Dead fathers. Critical mothers. Abusive marriages. Body insecurities. Young love. And always, expectations. Notes Under the Door is an anthology of seven African literary short stories that explores what it can mean to be a girl, a young woman, in a world that demands too much of women, and gives back too little. Set in urban Kenya, each story follows a girl or a woman grappling with the experience of being who they are – young, female, African, layered, complex, whole.
Book Review
Notes Under the Door & Other Stories is a collection of seven short stories. Each story is a glimpse into a deeply profound moment. A moment delving into the secret, complicated mind of Kenyan women at different stages of life. The experiences described in these moments are tangible and feel very real.
Chepchumba’s characters speak on diverse, sensitive issues such as, unexpected pregnancy, and how hard it can be to acclimate to the dramatic change of life a baby brings. She delves on relationships, and how hard they can be to maintain. A short story on domestic violence from the perspective of a young girl shows the impact it has on children. How domestic violence changes a child’s view of a parent.
Notes Under the Door gives this book its name. It is a story tackling grief, obligations, and abortion. Each one of these adding on to the damaging effects on a mother at the time of abortion, and years later, when life continues on.
In Spilling into the World, a character asks, ‘…why can’t you decide you’re beautiful?’. What a powerful question. Spilling into the World looks at body image in a world where mainstream stereotypes impact women’s views of their own beauty, and their self-confidence.
A heartbreaking story told from the perspective of a young girl whose father does not look at her, nor treat her as ‘his princess’, concludes the collection.
Overall, Notes Under the Door & Other Stories reads like tales told from a best friend’s perspective. Stories to make you feel, ‘Ah, I’m not alone in this. There are others like me.’ These stories depict women living experiences in our rapidly changing modern world. They are a conversation to continue, and normalize. I most enjoyed the realness of these short stories.
I want to pause and think of the good happenings in terms of this blog and my writing this year. So, this is my 2021 gratitude post.
It is two weeks until the New Year 2022. I haven’t posted much on the blog this 2021, but I have met incredibly amazing people this year because of this blog. I am truly grateful for the experiences that have come to me because of these amazing people.
From amazing books to read and review, to a publishing adventure I am incredibly excited to be a part of, and although I cannot talk about it, I am grateful for the inspiration I am gaining from the process.
This year I had the privilege to virtually meet Bako Pierre Aymard, a translator / Interpreter [English-Spanish-French], from La Salle University, Philadelphia, USA. He created a Spanish Translation of my book, I Dream of You. It was so exciting to receive the completed file, all my words in Spanish. I am incredibly grateful to him for the work he has done, and for choosing to translate my book. I will definitely work to put it out by the end of this year.
I got to virtually meet Nomaqhawe Ndlovu (Noma), who writes for Verve Romance. She wrote a very inspiring and informative article on Romance Novels and their role in African relationship expectations. I’m grateful she included me in her project, and that she featured my short contribution in the article. You can follow Noma on Twitter here.
I would also like to thank Firdaus H. Salim for featuring me in the Mt Kenya Times earlier in the year. She published my interview and featured Save My Heart on the ePaper. I was grateful for the opportunity to talk about my writing ideas and hopes and I thank her for featuring my book. Find the article below. Follow Mt Kenya Times on Instagram here.
Thank you, to all who find inspiration to create their own work, and to publish, after reading my blog. I am happy to know the information here is of use to you, and I hope to continue creating more useful content.
Most of all, I am grateful to all of you who read my blog.
Here is to looking forward to even more incredible happenings in the year 2022!
It was less than two years after three children lost their daddy to a car crash. The rawness of such a loss still fresh in their minds, the world seemed like a battlefield with every step. Strangers turned to friends, while friends they had known left, not able to withstand the sense of grief clouding around the three children and their little mother. It was a hard time for the small family of four.
Now, their home was a farm at the end of a stretch of land with a very muddy access road. On very rainy days, a lake of sorts would form in the middle of the access road. The mother of these three children would then have to find a way to get them across daily in order to get them to school. There were two pairs of shoes to be worn. Gumboots and rain coats to get through the massive swamp and school shoes to wear when the three children got to the bus stop. The family that owned the property closest to the main road was kind and allowed a small path at the driest part inside their own farm away from the access road. But even this little path would sometimes get hard to pass through.
In any case, the little family survived the best they could through the very rainy season and the massive swamp lake that formed in the middle of their access road.
One day, the neighbors who owned property opposite the little family’s farm opened a small gate on to their access road. They wanted a second exit they said. One that would allow them to have two gates. One gate on their main road on the other side of their property, and the little one on the muddy access road with the swamp in the middle.
The mother of the children had no problem with this development. In fact, she thought it would be a blessing. Perhaps the kids would have an easier time going to school now. They might use that small access to get to the drier road on the other side, and their path would be easier to school.
In the dry season, this little gate never came to play for the little family. Their access road was fine, and they went about their lives as usual.
Then the swamp in the middle of the road returned after a particularly rainy day. It was holiday time, and the three children did not need to go to school. However, their mother did want to send them to the shop, so she handed the three money and asked them to get a kilo of sugar from the shop. They had seen others using the small gate made by the neighbors to escape the swamp, so they thought, ‘Oh, we can also try this gate. It will be easier to escape mud and swampy water.’
They were nervous about it, after all this was a new route, but they thought they would try it and see if they could get to the other dry road. After all, the owners also use their access road in the dry season. All would surely be well.
They were wrong.
A panga is a Machette, very popular farming tool in Kenya
They barely made it to the opposite gate of the quiet property to the other road when a man came out swinging a panga from his house. The panga was sharp, his words sharper and he chased them as one would chase thieves. He screamed insults at them, and threatened to cut them to pieces, fear grew and the three children screamed running back home at the speed of light. They forgot why they had ventured outside their home and went to find their mother.
When the three children ran home, their little mother was in shock at their crying faces. She asked if they had been robbed off the money she gave for sugar, and tried to soothe them, wiping away their tears. In minutes, she discovered their story and a burning anger fueled her to confront this villainous man who would dare threaten to cut her children with a sharp panga.
When she got to his gate, she asked him why he would do this, and he threatened the little mother, telling her to shut up or he’ll kill her. This mother was not one to take insults quietly. She screamed for help and the neighbors came. As she was calling for help, this villainous man wrapped his hands around her neck and tried his best to rob her off breath.
It took three men to pull this villainous man off the little mother. Her voice was hoarse from the assault. Her neck damaged. The three children were in shock. Not less than two years ago, they had all buried their father after a car accident, now here was a man doing his best to turn them into orphans. Sinister yet, he was not sorry about it.
It became clear that a path to the dry road on the other side was not worth this hefty price of death.
In any case, the courts became involved. The villainous man was tried with attempted murder and the illegal path into the muddy access road was closed by a judge.
Life continued, as it often does.
Three little children grew up and in a blink twenty years passed.
Their little mother still struggles with neck problems, as a result of the assault on her neck. Some nights she has to sleep with a neck collar. The children often make sure it is new and available even when she travels. This was a price they paid for daring to think that all neighbors are made equal.
They all learned that the kindness of one family cannot be carried to the next family. Their access road still gets terrible in the rain, but they endure and find ways to pass through it without complaint. Muddy shoes are a much easier price to pay than death from murder by a villainous neighbor.
A few years ago, the villainous man’s family opened a path to the muddy access road again. They use it unstopped by the little mother and the three children. No pangas raised against them or hands wrapped around their throats in a grotesque picture of murderous intent. None of the villainous man’s family help fix the muddy road, after all they still have the other side to use during the rainy seasons. This lesson is that the nature of a family’s values remains and does not change.
Recently, the little mother was helping one of her daughters transplant a tree from their gate into their farm. She saw a woman pass their gate heading for the now illegal path at the end of their access road and said, “Ah, that’s that villainous man’s daughter. You should know her in case she comes to yell over electricity poles near their fence.”
Yes, the spectacle of a woman screaming over electricity poles has happened to the little mother, but that is a story for another day.
The little mother’s daughter spared the woman in question no glance. After all that woman’s daddy almost cost her a mother.
“It’s better not to know or interact with them,” the daughter said. “Nothing good can come from it.”
“True, ” the little mother said, touching her neck.
In the end, the little family lives on, but the question still remains, what makes people so unreasonable as to want to murder over a small moment?
Can you forgive someone who tries his best to choke you to death because you asked a question about your children, who tried to pass a path this person’s opened, that others have used unstopped, but your children had to face a machette on the first attempt? What would you do with this reality?
This is my birth month, so I always feel as though I’m full of excitement in October. The post today is about Haroun Risa’s Mombasa Raha. He sent me his book for a read and review. The content in this book is a lot on the heavy side. My soul felt sad reading the harrowing experiences his characters go through. I would call this an Awareness Book. The topic tackled is on human trafficking, sex tourism, and murder in a world hidden in plain sight. I give Haroun respect for daring to delve into this topic and making a book out of it.
Mombasa Raha, My Foot is available to purchase at The Nuria Store, Moi Avenue ( Next to Assanand’s Music Shop).
Mombasa Raha, My Foot
by Haroun Risa
Book Review
Mombasa Raha has an insightful collection of characters. Together they form a tapestry of life at its very worst and at its very best. The characters in Mombasa Raha experience great betrayals, suffer pain and unimaginable tragedies. The one thing they have in common is the knowledge that there is a hidden underworld found at the Coast of Kenya. This underworld is not kind, or safe, instead it is brutal and takes everything to survive an encounter.
At the center of Mombasa Raha is Ruth. Ruth consumes herself with an investigation of her estranged sister’s murder. Ruth tackles the realities of human trafficking and rape. She discovers what living through such experiences did to her sister. She delves into the hidden parts of her sister’s life to discover the devastating truth of her sister’s death.
This story is not easy, nor is it a story to read fast. It is a revelation into the harrowing experiences Kenyans fall into and how they fight to survive the cards dealt in search of Mombasa Raha.
This book was given to me by the author for a review. The book’s content is R18+ and above. There is mention of rape and human trafficking.
This post is an update on Copyright Registration in Kenya. Since my last copyright registration post, the process has gotten infinitely easier and accessible to anyone with a laptop and an internet connection. The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) has created an easy-to-use website portal. The portal allows you, the creator, to upload your work and get your registrations done in one place. To get started:-
1. Kenya Copyright Board has a Copyright Registration Portal that you will find on this link: Copyright Portal
2. You need to create an account. There are two types of accounts, that is, Personal and Corporate.
3. You will need the following details to sign up: Your Identification Number, Your KRA Pin, Your Phone Number and Your Email. If you’re doing this as a Company, you need your business registration numbers and the KRA Pin associated with your business.
4. The portal does send you a verification code to validate your phone number. Make sure the number you use is a number you have access to, and can use to receive messages.
5. Once you have your account, you now have the option to register your work on the portal.
6. To register your Copyright, choose the Make an Application option on your account. Submit your book’s information, as needed.
7. If you’re an author copyrighting your personal work, you only need your personal information. If you are an author with a co-author, you will need the details of your co-author too. If you have a publisher, you will need the publisher’s information as well.
8. In this post, we are discussing submission of books for copyright registration. The portal’s preferred format for book submission is a PDF document. Please consult the portal for other creative works like audio.
9. To note, your application requires a definition of ownership percentage of the work. If you’re the creator and author of the book, then the percentage is at 100%. If the work has different creators making up the whole, then you need to decide the percentage division to the different owners.
10. Once the details of your work are submitted to the portal, you will receive a message on your number and in your email, as below.
11. In my experience, you will receive the results of your application in a day, or within hours.
12. Your Copyright Certificate is then available on your account and you can download it or View it, as needed.
Authors, if you’re able to do this on your own, please do it. It is very easy and you have control on how and when you can access your copyright certificates. If you ask someone else to do it for you, please be sure it is someone you can trust and that you’re able to access your copyright certificates at will.
If you have more questions on what you can copyright in Kenya, please visit this KECOBO Frequently Asked Questions link and go through the different types of creative media that you can copyright. Alternatively, you can email them or call them for help and support.
June ends with grace and half a year is in the bag. Nairobi is cold. Coffee, warm clothes, and scarves have become a staple in our corner. It’s perfect reading weather. If you’re a writer working on improving your writing skills, here’s a list of books to get you started, or to keep you going. They add great resources to your writing kit and I’ve found I’ve returned to all of them more than once.
I discovered this book right after high school and it’s been a staple in the library. I’ve lost copies of it and ended up with an ebook. This book is a great start if you’re just beginning. When you don’t know where to start, it will get you through the idea stage, to how to formulate your story, and equip you with tools on how to create characters, decide your POV and dialogue basics. My favorite concept from this book is, ‘Ideas are everywhere. The writer of fiction must learn to search the world for these seeds.’ It’s a great addition to your writing books, and will help you find out how to plant your seeds and help them grow into fiction
This book was a referral. My favorite quote from this book is: ‘Good Storytelling…gives the audience the experience of a life…” If you want a more in-depth way of approaching storytelling, this is the perfect book. It discusses story structure, parts of the ‘story world’, and exploration on how to develop that world.
I absolutely love the idea of looking at writing as a form of telepathy. I love magic and the possibilities it represents. On Writing is a look at how to deal with rejection letters from publishers, how to build your writing toolbox and unearthing the fossils of story that fill your imagination. It’s a very entertaining take on the craft and I find that it helps to return to this book when I’m stuck. The best advice I got from this book is that you need to keep reading. Read everything that you can, to become a better writer, to increase your knowledge on people, places, ideas, concepts…just read, probably more than you write, or just as much.
Now, if you’re like me and English is the third language, hahaha, you’ll know that writing English can be difficult. It has very many words and a gazillion ways to describe things. This thesaurus is a great addition to your library for this purpose. Writers need new words in their writing toolbox so as not to repeat themselves and become boring. We remember what we often practice, so the thesaurus will help you discover new ways to say remember.
This last book is about embracing your writing and loving it no matter what level you are in terms of publishing/self-publishing or just sharing your fiction space. I love everything about this book. It explores productivity, how to create and share without allowing fear to cripple you. Mostly because I have a serious productivity weakness that I’ve been working on conquering. The last two years have been full of activities in my personal life that took attention away from writing. It’s not easy getting back. It’s like starting again when you get back to it. You need input, ideas, and concepts in books to help you along. ^_^ This book has been perfect. Words like these, ‘Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you. Make me really happy. I want to say I’m in love with this book and because I love it, I’m sharing and hoping you will love it too.
Writing is a skill to learn and improve. The books above have been a great addition to my reading list. There are more, but these have stood out for me in this month of June.
There once was a lane, filled with well-tended lawns and well-fostered friendships, of well-appointed houses all neat and tidy and those that live within, of stories and mysteries that manifest for only fleeting moments for the few who pay attention. This is one such tale. – By Duncan Wilson
Book Review
Once Upon a Lane is a tale about an ensemble of souls living as neighbors on the same street, each one with strengths and weaknesses, others hiding deep secrets behind closed doors. These parts of themselves work to create a unique and pleasant community.
Duncan Wilson describes life along this lane with vivid imagery. His characters constructed with careful detail that brings each one to life, making it easy to imagine them in the mind’s eye. The hidden world that emerges in this lane is unique, full of childhood adventures, colorful garden spaces and fantastic characters.
Young Tommy is once asked, ‘How is the Lane today?’ and he answers, ‘It’s the same as it always is, idyllic.’ It is a perfect description of life in this community.
Wilson explores the human condition with his characers, carving out relationship bonds between friends, family, lovers, pets, strangers, and other…creatures. The most charming of all these bonds are the children and their effortless bonds of friendship, easy love, whims of magical adventure and the imaginary worlds they create.
I enjoyed the adventures of the Youngest Murphy Boy the most. His heart is full of loyal love and he manages to charm everyone he meets. One would never guess he harbors any struggles born of emotional scars. His friendliness is only second to lovers/partners, Ida and Ella, this epic couple that dishes out cookies and baked goods to the neighborhood.
The lane has a blight titled the House with the Dead Lawn. Much of the story is centered on the mystery of this house that no one dares approach. There is also Mrs. Habernathy, who is the least-liked character. She is nosy, unpleasant, gruff and unfriendly. She remains the one character whose story I would have loved a much deeper exploration. I’m left infinitely curious of her inner world.
Once Upon a Lane follows an eclectic cast of characters.
They live their ordinary lives in a more than extraordinary stretch of road. Their lives woven into a tight web of familiarity that is only possible in a community of neighbors. Unseen among them is an extraordinary secret.
This secret rolls and pulses under the surface of their idyllic lives. Epitomized in the form of a house with a dead lawn, and Mrs. Habernathy, whose behavior is at one point described as, ‘…disquieting and unnerving…’ This hidden mysterious secret drives the reader through the pages to a very startling discovery about Mrs. Habernathy and her connection to the house with the dead lawn.
I would recommend this book to anyone fond of slice of life stories filled with mystery, secrets behind closed doors, and love between family, friends and lovers. Most of all, if you have imagined your community is hiding a secret, you definitely must read this book to discover what kind of secret it could be.
The Unaffected Resolve Volume 1 is an introduction to Lisa Sagini. She starts out unconscious and injured, but soon wakes up on the back of a cat-like creature. She then discovers the world, as she knows it, has gone through an apocalyptic event. The cat-like creature carrying her has chosen to save Lisa and her junior, a man named Orville. His reasoning is that he can guarantee their survival and they in turn shall provide him vital information.
What Lisa Sagini wants to know most is why the world they knew had to change. Why did they have to lose their friends and family? How will they survive after this apocalypse?
However, the questions above are not tackled in this volume.
Volume 1’s sole purpose is to introduce Lisa Sagini: who she is now and where she has come from. Lisa is a soldier in the Kenyan Army, has a strong personality and it is clear that she is comfortable in her own skin. Each scene is drawn to depict Lisa’s reality in vibrant colors and clear visuals and her memories serve to unfold the story. Her narrative adds to the story as it transitions deeper into the past.
This introduction reads very fast, and leaves you with the familiar feeling of wanting to know more at the end of the volume. I enjoyed reading this start into a post-apocalyptic Kenya and I find myself curious as to what would have led to the apocalypse. Most importantly, how will Lisa survive in this new world?
I would recommend this volume to anyone +16 and beyond. The volume does have some serious and violent content. This is also a perfect start for someone who wants to read but doesn’t feel like they have time for an intensive novel. The plot is strong and complex, with promise of more engaging story in the later volumes.
The writer and illustrator shared a copy of this comic with me. You can read it at this link: The Unaffected Resolve
Writing is a personal process that often requires constant learning. Free Webinars to get you started or keep you going can be very uplifting and inspiring. Here are three webinars I found useful and packed full with information.
I discovered this course when I joined Inkitt.com a while back. It has ten video lessons that guide you through the ideal process of writing a novel. The tips and structure shared give you a strong foundation to help you shape a story. I found that this writing boot camp unstuck me when I was in a writing bind. If you want to write a novel, but don’t know where to start, this is the perfect course.
The 10 lessons will walk you through the fundamental tools necessary for writing a novel and succeeding the craft of story telling.
Nanowrimo is a great challenge to take on. It stands for National Novel Writing Month. The month of choice is November. Before that, you can prepare to take on the challenge of writing a novel by participating in Nano Prep. You can download the Nano Prep 101 Handbook and get started on your preparations, or wait until September to join millions worldwide in the same process. I felt that giving this a try was a great way to understand my own writing process. The handbook has a lot of information on character creation, planning your story and creating worlds. It is perfect for beginners and experienced writers too.
Linkedin has a learning center packed with different types of courses you can take. You can sign up for a free trial, or pay a fee to join the learning center. I found this course and thought it quite enlightening. It has great insights on all the parts of great story telling. It is not the only course on Linkedin on writing, there are loads more, that include topics on editing your work. The learning center is a great place to explore if you’re looking for information, insights on writing, and hoping to increase your writing skills knowledge.
Learning never stops. I hope these courses are of help to you on your writing journey.
This month has been incredible, in that I found myself reading more books. I celebrate this kind of stuff. Because it’s easy to get lost in important activities during the day, or in conversations that leave you no time to take time and read a book. I’m grateful for the time to be in a quiet moment getting lost in different worlds, meeting characters and exploring alternate universes.
Here’s a list of books that I couldn’t put down for the month of August:
They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.
I genuinely enjoyed reading this book. In it’s most purest form, this is a story about a young girl, Zelie, who wants to break out of the chains she finds herself living in. I love the adventure, and her courage, her anger and the serious ambition to change the status quo.
Divya Sharma is a queen. Or she is when she’s playing Reclaim the Sun, the year’s hottest online game. Divya—better known as popular streaming gamer D1V—regularly leads her #AngstArmada on quests through the game’s vast and gorgeous virtual universe. But for Divya, this is more than just a game. Out in the real world, she’s trading her rising-star status for sponsorships to help her struggling single mom pay the rent.
Gaming is basically Aaron Jericho’s entire life. Much to his mother’s frustration, Aaron has zero interest in becoming a doctor like her, and spends his free time writing games for a local developer. At least he can escape into Reclaim the Sun—and with a trillion worlds to explore, disappearing should be easy. But to his surprise, he somehow ends up on the same remote planet as celebrity gamer D1V.
At home, Divya and Aaron grapple with their problems alone, but in the game, they have each other to face infinite new worlds…and the growing legion of trolls populating them. Soon the virtual harassment seeps into reality when a group called the Vox Populi begin launching real-world doxxing campaigns, threatening Aaron’s dreams and Divya’s actual life. The online trolls think they can drive her out of the game, but everything and everyone Divya cares about is on the line…
Grace St. John, a scholar, unwittingly discovers the Knights of Templar’s secret treasure. Suddenly, her life is upturned when she spies her boss murdering her husband and brother. With no reason to live, except to extract vengeance, Grace becomes a fugitive of the law as she attempts to find an explanation for this horrible act. Grace simultaneously translates 14th century medieval documents written by Black Niall. This embittered knight reaches into Grace’s subconscious and the two begin to share dreams 700 years apart. A scholar specializing in ancient manuscripts, Grace St. John never imagined that a cache of fragile, old documents she discovered was the missing link to a lost Celtic treasure. But as soon as she deciphers the intriguing legend of the Knights of the Templar — long fabled to hold the key to unlimited power — Grace becomes the target of a ruthless killer bent on abusing the coveted force. Determined to stop him, Grace needs the help of a celebrated warrior bound by duty to uphold the Templar’s secret for all eternity. But to find him — and to save herself — she must go back in time.
Summoning the magic of an arcane ritual, Grace steps back to the barren hills of 14th-century Scotland, enduring the perils of an untamed land to confront Black Niall, a fierce man of dark fury and raw, unbridled desire. Driven by a mix of fear and passion, Grace enlists this brazen knight to join her in a modern-day search for a killer. In their quest to protect a timeless secret, they uncover a love for all time — and a deadly duel of honor that risks everything they have.
This one is a reread. I always find new things to enjoy in this book, and I love it. Plus I love the payphone vibes. Can’t believe payphones are now old world!
I hope you get a chance to check these books out and enjoy them as much as I did. Have a lovely August month!
Stories and Book Talk 