About the Writer





Who me? 

 Oh yes! I am a first generation American and I have spent my whole life searching for my tribe, or a group that I fit into. Growing up in Atlanta- 90s pro-black Atlanta- was not easy for me. I'm sure a lot of girls had a rough time figuring themselves out, but for first generation girls-like me- there was a push and pull between being Black-African and being Black-American. I certainly couldn't figure it out, so I turned to books and writing to lose myself in other people's lives and narratives. 


 After five years of studying and living internationally, I found my calling and I found my tribe!  I am an author who is a reflection of the raw and diverse experiences I have had.  I am a chameleon, shaped by Congolese upbringing and-just as the characters I create-quite complex. You will see and hear my literary voice through the words I share with you in this space.

Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It that "All the world's a stage".

    Well, my world is the page. 

    - Belas

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KONA IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KONA! Some people have best friends that they meet through school or church, someplace where kids meet. I didn't meet my best friend in any of the normal kids places. I met her at a party that our parents were attending. Back in the late eighties and early nineties Congolese people descended upon cities like Atlanta, Raleigh, and Charlotte in droves. They were tight knit community gathering almost every weekend to party. It didn't matter what tribe you were from we were all "bas Zairois". The DRC was Zaire then and there was a pride in being from that country. So, gatherings happened for any and everything: a child's first birthday party, a wedding, a funeral, its raining, someone just arrived from back ho. When I hear my mom and my bff's mom talk about how they used to get together and all the characters who would show up at those parties, I hear nostalgia in their voices. I long for those days too. Now, we are ...
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