Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Flash Fiction: The Accident

Image credit: en.wikipedia.org
I remember leaving my body ten minutes after the impact. Before then, it was a blur of tyres screeching, horns blaring, a loud scream, a dog barking and an awful thud. I fell off the bonnet of the car, and landed on the stony tarmac. Then I heard voices, and footsteps of people running towards me.

“Call 999!” I heard someone shout.

For the few minutes I was suspended between life and death, I recalled my mother’s warnings. Always look carefully before crossing the road, she said. I thought about her then. How would she react to the news of my accident? I imagined her crying, and I felt sorry for causing her trouble.

An ambulance arrived with a wail of sirens. My head hurt. My back hurt. My left foot throbbed. A light was shone into my eyes.

“I’ll check for a pulse,” a man said.

Somebody touched me. I heard sounds that I couldn’t comprehend. Then I suddenly felt cold. Slowly, I started to rise above the scene of the crash.

“Will she make it?” A voice floated to me, as if from far away. 

I thought of my father and baby brother, Paul, barely two years old. He wouldn’t understand any of it. I hoped someone would tell him that I’d gone to heaven. 

I visited that spot later. People had left cards and flowers. I wished I could thank them. But what I wanted most was to say goodbye to my family.

(c) Tolulope Popoola

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Book Review: The Officer's Bride by Lara Daniels

Review - The Officer’s Bride

I recently read Lara Daniel’s soon-to-be-published novella, “The Officer’s Bride”. Having read two of her previous books and many of her series and short stories, I knew what to expect: a heartfelt and moving story with characters I could empathise with. And I wasn’t disappointed. 

This time, Lara introduced me to the world of Nafisah and Eddy, a world of military oppression, coups and violence. I was reminded of a dark and scary time in recent history where it seemed there was no freedom, no hope and no good in the world anymore. But this was also a world where sacrifices had to be made for the sake of the greater good, and ultimately, goodness and love triumph over hate and evil. 

The story revolves around two characters who are brought together by an act of fate. Colonel Edward (Eddy) is a top aide to the ruling dictator in the country, a paranoid, evil army General whose callous acts have brought the country into turmoil and darkness. Nafisah is a victim, directly affected by the acts perpetuated by men who have the power to do as they please. Her world is turned upside down, and she could have easily been lost forever, had Eddy not stepped in to literally save her life.

Eddy’s character surprised me. He works for an evil boss, carrying out swift and sometimes bloody assignments. But deep down, he remains a man with a conscience. When he meets Nafisah, she noticed that he was the only man that still had kindness in his eyes, compared to all the soldiers around him. And for five years, he took care of her, feeding and educating her and Nafisah blossomed under his care.

But Eddy’s most important mission demands he stakes everything - his loyalty, his job, his love and his very life on accomplishing a dangerous task. At this point, Nafisah has come to regard him as more than a rescuer and protector and she fervently hopes that she doesn’t lose the only person that has stood by her and protected her.

There were many moments in the book where I had to pause to absorb the tension that Lara built into the book flawlessly. I desperately wanted Eddy to succeed in his mission and come back to fulfil his promises to Nafisah. And I also wanted him to rid the country of the evil dictator and restore some sense of peace and morality. I must commend Lara on her ability to write much more than just a love story. Her writing is simple, and uncluttered, vivid and beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Officer’s Bride, and even though it is short, the characters and imagery will resonate in my mind for a very long time.

Rating: 4 out of 5

To find out more, visit http://laradaniels.org/the-officers-bride/
Website: http://www.laradanielswrites.com
Follow Lara Daniels on Twitter - https://twitter.com/LDparables


(c) Tolulope Popoola

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Punch Newspaper Feature

I was featured in the Literary section of the Punch Newspaper recently!

Click here to read the article on the Punch Newspaper website.

Friday, October 12, 2012

"Nothing Comes Close" E-Book and Trailer


Hi friends!

At last, we're almost there :)

I've been working on finalising all the details for the release of "Nothing Comes Close". Honestly, it has been an amazing journey, and a huge learning experience. It's also taught me something about patience, cos I was thinking the book was good to go in July. But then I had to wait for more and more rounds of editing, typesetting, and all sorts of other things :)

Well, at least now the ebook is ready to download! To buy the ebook, you can visit any of the following links:
Amazon Kindle US
Amazon Kindle UK
Amazon Europe (Germany,  FranceItalySpain)
Kobo
Apple iStore
Sony Reader store
WH Smith
Nook (Coming Soon)
Smashwords (Other formats)

Many thanks to those who pre-ordered the ebook! You're now entitled to a 30% discount on the ebook from Smashwords! Your discount coupon will be emailed to you shortly.

I'm hoping the paperback will be ready in a few weeks, so stay tuned for more updates here and on Facebook. Thanks so much for all your support, I couldn't have done it without you guys!

In the meantime, enjoy the book trailer:

Book Trailer



Tuesday, October 09, 2012