New Book: On A Lot Of Things...

We support new writers in several ways. Here's the newest book on the writing block in Nigeria, On a Lot of Things. 

"On a lot of things" was written by Ife Osundolire, an architect with a deep passion for stories.

The Book

The book is  a pot-pourri of stories: allegorical stories with undertones of serious national and social issues- examples of which are 'National Greed' and 'Primal instinct'; to stories that capture the everyday lives of urban dwellers and the challenges they face as experienced in "Zone B".

An Excerpt: Dupe's Killers

Prologue

Dupe's killers were not ordinary men. They were fiends - fiends with fiery arms and stale breaths that smelled of charred flesh. I had seen them- they were fiends whose ages ranged from a thousand years to a few millennia. They had been here forever, silent, until Dupe chose to ruffle their nest and let them loose and I would not have been able to discover all of this had I not realized shortly after an accident I had on the factory floor, that I had psychic abilities.

The end

They had found her body at the site of the onslaught, unmoving but with facial features that spoke of determination- not fear. Her face was set and even with closed eyes, were brave; her fists were curled into a ball seeming to hold something and no matter how hard the technicians tried, no one could prise her fingers open to reveal their contents- yet her finger tips were darkened from holding on too long to the fiery robes of the fiends. It was a rather strange phenomenon because the dead were not supposed to retain the power of muscular control and I could tell she was dead simply by looking at her now. Notwithstanding the unusual circumstance, the item in Dupe's clasp remained a mystery. Second, was the scar on her forehead that looked like an ancient symbol long born before words were breathed to life. To the other 'techs' it would look like just a scar but up close I trembled at the mystery such a scar held. None of the bystanders could tell as I could surmise from their crying and fidgeting and obvious confusion as they simply stood in a cluster waiting, while one of them who had tried unsuccessfully to discover what Dupe held on to, lingered on, kneeling, wondering what to do. I knew they were waiting for answers- answers that would make mockery of mystery by revealing its deepest secrets. Most puzzling to me was the total absence of blood at the site of the struggle. Though there were numerous evidences of a serious scuffle- scattered hair, finger imprints and torn clothing, there was no blood as Dupe lay still, very much alive only that she was not breathing.

It had not been so for me.

In my own case, I had also been in that same position, lying still, not moving and not being able to feel my back but there had been a lot of blood. It was many years ago and I had been working on the crane above the boiler when the winch cable cut and I fell thirty feet to the hard grease stained floor. For minutes I just stood there staring at the ceiling, listening to the voices of the other technicians as they called out over my head which was pounding from the fall and the thudding of their footfalls. I could feel blood seeping from my head, warm and wet at first, then turning sticky as it drenched the collar of my overalls. It was a miracle I survived that fall because I was back on my feet not long after I closed my eyes and I never worked the winches again.

What you can do--Buy the Book or join the Online campaign through the following ways: 

• Change your profile pictures to the cover page of the book for as long as you deem fit.
• Join the facebook group and invite ALL your friends to do so too
• Broadcast the website "www.onalotofthings.com" on as many web channels as accessible to you (fb status, twitter, blogs, etc)
• Upload occasional teaser status updates as sent by me. 

Myne Whitman interviews Ifelanwa Osundolire here. Expect a Bookaholic Interview soon!