Z is for Zet #atozchallenge

Just to be fair, there are two countries in Africa which begin with Z - Zambia and Zimbabwe (Zaire used to be amongst, but it got changed to the Democratic Republic of Congo).

I'm not going to talk about either of those countries. Instead we'll discuss the letter Z and it's pronunciation here in Ghana. It threw me off when I first heard Z (zzzzzz) pronounced as Zet. Really that's how they say it. So when children say the alphabet, they start with A and finish with Z(et). But if Z is used in a word they pronounce it the regular Z. Zebra is not Zetbra. 

I'm not sure where this comes from, but I bet it has something to do with the British and their weird English. Correct me if I'm wrong.

And with that I am finished with the A to Z(et) blogger challenge for 2014. Great job Nana from Ghana! 

Thank you for stopping by my blog during the challenge. I hope you learned a little about Africa and the wonderful things and people that come from here. I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs from South Africa. 

Today is also the last day to enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

Y is for Your new vision of Africa #atozchallenge

I am an African woman and proud of it. Although my mother raised me in the US she never allowed me to lose sight of where I came from and the rich traditions I was born into. My mother cooked Ghanaian food, she sewed me Ghanaian clothes which I was very proud to wear, and I am currently happy (on most days) to live in Ghana.

The continent is different than you may have been lead to believe and through these posts I hope I’ve opened your eyes a little bit to the beauty, modernism, and versatility of it. Yes we have lots of work to do as a people, but we aren’t where we used to be and that’s a good thing.

My gorgeous mother, me, and my brother at her back in Ghana.

I'm wrapped in Traditional Ghanaian Kente cloth.
A rich fabric, with a richer tradition.

My brother and I dressed in joromi (named for the beautiful intricate stitching). 

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

X is for Alissa Baxter #atozchallenge

See the x in the last name? Alissa Baxter’s novel, The Blog Affair  has been released under the Ubuntu line by Decadent Publishing. It is set in South Africa, in lovely Cape Town. I loved this novel. Check out my review here. 

BLURB:

Twenty-something, white, South African Emma Bradshaw has a pattern of falling for unsuitable men and starts a blog about these so-called “serial datists”. Her search for new beginnings takes her to Cape Town, where she gets a job working for sexy author, Nick Reynolds. Romance with her boss is a no-no, but slowly, Nick works his way around her defenses. Trust him, or not, especially with her awful track record with men?

When an anonymous male reader of the blog challenges her on her ideas about the male species, Emma realises she must confront her past and find her true self before she can move forward...and love can blossom again in her future.

Buy links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/18PXh1c

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1fY6J6Y

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

W is for West Africa (The Gambia in particular) #atozchallenge

I was going to make W stand for  Western Sahara, but that area is boring with all its arid weather (sorry). The Gambia, officially known as  The Republic of the Gambia, is a small country in West Africa which I have never visited, but have heard great things about from people, okay, a person, who has.

Image from Wikipedia.com

Pictures of The Gambia taken from Bing.com

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

V is for Victoria Falls #atozchallenge

The beautiful Victoria Falls are one of the seven natural wonders of the world consisting of a mile long curtain of falling water.  It lies on the border of The Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) and Zimbabwe.  

It's on my ever growing bucket list to visit this fabulous sight.

Pics taken from http://sevennaturalwonders.org/victoria-falls-pictures/

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

U is for Ubuntu #atozchallenge

I’ve had a few posts up about the books on the Ubuntu line by Decadent Publishing. I’d like to take a minute to explain the meaning of ubuntu.

From Ubuntu.com  

“Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning 'humanity to others'. It also means 'I am what I am because of who we all are'.”

We can’t talk about Africa for twenty six posts without mentioning the late Mr. Nelson Mandela. It so happened that he spoke about Ubuntu for the product Ubuntu Linux. May his legacy of forgiveness, peace, and love, live on in Africa and the world.

I'm taking a moment to advertise my latest novel written in the Ubuntu line. 

Blurb

Ghanaian nurse Aurora ‘Ora’ Aikins never expected to find the love of her life while on vacation in South Africa. Engaged to another and believing that love has no place in her life, she returns to Ghana, and puts duty and honor first.

Three years later, Dr. Jason Lartey still can’t get Ora out of his mind or his heart. After learning she never married, he takes a risk and moves to Ghana hoping to rekindle what they started. His sudden appearance in Ora’s Emergency Department sends sparks flying all over again.

They’re in the same country, working in the same hospital, and together but distance creeps between them. Can they make their destined love one for the ages? 

Buy Links

Amazon | Decadent |ARe | Barnes & Noble| Smashwords  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

T is for Tanzania #atozchallenge

For me this country will always be represented by the gorgeous Tanzanite stone. I used to drool over the tanzanite jewelry QVC presented. I even bought a tanzanite ring myself, but gave it away as a gift. One day I'll buy another one. It would be perfect if i could go to Tanzania and buy it there. 

Not much to say, this is an image moment. Shades of purple and blue. Pics from Jewelry Wholesale .

Jewelry pics from Bing.com

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

S is for South Africa #atozchallenge

In my latest release, Midwife To Destiny, Ora meets Jason on her vacation to South Africa. Last year I traveled to Cape Town  and gained weight (thought I'd share), but when I came back I had to make some changes to the book to allow the reader to see more of Cape Town than I had previously shown when it had only been the internet and my imagination guiding me.

Image from Wikipedia.com

Here are a few of my vacation pictures. As you can tell, I had a wonderful time.

Looking down on Cape Town.

I'm sitting in a huge ferris wheel taking this picture. 

Oops. I wasn't supposed use the flash. Sorry lovely Jellyfish.

Table Mountain on my bus tour. We look good together

Had to take a pic in with the pretty purple flowers at Kristenburg Botanical  Gardens

At the World of Birds, Wildlife and Monkey Sancuary.
So cute, but don't trust them, they steal.

It's always misty here, even when the sun is high. Beautiful.

One of my favorite pictures. I should have waved.

Blurb

Ghanaian nurse Aurora ‘Ora’ Aikins never expected to find the love of her life while on vacation in South Africa. Engaged to another and believing that love has no place in her life, she returns to Ghana, and puts duty and honor first.

Three years later, Dr. Jason Lartey still can’t get Ora out of his mind or his heart. After learning she never married, he takes a risk and moves to Ghana hoping to rekindle what they started. His sudden appearance in Ora’s Emergency Department sends sparks flying all over again.

They’re in the same country, working in the same hospital, and together but distance creeps between them. Can they make their destined love one for the ages?  

Buy Links

Amazon | Decadent |ARe | Barnes & Noble| Smashwords

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

R is for Romance Writer Nana Malone #atozchallenge

Did I cheat by using the R for Romance? Not in my opinion because the fabulous Nana Malone, USA TODAY bestselling author is from Ghana and comes to visit quite often? I haven’t met her yet, but I’m in love with her books. Brilliant writer. If you like a lot of heat in your romances, then pick one up.

She has a new book out which is sitting on my Kindle calling to me.

The Blurb

It wasn’t exactly like spunky, photography student, Abbie Nartey ran away from her life…except, that she left under the cover of darkness and put three thousand miles between her and her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal. She went to London searching for her dream. She never expected to find love, or herself.

Heir to his family’s tech fortune, sexy, Alexi Chase, is looking for freedom—from his family and from his past. What he’s not looking for is love. With secrets like his, he can’t afford to let anyone get too close. But a chance rescue has him wondering if the price of keeping secrets is too high.

Will Alexi risk losing love to keep his past hidden? Will Abbie trust herself enough to love again? Or will their pasts keep then from accepting true love? 

Buy links: Amazon / ARe / Barnes & Noble

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

Q is for Quarshie #atozchallenge

Quarshie is the last name of the hero, Jason Lartey's, best friend in  Midwife to Destiny. Adam Quarshie is a doctor who has an immense disrespect for relationships. He’s a player who intends to have fun for the rest of his life without committing to anyone but himself. 

This is how I imagine him. 

Image from bing.com

Isn’t he hot? He's a charming man, too, if not a tad bit arrogant. 

And here’s a quote from him as Jason complains about his problems with Ora.

“I still don’t understand, but what can a confirmed bachelor say? There aren’t enough mops in the world to clean up the messes love creates. Better to leave that shit alone.”

Don’t worry, he’ll be getting his soon enough in book two of the Destiny Series.

Blurb

Ghanaian nurse Aurora ‘Ora’ Aikins never expected to find the love of her life while on vacation in South Africa. Engaged to another and believing that love has no place in her life, she returns to Ghana, and puts duty and honor first.

Three years later, Dr. Jason Lartey still can’t get Ora out of his mind or his heart. After learning she never married, he takes a risk and moves to Ghana hoping to rekindle what they started. His sudden appearance in Ora’s Emergency Department sends sparks flying all over again.

They’re in the same country, working in the same hospital, and together but distance creeps between them. Can they make their destined love one for the ages? 

Buy Links

Amazon | Decadent |ARe | Barnes & Noble| Smashwords  

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

P is for Prah #atozchallenge

Yes that’s me. Other than being the best last name in all of Ghana, there is a river here called Pra (unlike my name there is no h) and pra also means to sweep (which I hate to do) in the Akan language  which is the most widely spoken language in Ghana.

Not much to tell you about me, except that I am fabulous and have written two books, Love Through Time and Midwife To Destiny (on sale for $0.99 at Amazon) which I would super duper highly recommend that you buy, read and review.

In the meantime here are a few of my favorite pictures of me in Ghana (don’t look at my size, sometimes I’m up and other times I upper).

Smiling twins are the best. 

My niece and I like to model. I got her addicted to the camera.

Wheeeeee.

The side of my Aunt's house. Isn't it beautiful?

Visit to Nzelezu in the Western Region. The village is built on water.

My favorite spot at my old job. Peaceful rock garden.

Reveal. My adorable cousins.

Kakum National Park. Walking the canopy.

My climb up Mt.Afadjatu, the highest mountain in Ghana.
I almost died going up.

Showing off my latest release, Midwife to Destiny set in Ghana and South Africa.

Blurb

Ghanaian nurse Aurora ‘Ora’ Aikins never expected to find the love of her life while on vacation in South Africa. Engaged to another and believing that love has no place in her life, she returns to Ghana, and puts duty and honor first.

Three years later, Dr. Jason Lartey still can’t get Ora out of his mind or his heart. After learning she never married, he takes a risk and moves to Ghana hoping to rekindle what they started. His sudden appearance in Ora’s Emergency Department sends sparks flying all over again.

They’re in the same country, working in the same hospital, and together but distance creeps between them. Can they make their destined love one for the ages? 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Buy Links

Amazon | Decadent |ARe | Barnes & Noble| Smashwords  

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.