Interview with Poet Balthazar Rodrigue Nzomono-Balenda

Balthazar Rodrigue Nzomono-Balenda has written two books, The Depth of My Soul and 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.

We interviewed Balthazar to find out more about his new book, The Depth of My Soul, and his life as a published author.

Thank you for this interview, Balthazar. Can you tell us briefly what your latest book, The Depth of My Soul, is all about?

It is a book of poetry and in the book; I focus on injustices such as wars, corruption, war crimes, religious fundamentalism, child abuse, dictatorship, relationship problems etc. When I wrote this book, I was also inspired by the news I watch on CNN and other media. 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.

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.

Can you tell us who or what was the inspiration behind your book?

The idea behind the book is to bring awareness about certain things our politicians sometimes take for granted. Things like war crimes, genocides, corruption, religious fanaticism, dictatorship, civil wars, xenophobia etc. The reasons why our politicians take these things for granted sometimes, it because they put national interests over human lives. In my book, I also talk about life, relationship problems, child abuse, torture the fight freedom, hope, peace and justice. There lots of people who have inspired me. People like Christiane Amanpour, Nelson Mandela, Miriam Makeba, Martin Luther King, Nicolas Sarkozy, Barrack Obama, Patt Condell etc. They give me the desire to share lots of interesting themes with the readers.

Is this your first published book and if so, can you tell us your experiences in finding a publisher for it?

Yes, it is my first book and I have had tough experiences finding a publisher in Denmark and other countries who could accept me. In United States, there were publishers who only allow published author who are resident in United States and Canada and it is a challenge for me and there were times where I lost the motivation. However, my eyes were keeping to dig deeper and I discovered the opportunities, I-proclaim could offer to authors, but I was very skeptic the first time. Their publishers to whom you have to pay so that you can get your book published and you have to pay from the book cover to many other things and I just could not afford it.

How has I-Proclaim been to work with?

Yes, they are worth to work with because they always help when you don't understand. When something is wrong, they let you know and they help you focus on solutions so that you can make progress. I-Proclaim gives you guidelines for your book promotion and I am forever grateful to them. I am looking forward to publish more books with I-Proclaim.

Do you have an agent?

No, I don't have an agent

Can you tell us how long it took you to write your book and also how long it took from the time I-Proclaim sent the contract and the time it was released?

It took me over 6 months to write my first book and I-Proclaim released it in January 9th. I was glad like a little kid.

Do you have any words of inspiration from other writers who would like to be wearing your shoes?

Being a writer is not just about writing a book, but reaching out to readers. Sometimes, it can be tough to find a publisher who is willing to value your talent as a writer, but don't quit. You can be what you want to be if you set your mind into what you're doing. Even if you have been published by a publisher, it is your responsibility to promote your book and it is going to require a lot of hard work from your part or mostly from you. If you have a hard time promoting your book, listen to those who have an experience in the branch and learn from them.

I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in April via a virtual book tour. Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?

I chose virtual book tour because I don't have an experience promoting a book. I have not been successful promoting my book, even though I try hard. With Pump Up Your Book Promotion, I am receiving guidelines from Dorothy Thompson who is an awesome encourager and a strong optimist. It makes me me glad.

What´s next for you?

My second book, The Struggle for Power and the Fight for Survival has been published and it is about free speech, greed, religious fundamentalism, the financial crisis, and other circumstances we face on this planet. The main idea is free speech and the right to criticize a religion like Islam and others. In the book, I am making a point criticizing a religion does not make you racist, rude, or xenophobic and free speech is the most important value in the First world. I am going to write more books this year and they are going to be non-fiction books and a fiction book.

Thank you for this interview, Balthazar. Can you tell us how we can find out more about you and your new book?

My book can be found in I-proclaim.com and they have a bookstore, which is

http://i-proclaimbookstore.com/.

The url of my book is : http://store.i-proclaimbookstore.com/depthofmysoul.html.

You can find out more about Balthazar by visiting his website at www.ganymedeweb.com.