Tricia Drammeh
Welcome, King Samuel Benson
King Samuel Benson Thank you, Tricia! Are you conducting the interview?
Tricia Drammeh I can. I think Shah has left for the evening. We waited for about 30 minutes and when you didn't appear, Shah assumed you were having problems with your internet service.
King Samuel Benson Yes, I was.
Well, can we get started now?
Tricia Drammeh Before we get started, can you tell us about yourself?
King Samuel Benson My full name is King Samuel Benson. I was born in the '90s. I went to a school in Lagos, a coastal city in Nigeria, West Africa. I started school at the age of 2. Necessity made me self-reliant and, maybe, prematurely ambitious. But I'm just like every other young guy out there. All I wanted was what I never had.
Tricia Drammeh Are you still in Nigeria?
King Samuel Benson Yes, presently I am
Tricia Drammeh Tell us about your novel. What is it about and where did you get the idea for it?
King Samuel Benson 2018 Blood Tournament is a post-apocalyptic story of a dystopian future. In 2015, there was a bloody war. It wasn't an internal war; it wasn't like any war you've ever known. For the first time in the history of man, the whole world has had to come together to combat with external forces that were evidently greater than ours. These were invaders from outer space, but who seemed to know and understand all the ways of man.
The war didn't last for very long - just a year - but long enough to wipe out all the cities of the world.
Now America is no more. Britain has ceased to exist. Japan is history... all the major countries of the world is gone, and in their place is a new city for survivors with a new order of governance and dictatorship. It is called New World! And that is where the story begins. . .
Alex King is a Nigerian youth who suddenly finds himself in District V, Western Region, New World, along with his grieving mother and two surviving sisters.
Mercy Damalie is a Ghanaian teenage girl who finds herself in the same district along with her father.
Johnson is British, and Ibrahim is Iranian, the only son of a district officer.
Fate brings these four youths with diverse backgrounds together in a new, strange world and together they must fight for survival against an oppressive goverment.
Disaster reared its ugly head when Alex King and Mercy Damalie were chosen to represent their district in the 3rd Annual Fight Tournament, a fight-to-death arena battle which takes 40 contestants and releases the last surviving 5. It gets worse when Mercy's father reveals his plan to escape with his only daughter rather than have her killed in the tournament. Alex knows this isn't the best decision because there is really nowhere to escape to and, besides, Alex doesn't want to lose the only girl he has grown to love as his own. If only she knew! Alex lets his feelings for her drive him on and does all he could to persuade Mercy's father not to take her away, even as far as making a solemn promise to return from the tournament with her alive.
Alex has taken an oath, for Mercy's father and for his own distraught mother. They both will go to the Fight Tournament - he and Mercy - and they both will return alive.
But as the day for the tournament approaches, when they arrived at their training grounds and Alex sees the other 38 bigger and stronger youths he was suppose to kill to stay alive, his heart begins to fail him. Now Alex isn't sure he can keep his promises anymore.
As for where I got the idea, I've always contemplated the scenarios and actually daydreamed a world like that. The success of Suzanne Collins 'The Hunger Games' was the last urge I needed.
Tricia Drammeh Definitely sounds like a fascinating plot. I can see why it would remind some people of The Hunger Games.
Tricia Drammeh Is your book part of a series?
King Samuel Benson Yes, yes it is The 2nd book in the 2018 series should've been released by now, but I'm writing another different novel as well. This one is written in first person. I hope to release both titles at the same time
Tricia Drammeh What is the other novel about?
King Samuel Benson It's about a very young, enthusiast writer and brilliant entrepreneur who rose to success very quickly. But there is something odd about him - he's felt somewhat strange all his life. Strange, vivid dreams of some far-off places, memories of events andplaces that are not here and now.
He lives alone, and his closest companion is his female lawyer who is also his personal assistant.
He has an exciting business prospect with a large corporation that is affiliated with two other larger companies with a promise of a brighter future, and everything seems to be going well. . . until he received a call one fateful morning from a strange lady who knew his mobile number and home address. That was when the trouble began. . .
It is a novel that is full of oddities and paranormal circumstances. You might call it a mystery, but I'll say "a mysterious urban fantasy." The location is Lagos, Nigeria.
Tricia Drammeh Who are your favorite authors?
King Samuel Benson Hmmm. . . That is one tough one. I'm not sure I have a favourite author, but there are authors I've read and would love to re-read again. John Hardley Chase, for one. But I've only read 'Hit and Run'. There's Robert Crais, and James Herriot, I think my favourite
I love Deborah Benet, too. And Nora Roberts.
Tricia Drammeh What inspires you to write?
King Samuel Benson Just about everything, but mostly it's in my ability to be able to pour out my fantasies and wildest imaginations. There are so many lives I want to live at the same time, and so many worlds that I'd love to explore. But we only have so much time in our lives. Writing them helps me test out those other lives.
But what actually inspires me to write lies in the innermost part of my being. It's because I want to leave a legacy.
Tricia Drammeh Where do you want to be (in terms of career) five years from now?
King Samuel Benson Comfortably heading the new ebook promotion/services company I'm working on now, and being satisfied in the knowledge that my books are earning me more than the average banker does, while at the same time influencing lives and increasing my fanbase.
Tricia Drammeh Do you have other ventures besides writing?
King Samuel Benson I sure do! One of them I just mentioned. And besides that, I'm into computers. I'm still planning to enter the University, possibly this year.
Tricia Drammeh King Samuel Benson, it was wonderful talking to you about your work and I hope we can continue the conversation soon. I wish you the best of luck and all the success you deserve. Thank you, Shah, for setting up the event.
King Samuel Benson Talk about a note of suspense, lol.
Well, it was a wonderful time with you, Tricia. And my thanks extends to Shah as well.
I look forward to another session with Spotlight.
I'd also like to say a special thank you to all the guests, and to those who have 'listened in'. Thank you so much for your time. I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavours.
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