel…

So, that’s why the universe moved me to take a minute (!) and blog about banned books because this might not be as topical in the Caribbean as it is in the US but don’t sleep.

Read.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, and The Jungle Outside). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Antigua and Barbuda Children’s Literature

What are your children reading this summer?
Make sure there’s something from the Antigua and Barbuda Children’s Literature book list.

Wadadli Pen

I started putting together a list a list of books by Antiguan and Barbudan authors and books about Antigua and Barbuda back in 2005 for the Independence literary arts exhibition at the national Museum; I’ve been editing and updating it ever since. There’s a master list which you can find using the search feature to the right; and sub-lists like this one. It includes books by Antiguan and Barbudan writers, both born and adopted, as well as books by Antiguan descendents born elsewhere; some with non-specific connections to the island who feature Antigua and Barbuda prominently in their writings may also make the cut. I’m just trying to make it as complete as possible. Any errors and/or omissions are unintentional. Just let me know and I’ll do the research and add them. Before you do, though, check the main list ‘Antiguan and Barbudan Writing’ which is the master list.  These lists are works in progress and I’ll never get…

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The Three Ws of Reading

This is a Three Ws Wednesday, Black History Month and Caribbean Edition. Three W’s Wednesday is a book blog meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words. I thought it’d be interesting for Wadadli Pen to get some of that action – if you’re reading this, maybe you’ll find something to add to your reading list.

The Three Ws are –

What are you currently reading?

Victoire: My Mother’s Mother by Maryse Conde (translated by Richard Philcox)

From the winner of the New Academy Prize in Literature (the alternative to the Nobel Prize) and critically acclaimed author of the classic historical novel Segu, Maryse Condé has pieced together the life of her maternal grandmother to create a moving and profound novel.

Maryse Condé’s personal journey of discovery and revelation becomes ours as we learn of Victoire, her white-skinned mestiza grandmother who worked as a cook for the Walbergs, a family of white Creoles, in the French Antilles.

Victoire was spurred by Condé’s desire to learn of her family history, resolving to begin her quest by researching the life of her grandmother.

Creating a work that takes you into a time and place populated with unforgettable characters that inspire and amaze, Condé’s blending of memoir and imagination, detective work and storytelling artistry, is a literary gem that you won’t soon forget.

ETA: Finished! Read review here.

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What did you recently finish reading?

Yemoja’s Anansi: A Short Story by Christal Clashing

It is its own new myth with its casting of Anansi as a young girl from an African village raided during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and water goddess Yemoja as characters, the latter gifting the former transmogrification as a means of surviving her capture. – This is from my Blogger on Books on the this first book, a photo illustrated work of fiction by the Antiguan and Barbudan Olympic swimmer and Atlantic rower. Read also my CREATIVE SPACE on Reimagining Anansi, featuring Yemoja’s Anansi.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m already reading it. Forthcoming book by Barbados based Jamaican writer Sharma Taylor What a Mother’s Love Won’t Teach You. It goes on sale in July 2022.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Dance on the Moon

Floree Williams Whyte has published her fourth book, second children’s picture book, and the second from her independent press Moondancer Books, Dance on the Moon.

Whyte, as you know if you’re a regular here, is a Wadadli Pen team member. I will be interviewing her about this book for my CREATIVE SPACE series but until then, here’s a recent interview with ABS TV, in which she discusses, of writing, how she fell in to it and fell in love with it; the inspiration for the book, where and how readers can get the book, and her future in writing and publishing.

Antiguan Author Floree Williams Whyte releases 4th book

[St. John’s Antigua —December 7th, 2021] Author and publisher Floree Williams Whyte has released her 4th book – Dance On The Moon, right in time for the Christmas season.

Dance On The Moon, Whyte’s first fully illustrated book is set in Antigua and targeted at children ages 3 – 7. The story book features main character Lula, a 7 year old, who has big, overwhelming emotions which often make her want to stay at home. Lula learns to overcome her strong feelings of anxiety, nervousness and shyness by taking some special advice from her Antiguan grandmother.

Floree was inspired to write this book based on her mantra ‘Never let fear stop you from dancing on the moon’, to help encourage children who already experience anxiety and fear at a young age.

Dance on the Moon is her 2nd book to be published under her own imprint Moondancer Books. Whyte hopes to be able to expand her publishing company to include other children’s book authors in the near future.

Books can be purchased worldwide on Amazon, or locally from The Best of Books and Ten Pages Bookstore. Whyte will also be selling and signing copies at the Antiguan Artisans Christmas Market on December 11th at The Vineyard Restaurant.

Floree Whyte is an Author, Publisher, Marketing & Communications professional, wife, mother and dreamer. In 2017 she founded Moondancer Books a local book publishing company focusing on Antiguan children’s books. Whyte has published four books ranging from children’s books to a young adult novel. She credits her educational background as one of the main reasons she got into book writing and publishing.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about Wadadli Pen and my books. You can also subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

New Banner Salutes Jamaica Kincaid

If you’re a regular here, you know I update our blog banner every quarter with covers of books by Antiguan and Barbudan authors. Usually it’s a mix of authors and covers, selected randomly. In the 3rd quarter of 2021, I decided to tribute Althea Prince by using some of her covers. That was a just-because #womancrushWednesday. But, this time around, in commemoration of Jamaica Kincaid being the 2021 Langston Hughes Festival honoree – and conversations during that ceremony that prompted me to reflect on her relationship to Antigua and Barbuda in my subsequent CREATIVE SPACE art and culture column, entitled Antigua and Barbuda’s Jamaica…

I decided to tribute her here as well.

ETA: video of my presentation.

Specifically, the banner uploaded in the fourth quarter, specifically on November 27th 2021, features just some of the covers of her first novel Annie John (my first and still one of my top 3 Kincaid books) – and let me tell you, any writer would be chuffed to have so many editions of a single one of their books.

Kincaid had too many covers of this book to fit in our banner, and she has been no one hit wonder. We salute you, ma’am.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about Wadadli Pen and my books. You can also subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

WWW Wednesday (September 8th, 2021) — Kristin Kraves Books (My Responses)

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words! All you have to do is answers the following three questions: What are you currently reading?What did you recently finish reading?What do you think you’ll read next? Currently Reading I am about 80 pages into She Who Became the Sun and it is…

WWW Wednesday (September 8th, 2021) — Kristin Kraves Books

It’s WWW Wednesday (a meme established by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words). It’s also International Literacy Day (a day established by UNESCO in 1966). On my social media, I’ve been asking people to share tips for parents and guardians struggling with reluctant readers or literacy issue (public and pay options, mostly what’s worked for you). Feel free to contribute in the comments. Also share your own answers to these questions (mine – blogger/author/Wadadli Pen coordinator Joanne C. Hillhouse’s) below:

What are you currently reading?

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – almost done through a combination of audio and print book reading

What did you recently finish reading?

Ruby’s Dream: The Story of a Boy’s Life by Ronan Matthew – this is a recent addition to the database of Antiguan and Barbudan Writing – click the title to read my review over on the Book Chat/Blogger on Books series on Jhohadli

What do you think you’ll read next?

The thing is I’m always reading more than one book at once, so I’m already reading my next book…ssss. Which include Fireburn by Apple Gidley, a US Virgin Islands based ex-pat writer
Dangerous Freedom by Lawrence Scott, a UK based Trinidadian writer
The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey, a UK based Trinidadian writer

Now you.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about Wadadli Pen and my books. You can also subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Reading Journal (and Sunday Post) 05-09-21 — jhohadli

My last reading update was August 23rd and at that time I was up to page 120 of the just over 200 pages of Ruby’s Dream by Ronan Matthew. I did a Reading Journal (and Sunday Post) just a day earlier in which I mentioned other books in progress (The Mermaid of Black Conch, New […]

Reading Journal (and Sunday Post) 05-09-21 — jhohadli