Dear Friends,
We made it through the Great November of Writing and I am happy to share that all the poems and stories in “The Runaway Princess and Other Stories” have been written! We’re going to have 15 short stories and 5 poems. Of these, there will be 1 original poem and 5 original stories (highlighted in yellow below), with the remaining 11 stories and poems based on known folktales and legends.
As you can see, I tried to be as representative of the African continent as possible. I’m also doing my best to make sure the stories are true to the cultures they originate from. My storytelling approach focuses on what I imagine the thoughts and feelings of the protagonists might be as they navigate the different events of their lives. The stories are fun, sexy, dark, bloody, heartbreaking and so much more. I can’t wait to share them with you! Also, there is more art. How cool!
We’re still on track for publication in January. Editing and sensitivity reading are ongoing. In the meantime, go check out some merchandise in the Runaway Princess Store! I just got the shipment for goodies for Kickstarter supporters. If you missed the chance to pledge, you could still place order. You have more variety too!
What else is going on in the MA-verse?
I’ve been spending some time with the folks over at Interintellect. This is a platform through which you can organize “salons”. These are intimate 1–3-hour conversations focused on specific topics. What have I been talking about? You guessed it… African Mythology and Folklore! We’ve covered Tragedy and Comedy in African folklore these past two Sundays. Next Sunday December 18th at 1pm ET (US), we will be focused on Romantic African Folklore. You can get a ticket here and check out what else Interintellect has to offer here.
Now that the book is written, I’m starting to ease back into business as usual for MA. Deep Dive Episodes are still on hold until after the book is published but you can expect to start seeing daily themed posts on Twitter (#WeStillHere). Friday story time is on as usual and if you missed this Friday’s session on “Race in African Folklore”, give it a listen here.
As always, thank you for your support!
Helen