A Prose Odyssey

One thing has been constant every year when my birthday comes around. My mother awakens me from sleep with a phone call shortly after midnight to wish me a happy birthday and ask how old I have turned. This year however, I only received the call after 9am. In fact I didn't get any other birthday wish before 9am apart from my wife who was just beside me. Of course it’s nice being wished a happy birthday as early as possible into the day as it sends a message that you have been thought of. Not the kind of birthday wishes emanating from Facebook generated birthday reminders.

However, if the birthday boy is a married man like myself it’s better for everyone to wait for sun rise before those phone calls start pouring in, lest an ex-girlfriend who isn't updated by the change in marital status makes that midnight birthday wish as well. Lo and behold, this blog is not about birthday wishes or who should give them at what time. The passing of my birthday this year ignited a fire to commernce a writing peregrination. I have embarked on an odyssey in prose. This is an odyssey to publish three books and a script for a TV show.

I do not know how and when this will happen, but the journey was born on 7 November 2013. By the way, my good friend Moonga Mkandawire launches his book, Where to now? The book will be launched, 14^th November 2013 with a live concert at The Fringe, Joburg theatre. His book is an anthology of lyrics and the journey that inspired them. The book’s message is about building life on talent. Apparently, I get the greatest inspiration not from the likes of Martin Luther King jnr or Geoffrey Archer, but my very closest friends. The timing of Moonga’s book launch coincides, or comes exactly 7 days after a birthday when I challenged myself to begin work on three books. I have always envisaged myself one day authoring a book and frankly, I now have extra motivation. 

Plenty inspiration! Moonga Mkandawire launches his book,
Where to now?, at the Fringe, Joburg theatre

The TV Story – This was born out of an idea I typed for publishing on my blog site. After I read through, I thought it still needed more creative ideas on it. It has never been published on my blog site as later on I decided it would do well as a TV series story. It’s a story so great that I can barely risk revealing even the title for fear that someone else might swoop in and try to steal the idea. I will commence the process of copyrighting immediately then I can publish snippets of it. Then again, this is ground I have never trudged so I will open my ears as wide as possible and try and learn as much as possible from the professionals in the film industry on how I can go ahead with this.  Unfortunately, the reality of being a rookie in the film industry alters the entire plot a bit but I am determined to soldier on and have as much material as possible even if no one buys into it.

Book 1 – This is what others have called autobiographies. Autobiographies are for famous people though, my book will be a retrospective look into the major highs and lows of my life. The exciting times and the challenging times, including insight into decisions I took when faced with certain situations and what my decision would have been looking back now. This book will not be published until after I turn 40. Nevertheless, I have started the journey.

Book 2 – This is a fiction novel, inspired by true events. Only a title and story line have been written in my diary. All the plots and excitement will be written down and typed in due course. Despite not having started work on this book, it will be the first of the three books to be published.

Book 3 – This is another book inspired by events in my life. It is themed around finding the light in our darkest moments.  It will discuss mainly the struggles of growing up without a father. Other topics to be discussed include, parenting out of a marriage setup, sibling or parental alcoholism –its effects and most importantly, how we can avoid being trapped in the same vice. It is largely based on personal experiences and how the reactions we give lead to different results.

The outline has been mapped, what remains is to see when the first book will be published. It’s not a sprint but it is a marathon. My passion for writing began long ago when as a little boy; I’d stare for long periods, at The Accusing Finger, a book authored by my cousin Nyambe Wina. Every time he came home, I’d tell him I’d one day be a writer like him. Over time the passion waned, and like water waves formed after a dinghy cruises past, I recaptured the passion again. Recently, I have sought to satiate my passion for writing by maintaining the blog-site;
http://www.patricenambayo.blogspot.com.

So when on my birthday I decided to embark on this ambitious odyssey in prose, it seemed like a fulfillment of a good year. My passion is telling stories in ink.  In recent years, I find myself not as excited as I used to be years ago, when my birth date approached. It is now just another day, except I’d have added one more year to my age. I have outlived the age when a birthday excited me; maybe I have got to that part of life when I need to find more meaning to life and my existence. I have heard of the much talked about mid-life crisis, and at times I wonder if it has caught up with me. It definitely isn't that though.

The loss of my elder brother on 28^th June 2008 contributed to this situation. My brother and I, though ten years apart shared the same birthday and we always celebrated our birthday together. He was like a twin brother to me (just older). The likeness in us could not be mistaken. I actually recently came to learn that my mother had really wanted to have at least a set of twins. Though she never got any, I reckon the situation of Patrick Aongola and yours truly served as a great consolation. Writing is that other missing part of the jig saw to fulfillment of self in me. 

Patrick Aongola (circled in red), pictured here in this
1989 photograph taken by Nyambe Wina

As I embark on this ambitious prose odyssey, I’d like to reflect on the words of my good friend Keith Hamundyoli Hamusute. These were words he put on my blog site as words of encouragement to me after I had published my first ever blog.

“All I can do is encourage you to continue writing and reading. I believe you are never completely free as a writer till you vent out. Whether it is to an audience of one (yourself), three or thousands doesn't really matter. What matters is that your story is told, from your eyes, from your perspective.”