J.L Campbell Give Away On Black History Month

Here is another Giveaway  for your reading pleasure. Its Black History Month in the States and I just cannot let February go by without piggybacking on it by mentioning some fabulous black writers. Today I say big ups to Jamaican writer J.L Campbell. I won't go on too much about J.L because you all know how much I adore her writing. The fact that I have 13 J.L related posts on this blog is testament enough I think. She is one of the most talented writers you will ever come across and I hope the whole world will get to enjoy her work much sooner than later. 

J.L in her generosity has sponsored my Give-away with a signed paperback copy of her best selling book: Contraband and 5 eBook copies of  her collection of short stories: Don't Get Mad Get Even. You can find my reviews of these two books here: J.L Campbell Reviews.

For your enjoyment I've posted one of my favourite excerpts from Don't Get Mad Get Even. This is just a sneak preview to this unbelievably wonderful collection. Enjoy and then don't forget to enter the competition at the bottom of the post.

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ENTRAPMENT 

We went under cover of night. I was too dazed to remember exactly where we went. My body shook and my bones rattled in the back of the taxi as we manoeuvred a rutted track, somewhere in St. Mary. 

A dim light bulb lit the compound, which sat on the lip of a low hill. I shivered as a light wind danced over my skin. Bottles of all shapes and sizes stood guard around the property, like inanimate soldiers. The banana and mango trees lining the perimeter of the yard chilled my blood every time the leaves rustled. I was sure evil beings lurked in the darkness shrouding the roots of the plants and trees. 

The racket from the rickety gate must have alerted the woman inside. The door opened and a stooped figure stood silhouetted by the light. “Come,” she said. 

She led us down a dark passage, past several doors. The corridor opened into a clustered room, where the air was stale. She invited us to sit, before saying anything else. 

She made herself comfortable and I saw then how old she was. At a guess, I’d say she was somewhere between eighty and a hundred, give or take a few years. Her scrawny hands rested in her lap. The veins, running every which way, reminded me of knotted tree roots. Her sharp eyes sucked in everything about us. A glance at my mother, huddled next to me, confirmed that she was just as terrified.

The lack of teeth distorted the woman’s words. “Why you come to see Miss Jewel?”

Fearful or not, my mother hadn’t lost her spunk. “You is di obeah woman. You must know why we come.”

Miss Jewel’s mouth opened to loose words that set my scalp crawling. “What I know is dat di woman him married to won’t stop ’til she kill him.”

Mummy slid me a sideways look that said she knew this all along and I was the foolish one who refused to believe the obvious. I shrank in my seat, but composed myself when Miss Jewel stared at me out of eyes as black as naseberry seeds and continued to tell me things that made my testicles shrivel and crowd close to my body. I don’t recall much after she opened a square of cloth resembling the skin of some hapless animal, but eventually, she provided what she called a ‘never-fail’ potion and told me not to worry. But her sly grin, coupled with some hidden knowledge in her eyes, made me uneasy. 

Author's note: The book comes with a glossary of Jamaican terms to help with unfamiliar words

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 Two Simple Rules apply:

1. To stand a chance to win 1 of 5 Don't Get Mad Get Even eBooks you must leave a comment below.
2. To stand a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Contraband you must comment below and be the entrant with the most share links. ( This means you must leave links to your Twitter, FB, My Space, Goodreads. Bookblog.ning, etc forums where you have shared this post. Every bit of marketing helps the author out.)

Important Information:
A _ This Giveaway will be open  until February 28th. Winners will be announced on the 29th.

C_ For book descriptions click on the Amazon links below.
B_ This Giveaway is International. Yipeee!!!