Inspire to Read: Book Tour and Interview: Sweet Sorrow by Wairimu Mwangi. Two Families, Two generations, One tragedy. #Giveaway A print copy and Beaded cuff could be yours.

Title: SWEET SORROW

Author: Wairmu Mwangi

Genre: Women’s Fiction / Romance

Publisher: WDA Publishing

BLURB

Claire and Ida are two beautiful bright young women at odds with tradition and the expectations of their families and communities, fighting for love and to fulfill their ambitions.

But young women are faced with choices at every turn, and one misstep can lead them to their doom...

Can you make the right choice against what is in your heart?
Can you live with the consequences of putting love above what you know is right?

This captivating and unusual love story takes us from Kenya to America and back again,
as Claire and Ida fight for happiness and a future beside the men they love.

The price for a misstep is high, and one of them will pay it; and the ultimate revelation
will either free, or destroy the next generation...

About the author:

Wairimu Mwangi is a brilliant young Author, well-known in her Native Kenya for her books
directed at young children and adolescents. Wairimu is a Journalist by profession; she
started writing at a very young age encouraged by her Father, and hasn’t stopped since.
She is deeply commited to spreading the love of books and learning through out her community, and is engaged in starting a Foundation promoting AFrican Literature and literacy.

Contact links

Facebook

TheStory Tellers Club

Twitter

Interview:

1. Where did the idea come from for this book?

Sweet sorrow is a story that was inspired by the young people living in my community. I was in an all-girls boarding high school and within the four years I was in the school, an average of 15 girls had dropped out school due to teenage pregnancies. Some carried out abortions or may be got sick. It dawned on me that for these cases to have manifested to these small girls, it was all about the choices they made in life. It could have been peer pressure or just seeking some fun but either way, I had to find a way of addressing the issue. I found that the most suitable way to pass the message to any teenage would be through a story, and that is how Sweet Sorrow was born.

2. What genre does your book fall under?

Sweet Sorrow would lie in the Women’s fiction genre

3. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

She made a choice for which she paid dearly.

4. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It took me 5 months to do the first draft.

5. What did you learn about yourself while writing this book?

Writing the book made me realize that for a worthy course, I am ready to give my all.

6. Do you have anything in common with Ida and Claire??

Being an African woman, I feel that there is so much we have in common with Claire and Ida because I am faced with choices at every corner I turn. I am expected to make the right choice and be a role model because there are so many people looking up to me for guidance.

7. Which of these two women do you most identify with?

I mostly identify with Ida because my life has not been all smooth. Many up and downs but I’m glad I have been able to make the right choices in life.

8. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The fact that this is a story with an African set up, and depict the choices African girls have to made day in day out.

9. What do you as an African woman feel most concerns you about the conflict between tradition and modern lifestyles imported from the West?

I feel that as Africans, we should be proud of our cultural practices, of course the good ones. I feel concerned mostly when I get to interact with Africans who do not totally want to be associated with the African way of dressing…I think African regalia is cool.

10. I know you plan on following Ida and Claire's children in the next two books, without giving anything away, can you give as a hint as to what happens in the next book?

In the next series, Laventa falls in love with Ronald, but will the traditional practices highly valued in Ronald’s community let their young love thrive?

11. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

If Sweet Sorrow was a movie script, I would definitely have Lupita Nyong’o play the role of Ida. I’d have Mercy Johnson as Claire, Desmond Elliot as Malvis and Will Smith as Jason. I would also have Kenya’s Brenda Wairimu as Laventa and Frank Artus as Ronald.

12. I know you are promoting African Literature through a Foundation, would you tell us more about your project?

For the love of Literature, I founded an organization by the name Literature Africa Foundation where we create, nurture and promote a reading culture in children and young adults throughout Africa. We achieve this through holding Narrative Days in Schools whereby we go to Primary schools and engage children in storytelling activities; We narrate to them, have them narrate to us and we read for them interesting storybooks, encouraging them to read more.

We also look out for young talent in writing whereby we hold mentorship programs in High schools and engage young scholars and upcoming / aspiring writers on ways to grow their talent; how to be better writers. We also donate story books and novels to every school we visit as part of our vision; to touch a child’s life at a time through a book.

13. Is there anything else you would like to say to your readers, as a successful woman, and a mother?

I think that life is all about choices. My journey has not been easy especially being a young mom, I had to shelf my career for four years to concentrate on being a mom to my two wonderful kids. We should aspire to always make the right choice in regard to the situation at hand. Always remember that you only achieve the best through hard work, prayer and determination. Stay focused!

EXCERPT

Ida was the only daughter of Mr. Shaaban, who was a shopkeeper at Matunda village, while her mother was a small scale farmer in the same village. She had two elder brothers who lived in Khalama. The elder brother was also a shop keeper, while the younger one was still trying to get a job as a doctor.
She had been brought up in a Christian family and was educated up to secondary school level.One fateful day, when she was in the third grade, she had been sent home by the boarding school management to collect the school-fees balance of the year, and as chance would have it, she had gotten acquainted with Malvis.
She had walked home that day, scuffing her school-shoes through the white dust of the clay road, worrying about the money, inwardly praying for her brother - who was still unemployed - to get a job.
Over her, the green branches of the acacias danced in the breeze, showering down spirals of red blossoms to stain the long bright road ahead. So engrossed in her thoughts was she, that she didn’t realize that she had dropped her school identity-card until a young man, slightly older than her brother, stopped her.
“Hello there! How are you?” he hailed.
“I am fine, thank you,” she replied.
“But to me, you don’t look all that fine, maybe I could be of help,” he offered cheekily.
“I am not sure what help you think I might need, besides we are strangers,” Ida countered smartly.
“I see you are in your school uniform, have you been sent home due to lack of money for the school fees?” he persisted.
“Stop bothering me with impertinent questions,” she retorted, getting irritated by his inquisitive nature. “If there is anything you wish to say, get on with it, and be gone!”
“Hey don’t get angry! I was just interested. By the way, I am Malvis Mathenge, better known as Mr. Mathenge to my pupils at Masomo primary school. I bet you have heard of the school. But you don’t have to be formal with me; you can just call me Malvis.”
“Mr. Mathenge; am okay with that if it is what you wanted to know. I am…”
“No need for that, Ida,” he interrupted her.
“And why is that?” she asked, a tinge of irritated embarrassment evident in her voice. “And how do you know my name?”
“Because…” and he handed her the identity card. She looked at him suspiciously. “Don’t get the wrong impression of me,” he said defensively. “I just found it, and thought it must belong to you since you are the only student on the road at this moment.”
Her lips parted in a grateful smile as she thanked him prettily: “Thank you Mr. Malvis Mathenge!”
“Just Malvis, please, Ida…”