Chika Onyenezi - Sea Lavender (Guest Author)

Chika Onyenezi was born in the idyllic city of Owerri, December 1986. He grew up in Amakohia a little village with a cool, pure stream running through it northward into the West. His literary career began very early as a child poet. Later he tried the short stories genre and penned Whiteman’s Blood. His very first short story, Whiteman’s Blood has been anthologized and critically acclaimed. It achieved “second runners-up status” in a short story competition sponsored by Spiderthief Publishing. It was then published in an anthology, Funeral Pants and other Stories. Later, he wrote his first novel, Locust Invasion. An undertaking that encompassed six years.

During the writing, he met an American poet, John E. Cashwell and his wife Anna online. They volunteered to edit the full manuscript of Locus Invasion because of its historical significance and creative ingenuity. Kimpa Vita Press, Norway, will publish Locust Invasion with more than fifty percent of the profits supporting special projects in Africa. During his Bachelor’s degree study in Computer Science at Caritas University, Onyenezi co-founded CAULA (Caritas University Literary Association) and raised a literary spirit among many students there. He is currently in European Peace University for a master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies.

Enjoy my interview with Chika below....

Mid-Winters Eve Giveaway - Gift Card Amazon US, UK, Canada

As this year winds to a close, I have been taking stock and counting my blessings. Writing-wise, it has been a marvelous year for me, with my first book, A Heart to Mend becoming an Amazon UK #1 Bestseller for Romance. I want to use this opportunity to thank all my subscribers (You can join by email or GFC), and book lovers everywhere who spread the word and made that possible for me and my books.

This Gift Card giveaway blog hop hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer and Oasis for YA. Several blogs are taking part, with lots of amazing gifts for book lovers. So if you're interested, Check the full list of participants.

In my giveaway, 3 lucky people will each win a $10 Amazon Gift Card (US, UK and Canada). To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter Form below. There are 4 entries, and you must leave a comment on this post to qualify.

Romance Writers of West Africa Bumper Christmas Giveaway

The RWoWA (Romance Writers of West Africa) Bumper Christmas Giveaway is still ongoing. There will be 12 books by 5 authors and 7 winners!

- His Treasure by Kiru Taye (eBook to x1 International winner)
- Love in Paradise and Love at Dawn by Lara Daniels (Paperbacks to x1 US/UK/Nigeria winner)
- A Heart to Mend by Myne Whitman (Paperback to x1 US winner)
- His Sin and Obsession by Netty Ejike (Paperbacks to x2 Nigerian winners)
- Stormy Defence and Beyond the Lady by Stella Eromonsere-Ajanaku (eBooks to x2 International winners)

How to Enter:

1. *Subscribe to the RWOWA website by completing the Email Subscription form on the website.

Rock your Curves - Omotola, Mercy Johnson, and Toolz

I was doing some blog rounds the other day when Atala looked at my screen and did an imitation of a whistle. He was looking at this picture of Omotola Jalade, and asked if her backside was for real. I looked at his popping eyes and laughed assuring him that it was.

So, this post is an ode to curvy women. If you've got it, flaunt it. That's what Dunni in the book I'm currently writing does, and I tell you, Babs her love interest, definitely can't keep his eyes, or his hands, away.

If like me, your figure has the makings but is not really a coke bottle or an hourglass, be proud of what you do have. I promise you, everyone will still say you look good, if you carry yourself with enough confidence. Patapata, use Victoria's Secrets and Body Magic to create some wonderful illusions. I do think the ones below are real, if just a bit photoshopped. :)

Continue reading for the pictures, and do have a great weekend...

How to Raise Kids without Losing it - Pamela Evbota (Guest Author)

Pamela Evbota is passionate about helping women discover their purpose and she blogs at www.ladiesnetworking.com. Today, she shares with us some tips on purposeful parenting. Pamela is also an author, and her "Define Success on your Terms, 25 Simple Tips" is available on Amazon Kindle for $0.99. Her new book, ‘How to Raise Kids without loosing it’will be available  for online purchase this week via Creatspace as well as on Kindle. To win a free PDF copy of the book, leave a comment on this post sharing any tips on how you parent your own children, and still manage to stay sane. :) Enjoy Pamela's article...

Four Ways to Parent like a Small Business Owner

It is time to take parenting like a small business - with a strong desire to succeed and achieve desired success daily. Our modern day lives are daily bungled by various activities and we are pulled in several directions as mothers. The guilt is piling up about our inability to be at our kids’ school events as working mothers or the inability to sit and enjoy sweet nothing conversations with our kids. Parenting requires innovative ways and support to turn our feeling of being overwhelmed and inadequate to feeling strong as to what direction we want our lives to be.

On the Budget and the Removal of Fuel Subsidy - EiE Nigeria

Some days ago, I got this press statement from EiE Nigeria (Enough is Enough) on the current national debate about the planned removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government. While I ultimately believe in the restructuring if not removal of the fuel subsidy, I believe EiE makes some valid points in this release. The budget has been released now, and it is even more obvious that the economic team of President Goodluck Jonathan haven't done much work in replugging the funds from the proposed subsidy removal into relevant sectors of the economy. Read the statement and tell me what you think.

What do you think of Adoption - will you adopt a child?

So there was this discussion where a woman asked if she should leave her husband since they're childless. Apparently, there's nothing wrong with her fertility but the husband has low sperm count. I was surprised at the number of comments that called on the woman to consider adoption because I somehow assumed that most Nigerians do not accept or support adoption.

I've heard of some couples who secretly adopt and try to pass the child off as their own. I've heard people say they can never adopt, or advice people they know to adopt. They bring up all sorts of reasons why it's a bad idea to adopt, most of them emotional and maybe based on tradition. We don't do it in our family, they say, or what will people say? Others ask, what do you know of the child, and what if his/her parents have a shady past or background?

The Big Love Christmas Giveaway - Nigeria

The BIG LOVE Christmas Giveaway - Making a wish come true, will run from the 1st to 31st December, 2011 providing an opportunity for Companies, Individuals, Families, Groups and Celebrities to give back, no matter how little. Their aim is to improve livelihoods by creating access to items/products/support services that some people would otherwise not have access to/ or be able to afford.

To achieve the needed reach, this initiative is driven by technology through a comprehensive website portal – ‘www.thebiglovegiveaway.org’; where the givers can register their gifts and potential receivers can also register to get specific gifts based on the stipulated criteria for each one. A mobile phone application has also been developed to serve smart phone users and get more people to participate.

Six out of Ten women in Nigeria are Unfaithful?

I don't know what to say to this news which has been floating around recently. The Durex Sexual Well-being Global Survey conducted by the condom manufacturer, interviewed 26,000 people in 26 countries and ranked Nigerian women as the most unfaithful in the world.

Daily Times reports  that "the top two countries with cheating women are Nigeria, with 62 percent, and Thailand, 59 percent. 39 percent of Malaysian women also confessed to having betrayed their partners. Russian women came fourth at 33 percent while Singaporeans are fifth at 19 percent." From a link I got in the comments, I went to the Durex survey methodology page where I found the following information.

Gift Card Giveaway - International

WINNER ANNOUNCED - Congrats to Jacqui Odell : USA

This Gift Card giveaway blog hop hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer. Several blogs are taking part, with lots of chances to win gift cards and book prizes. Check the full list of participants for more opportunities to win. My giveaway is one $10 electronic gift card from Amazon.com/ co.uk/.ca. The rules are;

1. You must be a follower of my blog - the Google Friend Connect gadget is to the right,
2. Leave a comment with your Country/Continent and your email address.

Thanks and good luck!