“Dido’s Prize is an entertaining historical romance novel… The mix of action and romance, suffering and joy, bravery and cowardice, pain and happiness makes Dido’s Prize an interesting read.” – The Jamaica Gleaner
After seven days of nominations and seven days of votes cast and a two day tie breaker…Mocha Girls Read July’s book selection winner is Dido’s Prize by Mocha Girl Eugenia O’Neal 
Synopsis
Dido, a slave on a Jamaican sugar plantation, runs away to join Henry Morgan’s privateer fleet and find the treasure that will allow her to buy her family’s freedom. What she doesn’t bargain on is falling in love with El Negro, a pirate captain with no particular yen for a long-lasting relationship. As Morgan sails the Spanish Main, sacking first, El Puerto del Principe in Cuba, and then the great city of Porto Bello in Panama, Dido becomes a valued member of El Negro’s crew.
After the ships return to Jamaica, Dido thinks she will never see the pirate captain again but he comes to her rescue when she is in peril. They flee deep into the Blue Mountains but El Negro knows he will never be safe on the island. Together, Dido and her priate, head back out to sea to find a place where they can live and love in freedom.
About the Author
Eugenia O’Neal lives in the British Virgin Islands and wrote her first poem at the age of 5 and her first short story when she was 9. Three of her short stories have been published in The Caribbean Writer and, in 1995, she participated in the Caribbean Writers Summer Institute at the University of Miami. One of her more recent short stories appeared in the Black Expressions Anthology, The Heart of Our Community. Her first book was From the Field to the Legislature: A History of Women in the VIrgin Islands, which was based on her master’s thesis for the University of the West Indies and was published by Greenwood Press in 2001. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and From The Heart Romance Writers.Congratulations to Mocha Girl Eugenia O’Neal for becoming Mocha Girls Read book for the month for June 2012.
Feel free to leave comments and thoughts here as you are reading the book. I’m looking forward to reading this book and hearing what everyone thinks of it.
Keep the pages turning!
♥Mocha Girl Alysia♥
This is the first time we have ever had a tie for first place. So this is what we are going to do. For the next 48 hours the two books are going into a quick vote. Both books are below with a description, cost and cover art. Select one of the two books for July’s Book of the Month. The book with the most votes at the end of the 48 hours will win!
The story of America and African Americans is a story of hope and inspiration and unwavering courage. But it is also the story of injustice; of a country divided by law, education, and wealth; of a people whose struggles and achievements helped define their country. This is the story of the men, women, and children who toiled in the hot sun picking cotton for their masters; it’s about the America ripped in two by Jim Crow laws; it’s about the brothers and sisters of all colors who rallied against those who would dare bar a child from an education. It’s a story of discrimination and broken promises, determination and triumphs. Kadir Nelson, one of this generation’s most accomplished, award-winning artists, has created an epic yet intimate introduction to the history of America and African Americans, from colonial days through the civil rights movement. Written in the voice of an “Everywoman,” an unnamed narrator whose forebears came to this country on slave ships and who lived to cast her vote for the first African American president, heart and soul touches on some of the great transformative events and small victories of that history. This inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice—the true heart and soul of our nation.
