Screen shot of all 90 pages of artwork! |
If you have been following this blog over the past year and half, you have read about how hard it was to get this far. Needless to say, I am relieved. Although coloring is not easy, I do not feel the same pressure I did to get from concept, to pencil and to inking.
Now I can continue with the character diaries, trying to get a literary agent and making up for all the income and social life lost while I focused on this part of the project. Working on this project came during the worst time in my life with mental illness nearly tearing my family into shreds. As a friend told me: Life is born in the darkness of the womb.
That brings up the topic of the social impact Badin and the Secret of the Saami could have upon the world (especially in Sweden). This is a story about real people that existed in Sweden during the years of 1761-1762. But the story is fictional. Hence, the classification: Historical fiction. The only fictional main character is Gaaktu. However, his culture—South Saami—is not fictional.
The Saami people have survived ethnic cleansing and genocide over the millennia. They have played an important role in the history of Sweden. Yet they are not always treated as such. South Saami are especially important in that they are very few in number and have always had a stronger presence in the more populated parts of Sweden.
Badin and Gaaktu to very important to the progress of the story—and in modern day Sweden, Europe and the United States. There Blacks that live there now have an opportunity to learn about the ancient history and traditions of the Saami people. That could help them to make Sweden a better place for all people. How? It is not a simple answer. However, if one keeps an open mind and heart, it will reveal itself. Hopefully, Badin and the Secret of the Saami will inspire a relationship between those considered as foreigners and the indigenous people.
May 1, 2017 is the scheduled release date for Badin and the Secret of the Saami. New fascinating and fun character diaries are uploaded every other week. Two more Mini-Sagas are already finished and being edited for release before that time. If you have not read the first two, you don't know what you're missing! Buy the Mini-Sagas through Lulu at the Badin and the Secret of the Saami website.