Midlist Writer: Preparing for two months in Ethiopia

Thursday, 17 February 2011

Preparing for two months in Ethiopia

In ten days I'll be on a flight to Ethiopia. This will be my second time in the country. Last year my wife and I did a big road trip in Ethiopia for our tenth anniversary and I also did a side trip to Somaliland.

While that last trip was more of a survey of the two countries, this time I'm focusing on just one place--Harar. This medieval walled city in eastern Ethiopia has a unique culture that's a mix of the many different societies it has interacted with in its role as a major trading center. I'll be studying its culture and history to write a long series for Gadling as well as a book proposal.

So what am I doing to get ready? Not much, actually. On this sort of trip you just have to let things happen. My contacts in Harar will help me with my research and it's such a friendly place that I know everything will work out fine, more or less. I'm doing a lot of background reading, of course, sucking up every bit of information I can on the city and region. Sadly, there's not as much in English as there should be for such an important city. That's where I come in.

I'm also not worrying about the subject matter of my book proposal. I know it's going to be about some aspect of Harari culture, but I haven't decided what. While I have dozens of ideas I'm going to follow the advice of a Harari friend and let the subject choose me. Who I meet and what they teach me will shape my book. When a writer goes into a major project, it's best not to have too strict of an idea where it should lead.

1 comment:

Donna Volkenannt said...: Hi Sean,
Sounds like an amazing journey awaits you. Enjoy your adventure and stay safe.
Donna V.
http://donnasbookpub.blogspot.com; 17 February 2011 at 09:12

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

The Case of the Purloined Pyramid

The Last Hotel Room

He came to Tangier to die, but life isn’t done with him yet. Tom Miller has lost his job, his wife, and his dreams. Broke and alone, he ends up in a flophouse in Morocco, ready to end it all. But soon he finds himself tangled in a web of danger and duty as he’s pulled into scamming tourists for a crooked cop while trying to help a Syrian refugee boy survive life on the streets. Can a lifelong loser do something good for a change? A portion of my royalties will go to a charity for Syrian refugees.

Warpath into Sonora

Arizona 1846: Nantan, a young Apache warrior, is building a name for himself by leading raids against Mexican ranches to impress his war chief, and the chief’s lovely daughter. But there is one thing he and all other Apaches fear—a ruthless band of Mexican scalp hunters who slaughter entire villages. Nantan and his friends have sworn to fight back, but they are inexperienced, and led by a war chief driven mad with a thirst for revenge. Can they track their tribe’s worst enemy into unknown territory and defeat them?

Radio Hope

In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . . A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son. A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump. The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command. One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.

Refugees from the Righteous Horde (Toxic World Book 2)

When you only have one shot, you better aim true. In a ravaged world, civilization’s last outpost is reeling after fighting off the fanatical warriors of the Righteous Horde. Sheriff Annette Cruz becomes New City’s long arm of vengeance as she sets off across the wildlands to take out the cult’s leader. All she has is a sniper’s rifle with one bullet and a former cultist with his own agenda. Meanwhile, one of the cult’s escaped slaves makes a discovery that could tear New City apart. . . Refugees from the Righteous Horde continues the Toxic World series started in Radio Hope, an ongoing narrative of humanity’s struggle to rebuild the world it ruined.

The Scavenger

In a world shattered by war, pollution, and disease, a lone scavenger discovers a priceless relic from the Old Times. The problem is, it's stuck in the middle of the worst wasteland he knows--a contaminated city inhabited by insane chem addicts and vengeful villagers. Only his wits, his gun, and an unlikely ally can get him out alive. Set in the Toxic World series introduced in the novel Radio Hope, this 10,000-word story explores more of the dangers and personalities that make up a post-apocalyptic world that's all too possible.

Trench Raiders

September 1914: The British Expeditionary Force has the Germans on the run, or so they think. After a month of bitter fighting, the British are battered, exhausted, and down to half their strength, yet they’ve helped save Paris and are pushing toward Berlin. Then the retreating Germans decide to make a stand. Holding a steep slope beside the River Aisne, the entrenched Germans mow down the advancing British with machine gun fire. Soon the British dig in too, and it looks like the war might grind down into deadly stalemate. Searching through No-Man’s Land in the darkness, Private Timothy Crawford of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry finds a chink in the German armor. But can this lowly private, who spends as much time in the battalion guardhouse as he does on the parade ground, convince his commanding officer to risk everything for a chance to break through?