This morning I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Joshua N’Gon: Last Prince of Alkebulahn and sharing a guest post from the author, Anthony Hewitt.
A FOSTER KID WAKES UP ON HIS 10th BIRTHDAY AND IS TOLD HE’S THE LAST PRINCE OF AN ADVANCED ALIEN CIVILISATION? YOU’D EXPECT HIM TO HAVE QUESTIONS RIGHT?
Joshua N’Gon: Last Prince of Alkebulahn is a Thrilling YA contemporary sci-fi novel with a hero from the Council Estates of North London.
LONDON, U.K. January 2018 — When you ask Anthony why he’s so passionate about heroes and diversity, he talks about his earliest success and the lesson he learnt about the real world.
“At seven my Headmaster gave me my first gold star for a graphic novel written on lined paper with corresponding action figures, car chases and helicopters. When my English teacher congratulated me, and pointed to a figure – actually a stick man whose face had been coloured in to represent me. He asked.
‘Who is this fella in the thick of things?”
“That’s me,” I answered excitedly.
My teacher laughed.
“That can’t be you,” he said. “You’re not a hero.” It felt funny being denied impact in my own story, even then. But I never accepted it. And ever since I’ve been creating heroes like me but never one so young.”
The YA market is exploding with fantastic stories and memorable characters that have become household names in the pop culture landscape. Anthony asked himself what could he add to the mix that isn’t just more of the same but different.
“How about a story from an ethnically diverse perspective?” He laughed. “That would be a good place to start.”
Calling on his love for comics and animation he wanted the Last Prince to be a cross between Marvel’s Black Panther, Hannah Barbara’s Johnnie Quest & Disney’s Phineas & Ferb.
“I wanted to write a book that I would love to read back when I was a teenager and now that I’m an adult. I’m hoping I’ve gone some way to achieving that.”
About the Author
Anthony has been writing for over 15 years. Mainly writing for mature readers his genre of choice has always been speculative fiction. The YA category is such an exciting category that he wanted to include a diverse set of characters with a different cultural perspective. He’s enjoyed himself so much, he intends to keep creating fantastic new stories for a 12+ audience.
About the Book
Joshua N’Gon: Last Prince of Alkebulahn is an exciting Young Adult Contemporary sci-fi tale, that poses the question of who we are and what our contribution to the world will be. Joshua N’Gon knows he has inherited unbelievable powers of invention and even knows he belongs to a mysterious and technologically advanced family in Africa. What he doesn’t understand is why he grew up apart from them? Who is he really? What made them choose a Council Estate in North London with Maria and Fredrick as his foster parents? And why are shadowy forces trying to abduct him?
Joshua N’Gon: Last Prince of Alkebulahn is published by Marksman Studios and available from Amazon
Sarah Withers Blogs 
Pingback: The Sunday Post – 28th January 2018 | Sarah Withers Blogs