Book Cover
Woodbridge, VA (BlackNews.com) - Sisyphean Tasks, LLC announced today that Black American (Amreekie Aswad) in the Desert Kingdom author Luther Burch, Jr., who writes under the pseudonym Sumanth, will be interviewed by Colin Jobe on his Toronto, Canada based Internet Radio Show "Colin's Edge" on Wednesday December 2, 2009 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST. The following link can be pasted into a browser window to gain access to the show Wednesday evening: www.blogtalkradio.com/colinsedge/2009/12/03/blackamericaninthedesert
Black American (Amreekie Aswad) in the Desert Kingdom is a romantic adventure story based in large part on the author's experiences during the five years he spent in Saudi Arabia in the decade before the first Gulf War.
The novel tells the story of Black American, Adam Sneed, Jr., who in the spring of 1979 is recruited to work on a large modernization project underway in Saudi Arabia. After six months of orientation and preparation, Adam's flight is set for November 9. Two days before his departure some surprising news comes to his attention. Black slavery only ended in Arabia merely 17 years earlier in 1962. Adam had no idea a Black Saudi Community existed. He looks forward to meeting them even though he realizes every Black Saudi he meets who is older than 17 years of age will be a former slave. How are these former slaves faring with newly granted freedom and Saudi citizenship? How will Adam, a Black man born free in a democratic society, be treated in Arabia? Did he make a mistake when he signed a contract to spend the next two years of his life in a land where the shadows of slavery are uncomfortably short and so fresh in the culture of the local population?
Upon arriving in the Desert Kingdom, Adam quickly learns that Saudi Arabia is very different from what he has expected. Everywhere he goes, he is made to feel welcome. Saudis, both White and Black, invite him into their homes and the Bedouins shower him with their legendary desert hospitality. Black Saudis are especially pleased to meet him and honor him as a long lost family member. Adam is impressed at how up-to-date Black Saudis are on Black American history and the depth of their knowledge on the struggle for civil rights in America. They also have an avid interest in Black American music and entertainment, and any films with Black actors in them are highly sought after and treasured.
Adam's tour becomes an enjoyable journey of discovery with plenty of opportunities for fun but to his biggest surprise he even finds romance. Also during his tour Saudi Arabia will host the International Military Basketball Championships. When the team from the U.S. takes the court to play its opening round game, Adam will single-handedly spark the unlikeliest rivalry in the history of the tournament.
For more information on the novel or to order the book, go to www.blackamericanindesert.com
CONTACT:
Luther Burch, Jr.
703-498-7171
info@blackamericanindesert.com
