Listen To Heart Of Diamonds – Free!

After several weeks of arduous production, the audio book edition of Heart Of Diamonds is available online. Now you can listen to the exciting story of Valerie Grey’s struggle to reveal a diamond-smuggling scheme that threatens to plunge the Congo deeper into war–dragging the United States along with it. The production is complete and unabridged, with nearly eleven fast-paced hours of narration.

And best of all, it’s free. You can download the entire novel to your iPod, computer, or any device that will play mp3 files at Podiobooks.com or iTunes at absolutely no cost (although there’s a donation button if you’re so inclined).

Heart Of Diamonds–now available in trade paperback, eBook, and audio book editions.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

eBook Week Celebration

As an author, I can attest that technology is a wonderful thing. I’ve published three books (so far) and every day seems to bring new ways to put them in front of an audience. One of the most exciting is in eBook editions, a format that’s growing like crazy and reaching more and more people every day.

To celebrate eBook Week, March 7-13, I’m offering Heart Of Diamonds at half off the already-low eBook price at Smashwords.dom. This week only, the book will be available for your Sony Reader, Stanza, Palm, or just about any other device for just $4.98–a 50% discount. The special only applies to purchases through Smashwords.com.

Isn’t technology wonderful?

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Congo Women To Be Honored In Harlem

International Women’s Day will be celebrated in many ways, but none more sincerely than the commemoration in Harlem on Sunday, March 7. The day is dedicated to the women of the Congo and features a day-long lineup of important events and inspiring performances.

11:00 AM Morning Church Service
Riverside Church, Clermont Ave. (between 120th & 122nd Streets)

2:00 PM Procession & Rally at Ndunga Public Art Project
Plaza of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building, 163 W 125th Street

3:00 PM Conflict Resolution Workshops for youth and adults
Black River Studio, 345 Lenox Ave. (between 127th & 128th Streets)

6:30 PM Screening of “Lumo” the documentary film
Maysles Cinema, 343 Lenox Ave. (between 127th & 128th Streets)

8:00 PM Panel Discussion and Dialogue
Recording of Personal Statements and Testimonials

There will also be performances by LaBurga, Global Kids, Jumping For Justice Double Dutch Social Initiative, Kim Weston Moran, Linda H. Humes, Gloria Lowery Tyrrell, Garifuna Day Woen’s Coalition, Drummers, and others.

The events are hosted by a long list of prominent organizations including Friends of the Congo and Ndunga Public Art Project. Space is limited, so please rsvp NPAP (718) 855-8616.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Chinua Achebe – Essays To Treasure

“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” should be repeated every hour on the hour by every school child all over the world until it becomes the mantra of all societies. It is Bantu for “A human is human because of other humans.”

The simple but profound adage is the theme of Chinua Achebe’s collection of essays, The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays.It may also be the theme of his life’s work, judging by the simple message it conveys about the importance of the communal aspirations of the peoples of Africa. He uses it several times in various essays in the book, but really drives the point home in the concluding paragraph of the last one, titled “Africa Is People.”

“Our humanity is contingent on the humanity of our fellows. No person or group can be human alone. We rise above the animal together, or not at all. If we learned that lesson even this late in the day, we would have taken a truly millennial step forward.”

Achebe, winner of the Man Booker International Prize and best known as the author of Things Fall Apart,one of the seminal works of African fiction, has a subtle, dry voice that makes each of these seventeen essays something to savor and linger over. He makes his points about racial stereotypes, African development, history, and politics, and the African-American diaspora, sometimes with humor, sometimes with biting directness, but always graciously and without rancor. You sense Achebe knows that to rail against injustice is futile; change must come through education achieved one cogent argument at a time.

While Achebe is a scholar, he is also a master storyteller. More often than not, he makes his points not with dry logical argument but with an exegetical tale about someone he’s met or something that’s happened to him. Those little narratives are much more illustrative than pure cant. In “Spelling Our Proper Name,” he tells the story of Dom Afonso of Bukongo, for example, who negotiated with King John III of Portugal in 1526 as an equal. He then writes:

“Such stories as Dom Alfonso’s encounter with Europe are not found in the history books we read in schools. If we knew them….young James Baldwin would not have felt a necessity to compare himself so adversely with peasants in a Swiss village. He would have known that his African ancestors did not sit through the millennia idly gazing into the horizon, waiting for European slavers to come and get them.”

I found his exploration of the complex politics and history of Africa in “Africa’s Tarnished Name” to be particularly thought-provoking. He also talks frequently about Joseph Conrad’s racism, which has become an important theme in the deconstruction of Heart of Darkness. Some of these essays have been presented elsewhere, although they have been revised and updated since they were first published. Nothing in them is dated, however, and Achebe’s insightful discussions with Langston Hughes and James Baldwin ring as true as his observations about the potent symbolism of Barack Obama’s election as President of the United States.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Heart Of Diamonds eBook Editions

What’s your preferred reading device? You can now put the new edition of Heart of Diamonds on your Kindle, Sony Reader, Stanza, Palm, or just about any other e-Book reader with just a couple of clicks.

Check your favorite online bookseller, or go to Smashwords.com for a comprehensive listing of available versions. For the Kindle edition, visit Amazon.com.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.