April 9, 2019

N is for Ninki Nanka

        My theme for this year’s A-Z Blog Challenge is fantastical creatures, celebrating my upcoming book, On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination.  I’m super excited to announce that I am launching my first ever Kickstarter Campaign to kick this project over the finish line!  Please check it out; there’s a lot of info about the book there, including a video, because I’m just that snazzy.  And if you know of anyone who might enjoy this project, please let them know about it - I’ll need all the publicity help I can get!
        And now for the content teaser, an excerpt from the Letter N:

        “The Ninki Nanka is a fearsome monster dwelling in the swamps and rivers of western Africa, especially the Gambia and Senegal.  Although it is seldom seen, its presence is known, and children are warned never to enter the swamps alone lest the Ninki Nanka devour them.  Imagine how easily even a huge beast can lurk in the muddy pools among the roots and weeds, watching and waiting for unwary prey.  A swirl of movement in the humid, heavy air, a swish of the turbid water, and suddenly the scaly neck rears up, the horns slash, the powerful teeth clamp on flesh, and another victim disappears beneath the churning water.  Surely no one should enter the swamp without being warned of the Ninki Nanka.”

        Did anyone ever warn you with threats from the boogeyman, Jenny Greenteeth, Krampus, or other scary creatures that will Get You if you don’t behave?

        The alphabet of mythical creatures doesn’t stop there.  Something's gonna get you if you don't click the link to read


[Picture: Don’t Go Into the Swamp, rubber block print by AEGN, 2018.]

6 comments:

Kristin said...

Nobody ever warned me about the boogy man or any mythical monsters. Just the real ones.

Anne E.G. Nydam said...

I agree - it seems like there are enough real dangers to beware of that we really shouldn't need to make up new ones!

Deborah Weber said...

Uh-oh, I'll be steering clear of swamps in Western Africa for sure. P.S. I'm absolutely delighted to hear about your Kickstarter campaign!

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

I love the description, and I love the image. We don't really have swamps where I am from, or many creatures that can actually hurt you, but my parents made sure I knew how to swim from an early age :D

The Multicolored Diary

Anne E.G. Nydam said...

Yeah, I don't think the wetlands near us are particularly dangerous. But knowing how to swim is definitely an important life skill... and staying out of swamps in western Africa is also probably an important life skill!

Donna Smith said...

My biggest fear as a child was quicksand!!! ...like that would happen in Maine. I guess there is actual quicksand in Maine though...so I guess I was okay in being afraid of it. It seemed an irrational fear where we live though. Tarzan movies made it terrifying.