* * * * * “This is one of those few books I’d gladly put on the shelf alongside the likes of James Patterson and Lee Child, a must-read for fans of thrillers.”–R. Oserio of SUNSET BLUES: The Shadow
Renee Topper is a creative producer and an award-winning, bestselling author. As a storyteller, she’s crafted for the big screen, the little screen, books, the stage, in speeches, press, marketing and advertising communications. PIGMENT is her first foray into the novel format. She is especially compelled to create and share stories that examine the human condition and have a positive impact. Topper has helped shape and tell stories for individuals and brands including Buzz Aldrin, Time Warner, Comcast, Toyota, Lexicon, JBL, DuPont, Smith Barney, The Outlaw Comedy Fund and more.
Topper says she has always been a storyteller, and her craft has taken many forms. She founded Story Matter as a creative lab in 2011. There, she leads a strategic effort to generate stories that reflect the human condition, tales that are mindful and meaningful, stories that matter. Her approach is scientific, utilizing story to examine social issues by first identifying problems, then honing in on the source of those problems to raise awareness and inspire solutions.
Presently, Topper is developing PIGMENT for feature film and is building a team to carry the project through to distribution, plotting Book 2 in the series PIGMENT: Roots (forthcoming in early 2018), finishing Book 1 of the literary series SUNSET BLUES for release in Fall 2017, and producing a docu-reality series on Trauma. She also has several other projects in the works.
She welcomes reviews and encourages readers to sign up for the Story Matter mailing list for quarterly updates, bonus content and more.
Topper welcomes reviews of her stories. Let her know what you think!
Connect on social channels:
http://storymatter.com/
https://twitter.com/storymatter
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rtopper/
https://www.facebook.com/ReneeTopperStoryteller/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15577721.Renee_Topper
https://www.bookbub.com/books/pigment-by-renee-topper?tab=bookGlobal
SUNSET BLUES Garners Stellar Praise in ARC Reviews on Readers Favorite:
* * * * * "The most unique thing about this book is that it is written in the comfortable style of a classic detective yarn, but it’s set in today’s world with modern day cops, gang members, and mobsters. . . . This unique combination of the old and the new sets Sunset Blues: The Shadow apart from other crime thrillers.” – S. Cahan
* * * * “One only hopes that the title of this fictional work indicates there are more books to come, and a compelling new series is on the way.” – D. Lloyd
* * * * * This is a story that is engaging, a delightful read, thanks to the strong plot elements, the great characters, and the wonderful prose.
- D. Zape
Here are some recent full reviews on PIGMENT:
5 Stars - Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite
Pigment: The Limbs of the Mukuyu Tree is a literary fiction thriller written by Renee Topper. Aliyah Scott was born with albinism, and her life in the United States was made challenging by the genetic factor that made her skin white, unlike the rich chocolate tones of her mother and father. But her life was infinitely easier than that of her fellow albinos in parts of Africa, particularly in Tanzania, where witch doctors and hunters preyed upon albino children, and the law did little to protect them. Albinos were considered to be ghosts, not real, live people, so how then could their murderers be charged with killing something that wasn't really alive? Children’s limbs were hacked off while they were alive; their blood drunk as a curative, and sometimes, it would be their own fathers, who would offer up the child for financial gain. Aliyah wanted to be part of the solution to this tragic situation. She felt an intimate involvement in the plights of the children she would be working with at Camp Kivuli. Delila, who had accepted her as a teacher sight unseen, had grave misgivings about Aliyah’s well-being while working in that country. Tanzania was the last place on earth for an American albino to be, no matter how good her intentions. All too soon, Aliyah disappeared, along with Keenan, her Irish friend. Her father, Jalil Scott, who was formerly in the Special Forces and familiar with Africa, if not Tanzania itself, was determined to find his daughter, even as he is told that it was too late, that she was gone. He would find her.
Renee Topper’s literary fiction thriller, Pigment: The Limbs of the Mukuyu Tree, is a gripping and suspenseful story that addresses the plight of albinos worldwide, but particularly in Africa. I was stunned by the ferocity and violence albino infants and children are subjected to in Tanzania, and found myself involved and engaged in Jalil’s quest to find his daughter. Pigment is a glorious read. The setting of the story is stunning. Topper brings the vast open savanna and the complexity of African cultures to the reader in each page of this original and compelling book. Jalil and his daughter are beautifully drawn characters with whom the reader can’t help but get involved. Following as Jalil gets ever closer, despite the obstructions placed before him at every step of the way, is inspirational and exciting. Pigment: The Limbs of the Mukuyu Tree is an extraordinary work about an ongoing societal tragedy. It’s most highly recommended.
5 Stars
Reviewed By Viga Boland for Readers’ Favorite
Diandra Forrest is a tall, absolutely stunning model, whose photo appears in the June 2017 National Geographic. What does Diandra have to do with this fictional book, Pigment, by Renee Topper? Everything and nothing. You see, Diandra is an African-American Albino, one of the luckier members of that group of people born with a genetic mutation that interferes with the amount of melanin in their bodies, leaving most of them with nearly translucent white skin, very weak eyes, white to pale orange hair and the lifetime risk of skin cancer from exposure to the sun. Why is Diandra one of the lucky ones? Unlike the thousands of albino children and adults abducted, mutilated and left to die in Tanzania, Africa, Diandra didn’t grow up there. Aliya, the female protagonist of Pigment is much like Diandra. She is a beautiful young woman who grows up in the the US. A newly graduated teacher, she heads for Tanzania on a mission: to help bring awareness to the horrible plight of albinos, to help in the fight against the crimes committed against them, and to assist young albino children to grow up loving and appreciating how special they are. It’s a noble mission fraught with danger, especially in Tanzania, but Aliya is obstinate and determined to be successful.
Does she succeed? Reading Pigment is a voyage on a stormy ocean that will leave readers unbelieving and breathless as they turn the pages. Pigment is impossible to put down. There is no wasted time, no unnecessary asides and no irrelevant action. The action never stops. Nor do the emotional highs and lows. When Aliya disappears, her retired military-trained father, Jalil, immediately flies to Tanzania and charges like a bull into a ring of deception. After all, when money is involved…and there’s lots of money involved in hunting down, abducting and murdering Albinos for their prized body parts and blood…cover ups are everywhere. Separating truth from lies, the good from the bad, and locating those responsible is near impossible. Danger and death is all around.
If, while reading Pigment, readers find themselves not wanting to believe the brutality depicted…and much of it is nauseating…reading the article “The Perils of Pale” in that issue of National Geographic mentioned above will lend credibility to the story Renee Topper has depicted so expertly in Pigment. Topper has created a fictional organization that works to help and protect Albino children, but there actually is such a group. You can find them, and donate to their cause at www.underthesamesun.com. This non-profit organization keeps detailed, gruesome records: “Since the 1990’s, in 27 African countries, at least 190 Albinos have been killed and 300 attacked, most since 2008. The epicenter of this crime wave, which includes the robbing of graves, is Tanzania.”
What is shocking to read, and Topper cites just such a situation in Pigment, is the number of fathers and relatives who will maim or slaughter an albino child not just for money…many Tanzanians are incredibly poor and hungry…but because of their belief in the teachings of the witch doctors. It’s hard to win a battle against such deeply ingrained beliefs. And it appears that it’s even harder to prosecute the criminals behind such financially lucrative operations. Read Pigment and prepare to weep over the travesties against humanity portrayed by Renee Topper. Moving and unforgettable.
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