Jeffrey Jones is the debut Author of De Hymne: De liefde van dé man gaat door de slaaf (Translated: The Hymn: The way to a man’s heart is through his slave). Born to Ghanaian and Belgian parents, he has enjoyed a bicultural upbringing and passed on the importance of the history of Africa’s colonial past.
Jones currently resides in Ghent with his fiancée, Delphine, and their children. Where as well as being an Author, he also works as a Youth Worker and Coach.
De Hymne follows the story of a slave couple in the Southern part of Virginia, as they’re expecting their first child. They both have different perspectives in terms of what they should do, how they’ll survive, and stay protected. Anna wants her child to be free of slavery however, Jonathan, gets on well with the slave master and believes they’ll be more protected as slaves than possibly being separated and sold again into the slave world if they escape. What choice will they make?
Although De Hymne is written in Dutch and the English rights have yet to be bought (fingers crossed), this debut novel has an extremely powerful storyline I had to share it.
Inspiration for the cover image came from a drawing done by Delphine.
What was the process of writing De Hymne?
Back in 2002 I went to Ghana for the second time as an 11 year-old. During this visit I have clear memories of visiting the Slave Castle in Cape Coast, a couple miles from my father’s birthplace (pictured below), and thinking how this history is in my bloodline, this is part of my story.
Then in 2006 as a 15 year-old, I watched the 1977 version of Roots. This was the start of writing a story of slavery, where I wrote the first five pages of my debut novel.
The official writing process began in 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, where I had a lot of time on my hands to begin the writing journey. At school I was never really the best in class, but I found so much joy in writing. Once I finished the novel, I started to let Delphine read it (I was still insecure of the quality so I kept it a secret). Eventually I presented it to my family, which lead to my sister on 8th February 2022 sending me a open submission call out from Boekscout, a Publishing House in the Netherlands. Two months later I received a life changing call!
Jones and his siblings (Janice & Justin) in Cape Coast Castle, Ghana.
How was it growing up in Belgium as half Ghanaian and half Belgian, especially with their racist history?
Honestly, I never saw it as a negative being a biracial and growing up in a white community. I luckily enough never encountered racism or felt like the colour of my skin withheld me from anything. Although I’m not saying Belgium is completely racism-free, nor any country for that matter.
Being the only brown kid at school I thought I had to like baggy clothes and be the biggest fan of hip hop.
And how has this experience influenced you as an Author and your debut novel?
My experiences and history has 100% completely influenced De Hymne. I’ve had a huge advantage of having both parts (Ghanaian and Belgian) in me, which is what influenced the many layers there are throughout the novel. The layers of the slave master, how as you read the novel you go through waves of feeling compassion of him but then also utter hatred towards him.
What has your journey been like in the publishing world so far?
It had been very exciting. One month in and already 200 copies have been sold! I was told by my Publisher that the average for debut novels is 44 copies to be sold in the first month.
During the promotion period for the book, I just wanted to scream about it to the world. But it’s coming to the realisation that sometimes the world isn’t as excited or as energetic for your book as you are.
What piece of advise would you pass onto writers in the very beginning of their journey?
Enjoy the process, not everyone writes a book!
Be proud of your work. Your book is a gift to the world, it will outlive your family, friends, and yourself! I’ve dedicated my book to my children, I feel like it’s one of the best gifts I can give them.
What are your plans going forward? Do you have anything in the pipeline?
Promotion is absolutely key right now. I really enjoy conversations like this and I want to keep doing presentations and readings for the book.
I want to visit my Grandma in Ghana and show her this book I’ve written, even though she doesn’t speak Dutch!
So far, I’ve received great feedback about De Hymne. Some have asked if I’m going to write a sequel, but I really like the ending it has. A sneak peek into what I would like to write about for my second novel is Ancient Egypt. A lot of research is needed though.. You’ll have to find out in 2026/2027 for when it is due!
For anyone interested in the adventures of Anna & Jonathan, following the link here!
A HUGE thank you to Jeffrey Jones for being part of my first Author spotlight for the newsletter. I hope you all enjoyed reading the interview, and don’t forget to check out the De Hymne socials below: