Tag Archives: east africa

Harambee Means “We Are One”

“Harambee” is the motto of post-Independence Kenya. The country was ceded from the British Empire in 1963 after a period of social unrest, which included the Mau-Mau Rebellion. A leader in that uprising was Jomo Kenyatta, who became the new nation’s founding president. His son Uhuru is the outgoing incumbent president, defeated by William Ruto in the election, just concluded last August.

Harambee – We Are One. E Pluribus Unum – One from Many.

May it be ever so!

He went as a passive observer. He stayed when they showed him how to live.

When I read some more of the Ong’wen book, I discovered a delicious (if troubling) irony. In the early years of Independence, harambee came to mean voluntary labor or donations for grass-roots projects. Then it became dues for electing local politicians. Now it’s a synonym for all manner of mandatory political bribes, extending to the highest levels.

Yes, that’s a side of Harry, too.

 

Thinking About Thinking #43: Sweet Bird of Not So Young Anymore

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Photo by Georja Umano

What would you say to this surprise visitor?

Some of you who know of my recent adventures might think this candid shot was taken in East Africa. But it’s actually from a bit further back on a trip to the rainforest in Ecuador near the headwaters of the Amazon River.

I really don’t know what species this critter is, nor whether it’s male or female. Its relatively drab color might suggest it’s a mama, but its aggressive, perhaps territorial, move seems characteristically male.

Perhaps I should have asked whether it takes cream or sugar with its coffee.

Or whether “Nevermore!” (in Spanish?) might be the word of the day.

Clicking on the cover will take you to the Amazon Kindle catalog page. It’s also available lots of other places, including EPUB and paperback.

Books Out of Africa – BookFest Panel Discussion

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Books Out of Africa Panel screenshot YouTube

Click the image to watch on YouTube

Watch it on YouTube!

Books Out of Africa: Bookish World Tour

The continent that gave birth to humanity delivers some of the most provocative and moving stories in our world. From non-fiction to fiction to poetry, with invigorating and moving perspectives from an array of authors and literary professionals, this panel discussion aims to create connections and stimulate imaginations. Join these literary leaders who tell the tales of the people, the place, and the continent that is Africa.

Dr. Edward Bynum, Ph.D., ABPP, Author of several books including the latest, Our African Unconscious: The Black Origins of Mysticism and Psychology, clinical psychologist, and former director of the behavioral medicine program at the University of Massachusetts Health Services. https://www.innertraditions.com/autho… Paulino Chol, Author of Leading the Lost Boys, the true story of leading 700 boy prisoners in South Sudan to freedom, and PhD student in management and homeland security at Colorado Technical University. https://machfoundation.org/

Gerald Everett Jones, Author of the award-winning Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner and Evan Wycliff Mystery series and host, for the Get Published! Podcast. https://geraldeverettjones.com/

Useni Perkins, American poet, playwright, activist and youth worker, known for his poem “Hey Black Child”, and author of the newly released Kwame Nkrumah’s Midnight Speech for Independence from Just Us Books. https://blackchildjournal.com/

Moderator: Celeste Duckworth, Author, President of Vertikal Life Magazine, and host of A Taste of Ink LIVE Radio Program. https://vertikallifemagazine.com/

The BookFest Web: https://www.TheBookFest.com/ Books That Make You Web: https://www.booksthatmakeyou.com/ FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksThatMak… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/books_that_…

NYC Big Book Awards Harry Harambee Silver in General Fiction

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(October 27, 2021, Santa Monica, CA) The 2021 NYC Big Book Award just recognized Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner by Gerald Everett Jones in the highly competitive category of General Fiction as a Distinguished Favorite. This is the third award Jones has received for that novel, as well as the third he’s received for this literary fiction and two mystery-thrillers in this and prior NYC Big Book competitions.

Will it be politically disruptive? Kenyans vote next year.

Ten awards overall in the last two years include both Winner (Gold) and Distinguished Favorite (Silver) for his Evan Wycliff mysteries in the 2020 NYC Big Book, which accepts entries from not only indie authors and small presses but also the major publishing houses (the “Big Five”). Of his mysteries, the first in the series, Preacher Finds a Corpse, also won an Independent Press Award (IPA) Distinguished Favorite, Best Literary Fiction in the National Association of Book Entrepreneurs (NABE) Pinnacle Awards, and a Finalist Eric Hoffer Award. Preacher Fakes a Miracle won an NYC Big Book Silver in the same year, winning Jones the top two slots in the Mystery category. Previously, Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner was awarded Best Literary Fiction from NABE and Bronze in the Florida Association of Authors and Publishers (FAPA) President’s Awards in Adult Fiction.

Awards in 2020 included an Independent Press Association (IPA) Distinguished Favorite for Clifford’s Spiral in Fiction, as well as Eric Hoffer Finalist in Business for Jones’s nonfiction textbook, How to Lie with Charts.

The NYC Big Book competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected award Winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.

Loosely based on Jones’s experiences living in Kenya for two years, Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner is the story of Harry Gardner, a lonely widower from Los Angeles, who makes the challenging transition from tourist and passive observer to committed resident. It’s an emotional story of expat intrigue in rapidly developing East Africa, reminiscent of The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene and The Constant Gardener by John le Carré.

Desmond Boi, editorial writer for The Standard newspapers and Citizen TV in Nairobi has gone so far as to suggest that the book could be disruptive – in a positive way – among Kenyans. He writes: “Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner is a captivating, witty read that explores the sociopolitical climate in Kenya in an honest way that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. This is a clear and compelling outlook that realistically paints Kenya while exploring glaring issues that are a bane to the country. When Harry decides to stop being a bystander who lets other people decide his fate, it’s noteworthy. This can be equated to Kenyans finally deciding to take responsibility rather than just going with the flow, waiting for decisions that affect their lives to be made for them. And it can be done without selling one’s soul in the process and leave a legacy and a better country worthy of its name.” (Kenyan general elections are slated for August of 2022, and campaigning is already underway.)

2021 was a record year for the NYC Big Book Awards due to the high level of quality and diverse books submitted. Again in 2021, the competition received book submissions worldwide, including great submissions from journalists, well-established authors, small and large press as well as first time indie authors who participated in high numbers. Entries were from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Cities such as Bangalore, Edmonton, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Seattle, Singapore, and Vancouver were representative among the entries. Winners were recognized globally from Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Lebanon, Queensland, and the United States of America.

Among NYC Big Book entries, some awarded books were published by The American Bar Association, Friesen Press, Gatekeeper Press, Greenleaf Book Group, Joggling Board Press, Story Merchant Books, and WildBlue Press. Quality children’s publishers such as Barefoot Books as well as Mango and Marigold press were awarded. Independent presses such as Brill, Goff Books, Koehler Books, Llewellyn Publications, ORO Editions, Routledge Publishers, Rowman & Littlefield, and She Writes Press took both Winner and Distinguished Favorite awards. AuthorHouse, IngramSpark, KindleDirect, and SDP Publishing were among the self-publishing platforms. Lastly, Hachette Books, MacMillan, Penguin Random House were among the large publishers that entered.

“We are elated to highlight these authors’ books, recognize their excellence, and share their achievements.” said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak. “We look forward to showcasing these titles to a larger audience.”

Gerald Everett Jones remarked about his win, “I’m pleased to receive this recognition for ‘Harry’s’ story, especially in competition with the Big Five. My small press LaPuerta Books and Media has published all eleven of my novels, and I’m thrilled by the opportunities for self-expression that new media platforms provide. Storytelling is a unifying force among people and cultures, and I urge both writers and readers to stay focused on that bright, hopeful spot.”

Gerald Everett Jones is a freelance writer who lives in Santa Monica, California. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Dramatists Guild, Women’s National Book Association, and Film Independent (FIND), as well as a board member of the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC). He holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from the College of Letters, Wesleyan University, where he studied under novelists Peter Boynton (Stone Island), F.D. Reeve (The Red Machines), and Jerzy Kosinski (The Painted Bird, Being There). His author website is geraldeverettjones.com, and he hosts the GetPublished! Radio podcast.

Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner is published by LaPuerta Books and Media and available in trade paperback and ebook formats from booksellers worldwide, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Google Books, and Rakuten Kobo.

Third award just announced – NYC Big Book Distinguished Favorite in General Fiction.

Ready to Escape to an African Adventure? (Shared from Article Rich)

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Photo by Gabriella Muttone

This interview appeared recently on Article Rich and covers some of the in-country experiences that inspired the fictional story of my recent novel Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner. In this story, a middle-aged white widower from Los Angeles travels to Kenya. His character arc and challenges proceed from being a tourist and passive observer to a resident who must decide how much he’s willing to commit to his new community.

Click here to read the interview.

And if you can’t travel to Kenya just now, read the book!

Gerald Learns About Living Vertikal

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On this podcast episode of A Taste of Ink Live, I learn host C. Stene Duckworth‘s vision for Living Vertikal and her initiative Vertikal Alliance International (vertikalalliance.com). It’s more than just breathing in and out and putting one foot in front of the other! We talk about the challenges of making the transition from tourist to resident in East Africa, a key theme of my novel Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner. We compare and contrast politics and ethnic strife in the U.S., South Africa, and Kenya.

It’s an hour of spirited conversation. Click here to listen!

The Sociopolitical Climate of Kenya: My Interview with Rose Colombo

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Thinking About Thinking – On My Experiences Living in Kenya

I discuss wide-ranging issues about corruption, love, and loyalty with Rose Colombo, host of the Blogtalk Radio show “Colombo Chronicles.” And I explain how these themes are woven through my novel Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner.

What parallels to current events in the U.S. can we see in Kenya’s recent political history? What’s happening there now that deserves close attention? For one thing, the country is trying to rewrite its constitution at the same time candidates are declaring for the next general election in August of 2022.

What cultural issues in Kenya might be surprising to American or European tourists?

How do “unintended consequences” of aid programs and charities often cause results in-country to go awry?

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As he transforms from passive tourist to resident, Harry must decide how much he’s willing to commit. He wonders whether he’s being played. Then he wonders, ‘Do I mind?’

No, I’m not Marty. But I was The Playboy!

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Author Gerald Everett Jones is sometimes, but not often, mistaken for movie director Martin Scorsese.

While I was on a business trip a few years ago, I was walking down the hallway of my hotel, and two young people passed by me. Moments later I heard a voice behind me as one said to the other, “That’s Martin Scorsese, you know.”

It doesn’t happen often. Of course, perhaps the people who are gaping at me across the room at a crowded restaurant might think they’ve spotted Marty – or there might literally be egg on my face.

This was not the first time I’d been recognized in public by a stranger, whether for being myself or some (other) celebrity. I was surprised and flattered the other day when after introducing myself to a young woman on a business matter and handing her my card, she replied, “I’ve heard of you.”

I was afraid to ask her how!

I once spotted novelist Paul Auster having breakfast at a nearby table at a coffee shop in Brooklyn. I knew he lived in the neighborhood. I regret I didn’t have the nerve to walk over there and tell him how much I admire his work.

Gerald played the title role (Christy Mahon) in a summer-stock production of John M. Synge’s play, Playboy of the Western World.

But the most sensational of these experiences happened decades ago, and I fear it might never be surpassed. When I was the callow age of twenty and thinking someday I’d be a professional actor, I played Christy Mahon, the lead role in J. M. Synge’s play, The Playboy of the Western World. (I should explain that playboy in the jargon of the period apparently meant something like trickster – nothing like the implication it would eventually have for Hugh Hefner or James Bond.)

I undertook this challenge – a large role for a green actor – during a summer-stock internship at the Town Meeting Playhouse in Jeffersonville, Vermont. Our acting company took on nine roles in ten weeks, performing four shows each weekend, including a matinee as well as an evening show on Saturdays. The schedule was so hectic and compressed that we’d start rehearsals and blocking of the next show every Friday, the day of the current show’s opening night.

During those four performances of Playboy, I forgot my lines a couple of times, but the generous cast helped me ad lib to cover. The applause was enthusiastic, I was told later by the director, and Vermonters are not known for public displays of affection of any kind.

The closest big town to Jeffersonville is Burlington. One afternoon following the closing of Playboy, several of us cast members took a road trip into town. It was a rare day out. And one of the highlights of our spree was stopping in a bookstore.

While I was browsing there, a teenage girl pointed eagerly at me and exclaimed, “Oh, my God! It’s the Playboy of the Western World!”

Gerald Everett Jones is the author of the new novel, Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner, which will be released on June 29.

Books That Make You… (cross-posts)

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BTMY Author Interview

Read more of this interview…

Beach-Bound Book Bash Reading

Gerald’s gig begins at 42:31 for about five minutes – And there are many more captivating  authors on this beach!