Did you grow up in Ghana or Nigeria (or other african countries) in the 80s- Do you remember Pacesetters Books - Brings a smile to your face just mentioning the name doesnt it - it surely warms my heart just thinking bout those novel books)
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Reminiscing bout them good ole days back home, the one thing i could escape to when bored was not just playing house with my friends, but most of all reading my Pacesetters Books and Mills & Boons (wonder why i love romantic movies).
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So today I was telling my sister to stop my nieces and nephews who spend too much time playing video games and facebooking or watching nickolodeon to spend more time reading. And this started a conversation between my sister and reminiscing bout the good ole days and how our parents expected us to read all the time.
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This got me thinking that those Pacesetters books had excellent story lines - what if some of our movie producers ask permission from the authors who owned these books to turn these novels into movies. I will really love to see that.
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We are tired of all the boring storylines we are being bombarded with in movies and want something more interesting to the likes of what we read in the Pacesetters Books - they were natural, african and very organic - no pretenses - just very african.
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For those wondering where to buy these books now its kinda hard to come by by you could try this link below and also below i have pasted the titles and the authors to them.
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. (guys i gotta run so i will sort the formating later - its looks messy)
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1 A DREAM CALLLED SEPTEMBER by CHRISTINE BOTCHWAY
2 AGONY IN HER VOICE by PETER KATULIIBA
3 ANGEL OF DEATH by NANDI DLOVU
4 BITTERSWEET by YEMA L. HUNTER
5 BONDS OF LOVE by HOPE DUBE
6 CHERISHED DREAMS by MUGARRA ADYEERI
7 CHILD OF WAR by BEN CHIRASA
8 CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY by AFARI ASSAN
9 CIRCLE OF BETRAYAL by JAMES IRUNGU
10 COUP by KALU OKPI
11 CROSS-FIRE by KALU OKPI
12 DANGEROUS INHERITANCE by CHUMA NWOKOLO
13 DANGEROUS WATERS by MAURICE SOTABINDA
14 DEAD OF NIGHT by PHILIP PHIL EBOSIE
15 DEADLY NEWS by PRIM NGA'AB
16 DEALERS IN DEATH by VICTOR THORPE
17 DEATH IS A WOMAN by DICKSON IGHAVINI
18 DELA BOYA: THE AFRICAN DETECTIVE by KOJO AKWA
19 DESERT STORM by HOPE DUBE
20 DIRECTOR by AGBO AREO
21 DOUBLE DATING by WALIJE GONDWE
22 DOUBLE TROUBLE by OSMAN P CONTEH
23 EQUITORIAL ASSIGNMENT by DAVID G MAILLU
24 EUROPEANS ONLY? by GEORGE MASON
25 EVBU MY LOVE by HELEN OVBIAGELE
26 FELICIA by ROSINA UMELO
27 FOR BETTER FOR WORSE by OSMAN P CONTEH
28 FOR MBATHA AND RABEKA by DAVID G MAILLU
29 FOREVER YOURS by HELEN OVBIAGELE
30 FORGIVE ME by MARYAM MOHMED T GARBA
31 FRANCIE MOLALA & THE MERCEDES AFFAIR (out of stock) by UMBHALI
32 HARVEST OF LOVE by SAM ARYEETEY
33 HAVE MERCY by JOSEPH MANGUT
34 LOVE by KALU OKPI
35 LOVE LETTERS by ROSINA UMELO
36 LOVE ON THE ROCKS by ANDREW SESINYI
37 LOVE'S DILEMMA by WALIJE GONDWE
38 MARK OF THE COBRA by VALENTINE ALILY
39 MEET ME IN CONAKRY by SHERIFF SARR
40 NAIRA POWER by BUCHI EMECHETA
41 NANASI GIRL by DAMIAN ASABUHI
42 ON THE ROAD by KALU OKPI
43 OPERATION RHINO by JAMES IRUNGU & JAMES SHIMANYULA
44 POISONED BAIT by JAMES NGUMY
45 POSSESSED by ATU YALLEY
46 POSTAGE COVER by
47 RACE AGAINTS RATS by NANDI DLOVU
48 RASSIE by ANDREW SESINYI
49 REMEMBER DEATH by GLADSTONE MEENA
50 RICH GIRL, POOR BOY (out of stock) by BODE OSANYIN
51 SECOND-HAND LOVE by WALIJE GONDWE
52 SECRET BLOOD by JOHN CHITAMBO
53 SHADOW OF A DREAM by HOPE DUBE
54 SHAMEFUL SACRIFICE by RICHARD ANIEKE
55 SISI (out of stock) by YEMI SIKUADE
56 SOMETHING TO HIDE by ROSINA UMELO
57 SPEARS DOWN by CHRISTINE BOTCHWAY
58 STATE SECRET by HOPE DUBE
59 STONE OF VENGEANCE by VICTOR THORPE
60 STOP PRESS: MURDER! by MOHMED T GARBA
61 SWEET REVENGE by VICTOR A. ULOJIOFOR
62 SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION by SUNDAY D ADEBOMI
63 TEARDROPS AT SUNSET (out of stock) by RICHAR AKOJI
64 TELL ME NO MORE by SENSENJANI LUKHELE
65 THE BETRAYER by SAM A ADEWOYE
66 THE BLACK TEMPLE by MOHMED T GARBA
67 THE BLACKMAILERS by JOSEPH MANGUT
68 THE BORDER RUNNERS by JAMES IRUNGU & JAMES SHIMANYULA
69 THE CYCLIST by PHILIP PHIL EBOSIE
70 THE DELINQUENT by MOHAMMED SULE
71 THE EXTORTIONIST by CHUMA NWOKOLO
72 THE HOPEFUL LOVES by AGBO AREO
73 THE INFAMOUS ACT by MOHAMMED SULE
74 THE INSTRUMENT by VICTOR THORPE
75 THE KIND OF MARRIAGE by BUCHI EMECHETA
76 THE MATING GAME (out of print) by BARBARA KIMENYE
77 THE MONEY-DOUBLERS by MAURICE SOTABINDA
78 THE NIGHT OF THE FULL MOON by MUHEKI RUSHEDGE
79 THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN by SAM ARYEETEY
80 THE POLITICIAN by KALU OKPI
81 THE PRESIDENTS SON by KWASI KORANTENG
82 THE RUNAWAY BRIDE by BARBARA KIMENYE
83 THE SCHEMERS by HELEN OVBIAGELE
84 THE SMUGGLERS by KALU OKPI
85 THE TREASURE by PETER KATULIIBA
86 THE UNDESIRABLE ELEMENT by MOHAMMED SULE
87 THE WAGES OF SIN (out of print) by IPE OPARANDU
88 THE WORSHIPPERS by VICTOR THORPE
89 TOBACCO SMOKE by KWASI KORANTENG
90 TOO COLD FOR COMFORT by JIDE OGUNTOYE
91 TOO YOUNG TO DIE by OMONDI MAK'OLOO
92 TRUTH WILL OUT by DEDE KAMKONDO
93 VICIOUS CIRCLE by ALEXANDER KANENGONI
94 WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS by SARAH MKHONZA
95 WHO KILLED MOHTTA (out of print) by EDISON N YONGAI
96 WHO REALLY CARES by HELEN OVBIAGELE
97 WOMEN FOR SALE (out of stock) by JOSEPH MANGUT
98 YOU NEVER KNOW (out of print) by HELEN OVBIAGELE
99 ZERO HOUR by BEN MTOBWA
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here is the site u can purchase some from - there are suppose to be 130 titles in all but i dont see it all here- so you will have to do your research.
http://www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog/index.html?http%3A//www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog/Pacesetters.html&CatalogBody
.
Reminiscing bout them good ole days back home, the one thing i could escape to when bored was not just playing house with my friends, but most of all reading my Pacesetters Books and Mills & Boons (wonder why i love romantic movies).
.
So today I was telling my sister to stop my nieces and nephews who spend too much time playing video games and facebooking or watching nickolodeon to spend more time reading. And this started a conversation between my sister and reminiscing bout the good ole days and how our parents expected us to read all the time.
.
This got me thinking that those Pacesetters books had excellent story lines - what if some of our movie producers ask permission from the authors who owned these books to turn these novels into movies. I will really love to see that.
.
We are tired of all the boring storylines we are being bombarded with in movies and want something more interesting to the likes of what we read in the Pacesetters Books - they were natural, african and very organic - no pretenses - just very african.
.
For those wondering where to buy these books now its kinda hard to come by by you could try this link below and also below i have pasted the titles and the authors to them.
.
. (guys i gotta run so i will sort the formating later - its looks messy)
.
1 A DREAM CALLLED SEPTEMBER by CHRISTINE BOTCHWAY
2 AGONY IN HER VOICE by PETER KATULIIBA
3 ANGEL OF DEATH by NANDI DLOVU
4 BITTERSWEET by YEMA L. HUNTER
5 BONDS OF LOVE by HOPE DUBE
6 CHERISHED DREAMS by MUGARRA ADYEERI
7 CHILD OF WAR by BEN CHIRASA
8 CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY by AFARI ASSAN
9 CIRCLE OF BETRAYAL by JAMES IRUNGU
10 COUP by KALU OKPI
11 CROSS-FIRE by KALU OKPI
12 DANGEROUS INHERITANCE by CHUMA NWOKOLO
13 DANGEROUS WATERS by MAURICE SOTABINDA
14 DEAD OF NIGHT by PHILIP PHIL EBOSIE
15 DEADLY NEWS by PRIM NGA'AB
16 DEALERS IN DEATH by VICTOR THORPE
17 DEATH IS A WOMAN by DICKSON IGHAVINI
18 DELA BOYA: THE AFRICAN DETECTIVE by KOJO AKWA
19 DESERT STORM by HOPE DUBE
20 DIRECTOR by AGBO AREO
21 DOUBLE DATING by WALIJE GONDWE
22 DOUBLE TROUBLE by OSMAN P CONTEH
23 EQUITORIAL ASSIGNMENT by DAVID G MAILLU
24 EUROPEANS ONLY? by GEORGE MASON
25 EVBU MY LOVE by HELEN OVBIAGELE
26 FELICIA by ROSINA UMELO
27 FOR BETTER FOR WORSE by OSMAN P CONTEH
28 FOR MBATHA AND RABEKA by DAVID G MAILLU
29 FOREVER YOURS by HELEN OVBIAGELE
30 FORGIVE ME by MARYAM MOHMED T GARBA
31 FRANCIE MOLALA & THE MERCEDES AFFAIR (out of stock) by UMBHALI
32 HARVEST OF LOVE by SAM ARYEETEY
33 HAVE MERCY by JOSEPH MANGUT
34 LOVE by KALU OKPI
35 LOVE LETTERS by ROSINA UMELO
36 LOVE ON THE ROCKS by ANDREW SESINYI
37 LOVE'S DILEMMA by WALIJE GONDWE
38 MARK OF THE COBRA by VALENTINE ALILY
39 MEET ME IN CONAKRY by SHERIFF SARR
40 NAIRA POWER by BUCHI EMECHETA
41 NANASI GIRL by DAMIAN ASABUHI
42 ON THE ROAD by KALU OKPI
43 OPERATION RHINO by JAMES IRUNGU & JAMES SHIMANYULA
44 POISONED BAIT by JAMES NGUMY
45 POSSESSED by ATU YALLEY
46 POSTAGE COVER by
47 RACE AGAINTS RATS by NANDI DLOVU
48 RASSIE by ANDREW SESINYI
49 REMEMBER DEATH by GLADSTONE MEENA
50 RICH GIRL, POOR BOY (out of stock) by BODE OSANYIN
51 SECOND-HAND LOVE by WALIJE GONDWE
52 SECRET BLOOD by JOHN CHITAMBO
53 SHADOW OF A DREAM by HOPE DUBE
54 SHAMEFUL SACRIFICE by RICHARD ANIEKE
55 SISI (out of stock) by YEMI SIKUADE
56 SOMETHING TO HIDE by ROSINA UMELO
57 SPEARS DOWN by CHRISTINE BOTCHWAY
58 STATE SECRET by HOPE DUBE
59 STONE OF VENGEANCE by VICTOR THORPE
60 STOP PRESS: MURDER! by MOHMED T GARBA
61 SWEET REVENGE by VICTOR A. ULOJIOFOR
62 SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION by SUNDAY D ADEBOMI
63 TEARDROPS AT SUNSET (out of stock) by RICHAR AKOJI
64 TELL ME NO MORE by SENSENJANI LUKHELE
65 THE BETRAYER by SAM A ADEWOYE
66 THE BLACK TEMPLE by MOHMED T GARBA
67 THE BLACKMAILERS by JOSEPH MANGUT
68 THE BORDER RUNNERS by JAMES IRUNGU & JAMES SHIMANYULA
69 THE CYCLIST by PHILIP PHIL EBOSIE
70 THE DELINQUENT by MOHAMMED SULE
71 THE EXTORTIONIST by CHUMA NWOKOLO
72 THE HOPEFUL LOVES by AGBO AREO
73 THE INFAMOUS ACT by MOHAMMED SULE
74 THE INSTRUMENT by VICTOR THORPE
75 THE KIND OF MARRIAGE by BUCHI EMECHETA
76 THE MATING GAME (out of print) by BARBARA KIMENYE
77 THE MONEY-DOUBLERS by MAURICE SOTABINDA
78 THE NIGHT OF THE FULL MOON by MUHEKI RUSHEDGE
79 THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN by SAM ARYEETEY
80 THE POLITICIAN by KALU OKPI
81 THE PRESIDENTS SON by KWASI KORANTENG
82 THE RUNAWAY BRIDE by BARBARA KIMENYE
83 THE SCHEMERS by HELEN OVBIAGELE
84 THE SMUGGLERS by KALU OKPI
85 THE TREASURE by PETER KATULIIBA
86 THE UNDESIRABLE ELEMENT by MOHAMMED SULE
87 THE WAGES OF SIN (out of print) by IPE OPARANDU
88 THE WORSHIPPERS by VICTOR THORPE
89 TOBACCO SMOKE by KWASI KORANTENG
90 TOO COLD FOR COMFORT by JIDE OGUNTOYE
91 TOO YOUNG TO DIE by OMONDI MAK'OLOO
92 TRUTH WILL OUT by DEDE KAMKONDO
93 VICIOUS CIRCLE by ALEXANDER KANENGONI
94 WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS by SARAH MKHONZA
95 WHO KILLED MOHTTA (out of print) by EDISON N YONGAI
96 WHO REALLY CARES by HELEN OVBIAGELE
97 WOMEN FOR SALE (out of stock) by JOSEPH MANGUT
98 YOU NEVER KNOW (out of print) by HELEN OVBIAGELE
99 ZERO HOUR by BEN MTOBWA
.
here is the site u can purchase some from - there are suppose to be 130 titles in all but i dont see it all here- so you will have to do your research.
http://www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog/index.html?http%3A//www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog/Pacesetters.html&CatalogBody
.
buy some for your children, nieces and nephews to read - they are very good books for young boys and girls primary or secondary school ages. These are way better than those useless books bout Vampire and Harry Potter books - which does nothing but control the minds of our children very negatively - part of the new world order scheme - they will use any means to get to your kids even if thru nickolodeon or dark Rihanna (dont get me started on illuminati and conspiring new world order talk - we will be here all day :lol:)
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(This is a message to my childhood friend who borrowed my many Pacesetters books and never returned them - "Doreen Berko i need back my Pacesetters you borrowed in 1983-88 - in this recession i could be selling them and making some dough right about now - wait till i catch you :lol:)
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To those who remember and have read this book, name your favourites. Mine was too many so i will name them later, however Kalu Okpi was my favourite - his stories made me a escape.
buy some for your children, nieces and nephews to read - they are very good books for young boys and girls primary or secondary school ages. These are way better than those useless books bout Vampire and Harry Potter books - which does nothing but control the minds of our children very negatively - part of the new world order scheme - they will use any means to get to your kids even if thru nickolodeon or dark Rihanna (dont get me started on illuminati and conspiring new world order talk - we will be here all day :lol:)
.
(This is a message to my childhood friend who borrowed my many Pacesetters books and never returned them - "Doreen Berko i need back my Pacesetters you borrowed in 1983-88 - in this recession i could be selling them and making some dough right about now - wait till i catch you :lol:)
.
To those who remember and have read this book, name your favourites. Mine was too many so i will name them later, however Kalu Okpi was my favourite - his stories made me a escape.
.
Sometimes these books were even confiscated by my parents cos i hadnt done my house chores and spent too much time reading them, you would have to call me at least 5 times before i respond "Yes" and my mom will say in our language " Fiii -Mi fre wu nu wanti se mi fre wu? :lol: - meaning "didnt you hear me calling you"?.:lol:
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9 comments:
I read many pacesetters too. I loved Helen Ovbiagele and the other romance writers. This was followed by the Detective and spy ones by Victor Thorpe and Kalu Okpi. I also wonder why our movies are not partnering with them.
My father wrote Agony in Her Voice,
I've always shied away from reading his works but I shall now
Help! I lost my copy of spears down, my all-time favourite.
Hello and greetings to all you pacesetter fans out there!
My, this is odd I am not sure how I got onto this site but when I saw my name mentioned i scrolled down and must say kudos to you avid pacesetters readers. I guess we refer to them now as on par with the era of Mills and boon (smile)that dates me a little. But i have always believed that we are ageless spiritual beings and so age is irrelant.
My name is Christine Botchway. i was one of the youngest writers on pacesetters in my time and i must have penned a few novels. i would be honored as i am certain so would my fellow African writers be to have our humble books considered to influence our young people. Yes I agree Myne...pacesetters had much to offer. It was clean, had a moral and written by very talented African writers.
One such person who I would be first to take my hat off to is my dear friend Mr. Sam Areyetey who wrote Harvest of Love. I love his work, his work ethics and everything he stood for and stands for. He was as i am sure we all know one of Ghana's finest film directors and he put out excellence.
But more than being an excellent writer, film producer , he was willing to reach out to mentor people like me who wanted to become writers. There were no computers available in those days people. you made an error, you tore out the page and started again. Mr Sam Aryetey was a tough mentor but a passionate communicator of his ideas through the media of film and story.
our youth need so much inspiration and so do we. People let me be the first to say teach our children to follow their passions and dreams ...remember they were BORN with wings....sometimes they just need OUR permission .....to fly.
Blessings
I am honored to write on your site
Dr Christine A. Botchway
Hello and greetings to all you pacesetter fans out there!
My, this is odd I am not sure how I got onto this site but when I saw my name mentioned i scrolled down and must say kudos to you avid pacesetters readers. I guess we refer to them now as on par with the era of Mills and boon (smile)that dates me a little. But i have always believed that we are ageless spiritual beings and so age is irrelant.
My name is Christine Botchway. i was one of the youngest writers on pacesetters in my time and i must have penned a few novels. i would be honored as i am certain so would my fellow African writers be to have our humble books considered to influence our young people. Yes I agree Myne...pacesetters had much to offer. It was clean, had a moral and written by very talented African writers.
One such person who I would be first to take my hat off to is my dear friend Mr. Sam Areyetey who wrote Harvest of Love. I love his work, his work ethics and everything he stood for and stands for. He was as i am sure we all know one of Ghana's finest film directors and he put out excellence.
But more than being an excellent writer, film producer , he was willing to reach out to mentor people like me who wanted to become writers. There were no computers readily available to me in those days people. You made an error, you tore out the page and started again. Mr Sam Aryetey was a tough mentor but a passionate communicator of his ideas through the media of film and story.
our youth need so much inspiration and so do we. People let me be the first to say teach our children to follow their passions and dreams ...remember they were BORN with wings....sometimes they just need OUR permission .....to fly.
Blessings
I am honored to write on your site
Dr Christine A. Botchway
I loved Hopeful lovers and Too cold for comfort. I went to a primary school,;Our Ladys of Apostles Yaba in in 1982 thru ... We went to the library once a week, and were given a lot of books to read. I which the reading culture would be allowed back and we have less t.v. Bimbo
Pacesetters are really cool. We read them in the 90s too. It was compulsory to read one of those books during library period in my school (JSS). I remember "the other side of town", "meet me in Conakry", "zero hour", "angel of death" and "director!" Pleasant memories. :).
wow! glad i stumbled across this. i would loove for them to make movies of these stories. symphoney of destruction would be great but i fear they wn't be able to pull offf the acttions scenes and may ruin the book for me. The Betrayer was my first and i loved it. Anthing for Money was my first personal one that i got to read brand new after years rading many of my older siblings' which had been to cousins and friends' homes all over the country and were consequently missing front and back cvers if not a few pages. my favourites are probaly: Stop Press: Murder, the undesirable element and meet me in conakry - i still dream of tripping across africa like those guys. i remember waning to start out with a trip across naija with friends on finishing school at 16 in the early 90s and my mum wouldn't even consider it - now, i understand.
It is very gratifying indeed to read all your comments about Pace Setters. They were a real pleasure to write. And those of us who wrote them when we were still high school teachers owed a lot to the students like you then, because we wrote them mainly with you in our minds. You never disappointed us. Keep reading, and cajole your friends and children to read on. It is the source of power.
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