Book Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Book Description:

The book, which spans a period of over 40 years, from the 1960s to 2003, focuses on the tumultuous lives and relationship of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women. Mariam, an illegitimate child, suffers from the stigma surrounding her birth and the abuse she faces throughout her marriage. Laila, born a generation later, is comparatively privileged during her youth until their lives intersect and she is also forced to accept a marriage proposal from Rasheed, Mariam's husband.

NYSC Writing Contest: 1st Prize

Hello everyone,

As mentioned in my last post on my visit to the NYSC camp, I organised a writing contest for Corps members to test their creative juices, get recognition, and also get some little change to spend in mami market :).

If you don't know what mami market is or what the NYSC and the camp are, then you should probably get a copy of my book "Twenty-One Days" and experience it.

Anyway, Corps members were invited to send in their short stories of not more than 300 words, within four days. There was no theme, so they needed to be creative... and their stories needed to be a complete story, and not a prelude or an introduction to another story.

We received tons of entries for the contest, and our judges went through them thoroughly. Although the judges noted that ALL the stories were not really up to par, were not creative, lacked imagination, and needed a lot of improvement, they were still able to pick the top four... they had to so that the prizes would be awarded.

So here goes:

NYSC Writing Contest: 2nd Prize

Hello everyone,

As mentioned in my last post on my visit to the NYSC camp, I organised a writing contest for Corps members to test their creative juices, get recognition, and also get some little change to spend in mami market :).

If you don't know what mami market is or what the NYSC and the camp are, then you should probably get a copy of my book "Twenty-One Days" and experience it.

Anyway, Corps members were invited to send in their short stories of not more than 300 words, within four days. There was no theme, so they needed to be creative... and their stories needed to be a complete story, and not a prelude or an introduction to another story.

We received tons of entries for the contest, and our judges went through them thoroughly. Although the judges noted that ALL the stories were not really up to par, were not creative, lacked imagination, and needed a lot of improvement, they were still able to pick the top four... they had to, so that the prizes would be awarded.

So here goes:

NYSC Writing Contest: 3rd Prize

Hello everyone,

As mentioned in my last post on my visit to the NYSC camp, I organised a writing contest for Corps members to test their creative juices, get recognition, and also get some little change to spend in mami market :).

If you don't know what mami market is or what the NYSC and the camp are, then you should probably get a copy of my book "Twenty-One Days" and experience it.

Anyway, Corps members were invited to send in their short stories of not more than 300 words, within four days. There was no theme, so they needed to be creative... and their stories needed to be a complete story, and not a prelude or an introduction to another story.

We received tons of entries for the contest, and our judges went through them thoroughly. Although the judges noted that ALL the stories were not really up to par, were not creative, lacked imagination, and needed a lot of improvement, they were still able to pick the top four... they had to so that the prizes would be awarded.

So here goes:

NYSC Writing Contest: 4th Prize

Hello everyone,

As mentioned in my last post on my visit to the NYSC camp, I organised a writing contest for Corps members to test their creative juices, get recognition, and also get some little change to spend in mami market :).

If you don't know what mami market is or what the NYSC and the camp are, then you should probably get a copy of my book "Twenty-One Days" and experience it.

Anyway, Corps members were invited to send in their short stories of not more than 300 words, within four days. There was no theme, so they needed to be creative... and their stories needed to be a complete story, and not a prelude or an introduction to another story.

We received tons of entries for the contest, and our judges went through them thoroughly. Although the judges noted that ALL the stories were not really up to par, were not creative, lacked imagination, and needed a lot of improvement, they were still able to pick the top four... they had to, so that the prizes would be awarded.

So here goes:

EKO AKETE Experience

Checking out the location before the event started

Hello all, so the Lagos Creative Industry Fair has come and gone, and my verdict is "It could have been better... way better."

But let me point out that there were two events in one; the Creative Industry Fair and the Book and Art Festival.

At the same time, this was the 17th edition of the Book Festival, and if it has come this far and some exhibitors came around, hopeful, then perhaps the issue was with this specific edition, because it was lacking... in people.

It felt like there were only 30 people in the fair for the entire 7 days.

My NYSC Lagos State Camp visit

Hello everyone,

I had a visit today to the Lagos State NYSC Orientation camp (where "Twenty-One Days" all started) and I had the opportunity to address Corps members and talk to them about making the best of their service year and also developing/improving their skills while at it, by joining a SAED -Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurial Development- group.

Winner of the "Twenty-One Days" Giveaway

It actually felt good going back, as many people recognised and remembered me, from soldiers, to booksellers, to photographers, to some mami market sellers- as the girl who always smiled and who also participated/contributed in almost all the social, sports and intellectual activities.

Once they saw a copy of "Twenty-One Days," as bulky as it was, the first question was always: "You mean you wrote this while in camp?" and "I hope you wrote nice things about us?"

My response, with a smile, was always "It's all fiction" :).

Book Trailer: Thirteen Suspects

Hi everyone,

It's finally here... the book trailer for my erotic/suspense novel titled "Thirteen Suspects." I'm so excited. And it came this month of creativity. This is the fastest it has taken me to put a trailer together. One day for creating it and another day for editing, and making sure all looks good.

Well, it looks perfect to me... I hope it does to you too, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. #PG18 please :).

Please #watch, #enjoy and #SHARE. Click HERE to watch it.

It is also available on Goodreads.

Thanks a lot

Literarily Yours,
CMO.

Book Travel: Twenty-One Days

Everything about my book "Twenty-One Days" is a first of its kind, and the same can be said for the world tour that five copies of the book are about to embark on this November... Oh November... the month of creativity and literary events.

That being said, I'm happy to announce and share my latest idea with all of you.

As part of a marketing campaign to put my book in many hands around the world, and to promote reading culture and reading for FUN, I'm organising a tour for my book and I'll be very happy if YOU could be a part of it.

I believe it's going to be fun, so the more (participants) the merrier. To join in on the fun, all you have to do is READ the book when you receive it.

After reading it, kindly take a photo with it and post it on social media with your favorite character and why.

Also, tag #TwentyOneDays #BookTravel and #Country (where you read the book).