Welcome all to an Interview with Author
S. E. Nelson…..
Hello one and all! How are you today? I'm back and hope everyone is doing well and happy! Welcome back to my writing blog page where I try to share whatever I think may interest you. Today I interview another fellow author. I love meeting other authors and promoting them. It's so much fun. Why talk about myself when there are so many wonderful authors out there and everywhere waiting to share with us. With me this time is human rights activist, S. E. Nelson.
Photo of S.E. Nelson
ebook cover.
Paperback cover.
ebook cover
paperback cover
SJ: What do you love most about being a writer? Least?
SJ: What writer inspired you most and how?
Hello one and all! How are you today? I'm back and hope everyone is doing well and happy! Welcome back to my writing blog page where I try to share whatever I think may interest you. Today I interview another fellow author. I love meeting other authors and promoting them. It's so much fun. Why talk about myself when there are so many wonderful authors out there and everywhere waiting to share with us. With me this time is human rights activist, S. E. Nelson.
Photo of S.E. Nelson
S.E Nelson works as a Consultant for the United
Nations, and for SIMA which stands for Social Impact Media Awards. She is a published author of two award-winning novels. Her first novel
"Nightmare Along the River Nile" is set in Uganda and Sudan. It is a
story about a student who was abducted by the LRA and sold into slavery. The
second novel "The Helpers" which is set in Democratic Republic of
Congo, Europe and United States, is an International tale of espionage and
corruption. “The Helpers” had now been made into a series. She is an advocate
of human rights issues like anti human trafficking, protection of war children
and child education. As a child, Nelson experienced wars caused by various
regime changes in Uganda before moving to the United States. Since then she has worked in Europe, Africa and
United States.
SJ: If it’s all right with you, S.E, I’d like to begin with your
advocacy for human rights and anti- human trafficking. You’re not the only
author I’ve heard that has breached this subject, but still I barely hear about
it. How big of a problem is human trafficking in our modern age?
SEN: My novel "Nightmare Along the River
Nile" is about war and human trafficking. The latter being the dominant
factor. The story was inspired by actual events that happened to many young
boys and girls in northern Uganda in the 1990s. The story was conceived from
many interviews that were conducted with survivors and former child soldiers
who managed to escape the LRA. Kony the leader of the LRA had terrorized
families in northern Uganda for more than a decade when I started writing this
story. In was well known that he and his soldiers took girls to be their sex
slaves. What was not known was that when he ran out money he started selling
some of the people he abducted. All this was conducted in the bush so little
was known about it.
I have
always been concerned with human rights because I grew up seeing hardship and inequities
which disturbed me. Working for the UN was a way of trying to contribute in
helping the developing world. My interest in Human Trafficking started while
writing the book. Like most people I thought slavery was a thing of the past.
When I got involved in the cause, I discovered that at present the world has
over 27 million people in all forms of slavery which include: forced labor like
child labor, adult labor, domestic labor and sex trafficking.
ebook cover.
Book Blurb from Nightmare Along the River Nile: (A Story of Twentieth Century
Slavery)
Written in simple
English from an African perspective and in an African voice, this award-winning
story will tug at your heartstrings. Edgar is heading home to visit his mother
after finishing high school exams, when rebels belonging to the Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA) ambush his bus. Edgar and other passengers, most of whom are
students, are abducted and taken to the LRA headquarters deep in the mountains
of southern Sudan. He finds himself caught up in a nightmare he never imagined
and his life is forever changed.
Edgar's friends learn
of his fate and embark on a challenging and unpredictable rescue mission full
of twists and turns. Can they find the strength to continue the difficult
search? Can Edgar's faith sustain him long enough to escape the hell he is in?
Find out in this compelling narrative about a young man and his loyal friends
whose story will remain with you for a long time to come.
Paperback cover.
SJ:) Can you briefly tell us more about SIMA? What is the Social
Impact Media Awards and what it is you do with them?
SEN: SIMA is the first documentary and
educational impact media competition that awards members of both the
independent film and global humanitarian industries. It has grown to become an
international film program and collection, curating the best impact cinema.
SIMA is like the Academy awards but the recipients are film makers who create
works about social justice, human rights and humanitarian development. SIMA
awards creative visual storytelling that inspire activism, compassion and
social transformation. My job is to connect SIMA with the UN entities, other
organizations and individuals who want to partner with SIMA as donors or want
to screen films for their events.
SJ: What was your inspiration for your two books? No doubt your
job with the UN and SIMA influence your writing. Can you tell us a little bit
of how the idea came about? What was your inspiration?
SEN: I was working with the UN when I started
writing but not with SIMA. Unlike most writers, writing was not something that
I pursued. I was aware of what the LRA were doing in northern Uganda and I had
a lot of compassion for affected people but I did not feel connected in the
beginning. The story about the children
and young adults who were escaping the LRA and coming back with horrifying
firsthand accounts fell into my lap, and I felt compelled to write it. When I
started writing I discovered that there more stories to tell and I continued
writing.
ebook cover
Book Blurb from The Helpers: (An International Tale of Espionage and Corruption)
American journalist,
Jenny Osborne, will not let fear stop her from getting a story. She is
determined to report on the war between the government of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) and the rebels that is causing political and social
turbulence within the country. But after she and her photojournalist, John
Spencer, arrive in Kinshasa, they soon discover that things are not as they
seem.
Monsieur Lance
Lemmand, a veteran French Intelligence Officer in DRC, suspects the hand of The
Helpers in the current political unrest. He enlists his protégé, the brilliant
and handsome Pierre-Jean Philippe, to help him investigate. When Kai, a local
schoolgirl, who is hiding a deep dark, secret, decides to take action, she
seeks out Jenny for help. Kai gives Jenny damaging information that could bring
down The Helpers. But can Jenny survive long enough to fulfill her duty to Kai
and fight her feelings for Pierre, while trying to achieve her ultimate goal?
"The
Helpers" find out that Jenny has obtained damaging information about them,
they go after her with a vengeance. They will stop at nothing to prevent Jenny
from exposing them. Jenny finds herself on the run, caught in a web of
intrigue, espionage and assassinations, spanning from Congo to Europe, and as
far reaching as the United States. Her only hope is to find Lance and Pierre.
But will they find her before it is too late? Or will "The Helpers"
silence them once and for all.
paperback coverSJ: What do you love most about being a writer? Least?
SEN: I am an avid reader. I love reading and
escaping into the story. Writing is like that for me. I enjoy the escapism of
writing, creating scenarios, characters and setting. It takes two years or more to complete the
novel since I only write during my free time and I have to do a lot of
research, but I enjoy the entire process of writing.
Because of the types of books I would say that
the downside is the emotional toll it takes to go deep into the characters
state of mind and try to portray it honestly. Writing about Kai’s experiences
in “The Helpers” was very difficult. I tried to omit some scenes but my
developer insisted that I had to make the story real. This was tough.
Similarly writing about Edgar’s journey in “Nightmare
Along the River Nile” was gut-wrenching. At the time most of the survivors
didn’t want to tell their stories as they were afraid of retaliation from the
LRA. The journey as described by survivors was
treacherous. Many family members and friends of the captured youths attempted
to bring them back, but few were successful. The tough part was making
characters that were interesting, since the subject matter is very serious. No
matter how many times I re-wrote or edited the story, some scenes disturbed me.
SEN: There
are too many to list because I love all kinds of genre. I would say that the
authors that inspired me when I was younger were: Robert Ludlum, Sidney
Sheldon, Chinua Achebe, Charles Dickens, Ian Fleming and Erle Stanley Gardner.
The other authors that I really like are: Dan Brown, Tom Clancy, John Grisham,
James Patterson, Jeffery Archer and David Baldacci. Sometimes I indulge in the
juicy books written by Jackie Collins, Judith McNaught, Danielle Steele
and many others. These days I read a lot of books by self-published authors.
SEN:Just do
it, but it’s important to have professionals evaluate your work before you put
it on sale. Get a good Developmental Editor and Proofreader. After the book is on sale, get ready to face
a tough road ahead as you may spend more time promoting your books than writing
if you want your work to be read. Do not let bad reviews affect you. It comes
with the territory. Not everyone is going to see your work the way you do.
SJ: In closing, what is a favorite book you enjoyed reading and
would recommend without hesitation? Why?
SEN: Most people
who read my books will not believe this but as I mentioned before I am an avid
reader. I read books of almost every genre except erotica. “Chances” by Jackie
Collins is one book that stands out for me but I can’t tell you why (technically)
since I have read and loved thousands of books. There are others that I recall not wanting to
put down but since you wanted one, “Chances” is my choice. The book was
satisfying, like the feeling you get after a good thanksgiving meal. The miniseries
was okay but not as good as the book.
Thanks S.E. for taking time out to visit with us. Thank you readers for doing the same. It's been fun as usual. I love speaking with other writers and sharing their insight with others, especially readers. Each visit is a learning experience for me. I hope it is for you, too.
Readers, to learn more about Eva, her
writing, books, and human rights issues she cares about check out her website:
And don’t forget to catch her Book Trailer
for 'Nightmare along the River Nile' - www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw-3H5oLBbk
You can also find S.E. all over the internet. Here are her
connections:
Twitter accounts: Personal
@Nelson_SE
Human
rights @SENHumanRights
Facebook fan page
Human Rights -
http://www.facebook.com/SENBooks
Goodreads and Shelfari social forum
for readers and authors.
YouTube
Thank you for visiting
with us. Until next month...every one please stay safe. Smile. Be happy. Show
compassion. Be nice to others. Put a little love into your heart. Please speak
up for those without a voice, whether it be a dog, cat, elephant or
monkey. One person, one voice can make a
difference. May all your wishes come true.
Regards,
S. J. Francis
Advocate for the
underdog, and cat, et al.
In Shattered Lies: "It's All About Family." Coming in 2015 from Black Opal Books.
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I'm a registered blogger for the South Carolina Literacy Celebration.
Literacy changes everything.
Imagine not being able to read and understand these words.
The purpose of the South Carolina Literacy Celebration is to provide an outlet for authors to sign books, meet fans, and discuss the importance of their work. This event will include 20-45 authors. This is a mainstream event for all authors. They are anticipating a large crowd this year. This event will also include workshops and readings that are free and open to the public. For more information or updates, for both authors and readers, please follow on twitter at @literacysc, Facebook, and the official website: http://scliteracycelebration.com
And now for some legal stuff: Copyright 2015 by S.J. Francis. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, S. J. Francis and the guest author and are meant to entertain, inform and enlighten, and intend to offend no one.
