Bloodlines from MyAfricanDiaspora.com

Most of my postings had been from authors from the African continent in accordance to my agenda, which is to promote African Literature. Yet, there are some Africans and in diaspora and other African Americans whose works fall into the category of African Literature, most especially if the theme of the writings are related to Africans and some of the Authors also comes from the continent.

One such book is Bloodlines. According to Veronica Henry, the editor of bloodlines and co-founder of MyAfricanDiaspora.com, bloodlines is a collection of fourteen (14) short stories collected through a contest launched by the website, challenging writers to submit pieces that reflects the diverse imagery of our worldwide communities and featuring a main character of African descent. I had a short interview with her and these are what she had to say:

What is the book about

The book is actually a collection, spanning all genres (literary, mystery, sci-fi & fantasy, & romance) and subject matters. Authors--all of African descent, hail from the U.S., Canada, Niger, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago and England.

How did you come to put together such an anthology

The book was the result of a contest we ran through the website, calling on authors of African descent from across the globe to submit work that featured a main character/setting of African descent. We took the best entries (with judging help from fantasy author Charles Saunders) from the contest, plus one of my previously published pieces.

Is this your first book? Any in the pipeline?

I simply edited the book, and it is the first publication for the website. We are considering doing another contest and publication later this year, but are still undecided. Publishing, even self-publishing, can be costly. As for me personally, I have 3 short stories published and 2 novels. I'm currently shopping one of my novels to agents.

What made you want to put together this book?

The general lack of diversity that I see in publishing, both in terms of published authors of African descent and the types of stories told us.

What is the agenda of myafricandisapora.com?

My partner and I launched the website after tracing our African ancestry (through DNA testing) to Sierra Leone. We not only wanted to reconnect with our ancestral home, but understood the power of that reconnection for all people of African descent. 

What do you intend to achieve with your site?

The website is aimed at providing news and information that will allow us to learn more about each other, the first steps in bridging the gaps of time and space that separate us. Our goal is to see a united African diaspora.

Also tell us anything you think is interesting...

Just a little about us. My partner is a graphic designer and owner of Kindredgear.com and more afro-centric spinoff, www.zazzle.com/kinredgear. Folks really seem to love his Adinkra symbols line. I am a former IBM'er turned writer and web entrepreneur. Eric does the graphics and layouts for our websites, while I do the code and maintenance. 

MyAfricanDiaspora.com is a cultural news and information website targeted at members of the African diaspora and was co-founded by Veronica Henry and Eric Deal after DNA testing revealed their ancestral link to Sierra Leone, West Africa. For more information, they may be contacted at: info@myafricandiaspora.com.

ImgeNations would be reviewing Bloodlines soon.