ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Balthazar Rodrigue Nzomono-Balenda ( August 29, 1981), known as Rodrigue or Balthazar is a French - born Danish author and he is originally from the Republic of the Congo. Balthazar was born in Oullins, which is a suburb in Lyon, in France and his parents were diplomats in South Africa, before he and his family moved to Denmark. His parents, André & Rose Nzomono-Balenda were diplomats under the mandate of the former Congolese president, Pascal Lissouba. In 1997,there was civil war in the Congo As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou camps mounted. On June 5, President Lissouba's government forces surrounded Sassou's compound in Brazzaville and Sassou ordered members of his private militia (known as "Cobras") to resist. Thus began a four-month conflict that destroyed or damaged much of Brazzaville and caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths.
Balthazar has written 2 books, "The Depth of My Soul" & "The Struggle of Power & The Fight for Survival". He is a multimedia designer and a student at the Nordic Multimedia Academy ( NOMA). Balthazar identifies himself as a French – born Congolese because he is more connected with the Congo and France than Denmark. He speaks French, English, Lingala, Norwegian, Danish, partially German, Dutch and Afrikaans. Balthazar learns Chinese and Japanese in his spare time, he writes poems, he paints, he goes out and enjoys himself. Balthazar is also a member of the International Society of Poets, which runs poetry.com and he sometimes publishes poems at poetry.com. There will be more books from him this year.
You can visit his website at www.ganymedeweb.com
ABOUT THE BOOK:
It is a book of poetry and in the book; I focus on injustices such as wars, corruption, war crimes, religious fundamentalism, child abuse, other types of abuse, torture, dictatorship, relationship problems etc. When I wrote this book, I was also inspired by the news I watch on CNN and other media. I have learned lots of things from CNN and I am so grateful to them for so many things. The goal of this book is to share my approach with my readers about the problems we face in this world and also to hear from them.
Change for our societies
Whether we like it or not these problems are real and I believe that everyone of us can make a change in our societies. Time after time, our leaders promise that those who stand behind war crimes will face justice, but when they are warned about the problems, they do not listen. I do wander if the national interests come above reaching out to people who are in pain and those who have been victims of torture and oppression.
Abuse
In the book, I also talk about child abuse because I was a victim of many types of abuse, when I was a young kid and I have not still overcome that pain. I have gone through reaction and insults and I thought religion was the answer to overcome such a horrible experience, but I was wrong. I was raised a Christian and I was a Christian myself and did what Christians do, but I realized that the bible is self contradicted and phony. And I realized that there was never a god who could save me. I can save myself and be a fighter for my life. The message, which I want to send to my readers, is that abusers are cowards and their goal is to find someone whom they can isolate and blame for their problems. To be honest with my readers, my abusive past is the root of my atheism and my hostility toward religion. I was also a victim of psychological abuse and the only I deal with it is by being a hard working person.
Freedom and justice
I focus on the fight for freedom, justice and peace and hope for our countries, especially in the situation where we are dealing with the financial crisis because hope is the engine of optimism. Freedom is important because in our Western societies, we enjoy so much freedom and we still need to support those who do have freedom because if we don’t help those who don’t have any freedom, then we’re giving dictators wings to fly. When they fly, they oppress their people and find ways to corrupt some multinational companies so that things can go their way. In order to fight religious fundamentalism, we have do discover why people become religious fanatics and we have to fight for separation between politics and religion. When you mix politics and religion, there are more problems. I have written poems about people like Mandela, Martin Luther King, Kevin Rudd and Miriam Makeba because they are icons of justice.
Poetry
I express myself through poetry because poetry goes beyond logic and I express my emotions about these circumstances. I have published my book at I – Proclaim publishing house, which is an imprint of Dorrance Publishing Company, America’s Leading Author Services Company Since 1920. The publishing house is situated in Pittsburgh PA.
Here's the interview:
Could you please tell us a little about your book?
The name of my book is "The Depth My Soul" and it is a book a book of poetry. In this book, I focus on evil acts such as war crimes, abuse, corruption, dictatorship, xenophobia, religious fanaticism etc. I focus also the importance of fighting for justice, freedom and peace. If you don't cave for justice, you will never get peace in your life.
Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?
Many people whom I know, my family, my friends and acquaintances are interested in getting my book and there are lots of people who have been very positive about my book. Lots of my family members were happy that I became an author because they believe, my book can make a difference in someone's life and this planet.
Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?
I get inspired by people like Christiane Amanpour, Martin Luther King, Kevin Rudd, Nelson Mandela, Miriam Makeba, Lumumba, Patt Condell, Mark Steyn etc. because they are great fighters for freedom, free speech, justice and they bring so much hope, even when things seem to be tough. Christiane Amanpour from CNN does a great job talking about the hardest subjetc of all, genocide. And I have learned so much from her, her team and the rest of CNN anchors as well. It is said that people perish because of the lack of knowledge. I decided to get inspiration from the following documents: Scream Bloody Murder and God's Warriors because I want to share my approach and thoughts about why there are genocides and what impact does religion have when it comes to such evil acts. I heard about my country of origin, the Republic of the Congo go through civil wars because of political instability, just like in most of Africa. That is why I decided to write a book where I express myself through poetry. I am forever grateful to Christiane Amanpour because her documentaries have opened my eyes, even if I am chocked, you ask yourself why in the world as humans could choose to do such evil acts. And why don't we learn from it?
Who is your biggest supporter?
My family and my friends are my biggest supporters because they have always wanted me to succeed. The other biggest supporter is Stephen Ross Meir, the author of Katka. My publisher has also supported me by teaching me about what it takes to promote my books.
Your biggest critic?
I don't know.
What cause are you most passionate about and why?
I am passionate about sharing my views on war crimes and abuse because they are some of the sickest things lots of people go through and very often victims of genocides are other types of abuse: torture, child abuse, human rights abuses, sex crimes, spiritual abuses, and bullying are often ignored because justice has never been served. Personally, justice is something that I am most passionate about because without it, you cannot go further in life. In my opinion lots of religious leaders, especially Christian priest say that justice comes from "God". I find it hard to believe because if there was a god, lots of people who victims of evil acts in both the developed and the developing world wouldn't be ignored. That is why I agree with Christopher Hitchens that god is not great.
In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?
I have improved my ways of making a website and my knowledge on Flash, Photoshop and business has improved. I have improved my knowledge about poetry by learning to improve my ways expressing myself, but I am still under the journey to be fully experienced.
Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?
No I don't have any rituals at all.
Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?
I don't have anyone who has influenced me as a writer.
What is the most important thing in your life right now?
The most important thing in my life right now is to complete my degree as a multimedia designer.
What are you currently working on?
I am working on writing my 3rd book, which is Free Press the Sitting Duck.
Do you have any advice for writers or readers?
If you dream about being an author, go for it and remember that it requires time and hard work. If you experience rejection from a publisher, keep on marching until you find the publisher who values your talents and works. Whether your book is published by a publisher or you are a self – published author, remember that it is your responsibility to promote your books to your audience. Promoting your book requires a lot of hard work and if you just want to write you book to gain millions, you are setting yourself up for deception. Do it because you enjoy it and the rest will come after all. You have something to share with your audience and believe that your book can make a difference somehow in this world. Be original and follow your dreams and your heart. You can be anything you want to be, believe in yourself. Remember that it you has to do most of the work when you promote your book. At the bottom line, it's all about the readers, not you. Think about what makes then happy and what makes them angry. The AIDA model is a helpful tool because it is the acronym of used in marketing that describes a common list of events that are very often undergone when a person is selling a product or service:
l A - Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of the customer.
l I - Interest: raise customer interest by focusing on and demonstrating advantages and benefits (instead of focusing on features, as in traditional advertising)
l D - Desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will satisfy their needs.
l A - Action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing.
Nowadays some have added another letter to form AIDA(S):
l S - Satisfaction - satisfy the customer so they become a repeat customer and give referrals to a product.
Is there an author that inspired you to write?
There has been an author who has inspired me for the moment and it is Barrack Obama, the man of change. But in the future, I will get inspiration from my other favorite writers who are interested in fighting for freedom, justice and democracy in the world.
What are some of your long term goals?
I have lots of longterm goals and to be honest with you and my readers, I will like to publish more books this year. A book of poetry and a couple of non-fiction books. I really hope that one of my books becomes a NY Times' best seller and I hope to be a laureate and get some awards for my book. At the bottom line, I would like to keep focusing on sharing my views on causes that come from my heart with my readers.
What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?
My greatest achievement as an author is to find a publisher who has valued me and my talents and I am forever grateful to I-Proclaim for their support and guidelines.
What do you feel is your biggest strength?
I am a hard working person and I take my life seriously. When I have a goal, I set my mind into it and I give the very best of me so that I can reach the summit.
Biggest weakness?
I get very frustrated and sometimes, I get very angry because I am an impatient person. I feel like I have to live life quick and I have to succeed very quickly because I am getting older and there is so much fear. I always feel like life has to be lived now and when I don't feel success, I get so angry and down because I feel like sometimes things pass me by. I can't stand it when someone says to me that life is a journey. I don't buy it.
What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?
In this book, I am very emotional about the injustices which I see happening in this world and I am a free poet writer. My poems don't have specific categories.
You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?
I know the scenario of being stuck on an island because I am struggling to finish my non-fiction book "Wake the hell up, Africa" because I am looking for an expert who can help be deepens the reasons why Africa is still sleeping. I am also struggling to find pieces of information on the internet.
If you could go back and change one day, what would it be?
It depends on how you see it. If it is about my book, , I could have had better book cover for my first book, I could of added tables of contents, preface, acknowledgements, a conclusion and for my second book, I could of formatted my preface and acknowledgements better and there could of also been tables of contents and a conclusion. For both books, I could of chosen Times New Roman, instead of Arial and I could have been much more vigilant concerning spelling errors . I would like to tell my readers, that I am learning from my mistakes and there will be better books from me this year.
Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?
I am different now than I was, look 5 years back because I met very good friends who are carrying and they are very supportive to me. My family has always encouraged me to succeed. I have become a member of the International High IQ Society, I have won several awards from the ILP ( International Library of Poetry) because my poems have been very often selected as some of the best poems. I have learned from the failures that I went through when I didn't succeed to graduate at the University of Southern Denmark. It was not always easy because i cannot stand failure.
What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?
I have to be selective when I meet new people because you can't be friend with everyone.
Is there anything you regret doing/not doing?
I regret not going deeper with my poems. I regret also meeting a middle aged man from Sweden who took advantage of me and I feel like I have allowed a person who was just trying to convert me to like Macintosh better than Windows, because he hates Bill Gates. And the person was always talking to me about his problems. I regret deeply that I have allowed myself to be too friendly.
What is your favorite past-time?
My favorite past time is making a PS soccer tournament known as the Euro- American Championship (E-A soccer championship or the Trans -Atlantic Championship) , where I put 32 national teams from Europe and the Americas to play against each other. I do it every 3rd or 4th month a year.
I enjoy watching powerful national teams facing each other and it is fun. I am the one who founded this tournament, since 2004. It's my passion when i do nothing.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
My hope is to far with my books and I want to let my readers know that it's all about them, not me. I do this for them and I do this because I feel my books can make a difference in many ways.
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