Guest Author - Abigail George: Africa Where art Thou?

Today's guest author is a friend on Facebook and a poet. Her new collection of poems has just been published to really fantastic reviews from all across Africa and the world and she has agreed to answer some questions for me. Her replies exhibit the spirit of a true poet and contains some great nuggets for us all especially aspiring and upcoming authors. Enjoy...

Abigail George asks questions of the continent she loves. Her collection is peopled with the impoverished and marginalised: 'vacant grown-ups, beggars, orphans and vagrants'. It includes tributes to jazz pianist Moses Molelekwa, photographers Ken Oosterbroek and Kevin Carter and to anti-apartheid activist, Dulcie September. George's voice is one of conscience and compassion.

MICHELLE MCGRANE, author of Fireflies and Blazing Stars, Hybrid and A Suitable Girl, South Africa

Abigail George’s poetry etches the intricacies of the homestead with expert hands; she effortlessly merges the mundane with the modern, and captures the lowest of depths and the highest of peaks in everything life and South Africa. Her ink flows through the stench of trenches, just as it captures the crisp air of the breathtaking landscapes of her homeland. As a unique chronicler of the past and present, George is a voice that will erupt through the rock solid density of both pre and post apartheid South Africa.

UNOMA AZUAH, Poetry Editor: Sentinelnigeria.org

What happens in Vegas...

Stays in Las Vegas. Are my lips sealed? LOL...

Left the city of a million lights and now making our way gradually home. What an eye opener it was in Vegas, man. My camera battery finally gave out after I took so many pictures. The strip is amazing, ludicrous, awesome, ridiculous, astonishing, and tacky all at once. And that's all I'm going to say. More pictures may come, or not. We'll see. Have a great weekend all, mwah!

Road Trip - Oregon and Idaho

Hi peeps, I'm not gonna be able to write much. We just arrived in Las Vegas and I was able to upload these pics. Atala has said that when we come back, he'll be sharing some snippets and observations of our experience here on the blog. In the meantime, enjoy these pics...

The Nigerian Blog Awards

Hi everyone, I'm missing you o, but make I no lie, I'm enjoying the road trip and the break from doing my blog rounds. :) Most of the posts you've been seeing were scheduled but this I'm making right now.

I got emails from some blogger friends asking me to nominate them for the blog awards and since our hotel has free wifi, I decided to do just that. I've always been a fan of what Good Naija Girl and some other volunteer bloggers do for the NBA and how it brings the Nigerian bloggers together and motivates us all. And I can't forget that you guys did me the honor of nominating and voting me last year as the best Nigerian blog; among others.

Well, it's that time of the year again. Let's show the awards and each other some love. It's time to nominate your best blogs and you have until June 17 for this phase. It was tough choice having to do it myself but for the sake of the bloggers that finally got my nominations, I'm glad I did. Below are the rules:

Visit the Nominations page.
Fill in your name and email address. Please use a valid email address or your nomination will not be counted.
Put the website addresses (urls) of the blogs you are nominating, making sure that the nominated blog fits the category it is being nominated for. Blogs nominated for categories they do not qualify for will be removed.
When you’ve put a blog address in each of the categories you’d like to nominate a blog for, click the “Submit” button at the bottom left corner of the page. You will be directed to check the email address you used to register your nominations for a confirmation email.
Open the email from nigerianblogawards and click on the link in the email. This will cause your nominations to be registered.

And yeah, I tagged this as Blogging Tips cos being nominated for, and winning the awards last year definitely got me more traffic and raised my profile. Based on the number of people who read my blog daily, this post is also an opportunity for those interested to call for people to nominate them in the comments. All the best to everyone.

Nigerian First Lady, Patience Jonathan: What a Makeover!

I think I'm in love with the new look of our First Lady. Could this just be the effect of a smile?

For a woman who is best known for the picture immediately below, the ones that follow are amazing! Either she's lost some weight, or her photographer has awesome technical and photoshop skills. And massive props to the make-up and stylists too.

Blogging Basics for the Beginning Writer - Raquel Byrnes (Guest Author)

My guest author for today is Raquel Byrnes, a blogger, writer and published author of Purple Knot - released June 3 by White Rose Publishing. Continuing in my Blogging Series, Raquel has agreed to share tips for beginner writers who also blog. Raquel has been blogging since 2009 and her debut novel,As an author who also started off blogging, I totally agree with the points that Raquel shares. She also reiterate some of the tips I shared under finding your blog niche, this is expecially important for would be authors. Well, let's hear first about the newly minted author...


Raquel Byrnes lives in Southern, California with her husband of sixteen years and their six children. She considers inspirational fiction a wonderful way to minister to others. She writes romantic suspense with an edge-your-seat pace. Her debut is the first book of the Shades of Hope Series, and was released on June 3rd from White Rose Publishing. You can visit her at her website: www.raquelbyrnes.com and her writing blog, Edge of Your Seat Romance. Her book is already available on Amazon, and you can buy by clicking on the image to the left.

I want more Comments!

No, not me, you. Don't you want more comments on your blog? LOL...

OK, let me make this clear about this series on blogging tips and trips, I'm no expert. I've only been blogging for less than 2 years so what I'm sharing is just from the little I know. I'm also not a professional blogger by any means, only a writer building a platform and so my tips may be biased toward branding and building networks. On that note, two quick links;

- Darbie won an eBook of A Love Rekindled from the Lost and Found Blogfest and reviews it 10 out of 10.

- Raquel Byrnes novel Purple Knot releases today and you can get a copy from White Rose Publishing.

Now to today's post, how do you get people talking after a post? I am an equal opportunity commenter if I do say say myself, and while I try to leave genuine and pertinent comments, there are those posts that make me go yummm...On those posts, I could type a whole post as a comment if I had all the time in the world. What are the common things I've discovered about those posts, or in some cases, those blogs, and what can you do?

1. I am sure we all know the very first rule? Leave comments on other blogs! LOL...I cannot repeat this enough. Personally I go around lots of blogs even on days time is too short to leave loads of comments. So how do I choose the posts I end up dropping comments on, or those that get comprehensive and personal comments? It is on those blogs and for the bloggers who I've noted as leaving similar and regular comments on my blog. My advice is leave comments, and make the comments count. Try to read the blog, if that is your first time, scan a couple or more posts, read the ABOUT ME profile, and then drop a note.

2. Write interesting posts: These are posts that address issues that touch me in one way or another. It could be that they're talking about a hot button issue, or it could just be a journal entry that shows it was written for the heart. Examples includes posts that provide information I haven't heard before, that tackle an issue from an angle I had not personally considered before, or uses some funny graphics to spike the personality of the post, making it impossible for me NOT to comment.

3. Remove your word verification: This is connected to the whole blog this time and not to individual posts. I seem to have a sort of dyslexia when it comes to the captchas required for comment verification, and it may take me up to two or three tries to get it right. I avoid the blogs I know that have captchas so as to save time when my blog round ration is limited. The worse cases are where the captcha does not show immediately until the click post comment. What happens is that I click comment and X out not knowing the verification is not finished, thereby losing my whole comment. I tell you, such an experience doesn't encourage me to comment often on that same blog.

4. Check out your comment system: Please please, please, make sure your comment system is working. Sometimes, using the word verification throws the comment box out of whack. Check it yourself by leaving a comment as Anonymous or name and URL instead of your Google account. There are blogs where I can't leave a comment if my name depended on it because the system is whacked. Also make sure the link to leave a comment is in a place people see easily. It should either be under the heading of the post, or directly under it. Please don't make me have to click something first before I can find your comment link or box. Thanks!

There are a few more points but I'll leave them for the next post. For now, it is tadaa! Enjoy your weekend, everyone. Next time you see me here or on your blogs, we'll be on our road trip. Idaho here I come...

Tag - What is in my Bag?

So I was among those tagged by Sisi Yemmie to do this meme where I have to show you all my regular bag, and what I usually have inside it.

So I use two bags interchangeably but this meduim sized black and brown print Nine West gets more action cos it doesn't select clothes. LOL...I can't remember if I said that correctly. Anyway, you have seen the other bag I carry if you read my post on Relationship 15. Now to the contents of the bag. True confession, I like a chunky bag and always stuff things in :).

Beyoncé - Run The World (Girls)

So this is not much of a debate as a roundtable - me sharing my thoughts and asking you to do the same. In her last single, Beyonce is basically saying that girls, we run this world. Below is the video. But my question is, DO GIRLS REALLY RUN THE WORLD?

While I do not grudge the song, or even the motivational wallop it packs, it would be small minded of women to think we've got to eldorado. It is still a man's world, and the glass ceiling is firmly in place! If we begin to reason in the lines of Beyonce's lyrics, we'll miss the way, and may even be lulled to complacency. Some of the questions to keep in mind are,

- In majority of the professions, do women earn the same as men?
- In government, are there equitable numbers of women represented?
- Do as many girls as men get the same level and standard of education?
- What about healthcare, especially in sectors where women are predominantly affected?
- Do women have the same access to capital to boost their economic capacity?

Whereby figurehead women in entertainment (like Beyonce herself, Lady Gaga and Oprah) may be making waves, we have to look at the bigger picture. We're not superwomen, and we don't rule the world. YET!



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Picture from ru-crazy.com

Guest Author: Geraldine Iheme - Disfigured Emotions

Geraldine Iheme got my attention when I began to see news of her book launch around the interwebs. I got to find out that she was a former Big Brother housemate but my interest was more in her writing and publishing journey so I contacted her on Twitter and we set up this interview.

Gerry is a Christian, reserved, friendly, observant, fun-loving and sweet. She loves exploring her creative and artistic skills and reads, writes, plays the guitar or piano, and loves spending quality time with her family and friends. She is from Nkwerre, Imo State but was born in Lagos on the 18th of June, to Chief Augustine and Chief Mrs. Uchenna Ethel Iheme. She is the second of four children, attending Corona Primary school in Victoria Island and then Igbinedion Education Centre (Secondary School, for two years, before she finished at Christ The Cornerstone International School in Ikeja, Lagos. She's  a Law graduate from Igbinedion University, Benin. As part of the Big-Brother Africa Show 2009 tagged THE BIG-BROTHER REVOLUTION held in South Africa and aired round Africa, she was the 19th house-mate to leave the show, staying a total of 10weeks in the house.

When did you start writing?
I love writing. I started writing at the age of seven. I would take empty note books and write short stories with funny drawings and happy endings. Then I would force my family to read my stories. They always encouraged me. I loved to read as well and that stirred up my appetite to write. In secondary School I enjoyed writing Essays, because it gave me an opportunity to explore and enhance my writing skills.

If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world.. which would it be?

-I would jump into the book "The Concubine" by Elechi Amadi and experience the world of Ihuoma, Madume, Emenike and Ekwueme in Omokachi Village. It was set in a time before I was born. The Story of Ihuoma reminds me of the stories my mother used to tell me when I was a child. It would be exciting to experience that world, where houses were made of mud and women wrapped their bodies in very little cloth.