Among Kings is now available on Audio!

The Cobalt Curse

A New Thriller by Joey O’Connor

What readers are saying about The Cobalt Curse...

“The Cobalt Curse is a can’t-put-it-down thriller.”

"Joey O’Connor delivers a hard-hitting and moving fiction set in modern Congo...a suspenseful action story with complex characters and gritty action sequences."

“The Cobalt Curse is like an excellent meal…a combination of well-crafted writing and intelligence.”

“I could hardly put The Cobalt Curse down. It was full of action and intrigue.”

"The author has created a riveting and fast-paced story that highlights some of the worst human rights abuses in modern times.”

Every Scar Tells A Story

Professor Kai Baldwin, a world-famous human rights lawyer, has endured loss after loss. Preferring a safe college classroom back in the States, he vows never to return to his childhood home in the Congo. Who could fault him? By all accounts, he should be dead. His father died in a plane crash. His fiancée left him. And his mother is dying. The two-inch scar on his right wrist is a nagging reminder of his vow and unresolved grief.

But when his former fiancée mysteriously disappears, Kai jettisons his never-evers and rushes back to the Congo. Launching a desperate search for her, Kai discovers a global conspiracy to control the world’s cobalt resources. He faces the ultimate dilemma: will he risk all to save the one he loves or sacrifice himself for the good of humanity?

The Cobalt Curse takes readers into the wild world of conflict minerals, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence through the streets of Dubai, Washington, D.C., Brussels, Switzerland, and deep into the Congo jungle.

Among Kings

The Amazing Adventures of the Congo’s African American Livingstone and the Courageous People who Toppled King Leopold II

A new Historical Fiction novel
by Joey O’Connor

A black American missionary-explorer risks everything to save a nation, leading to the first international human rights trial

Epic storyteller Joey O'Connor leads you into the spellbinding, exotic world of the Scramble for Africa, where the untold story of a high-stakes human rights battle between a missionary and a monarch leads to the world's first international human rights trial.

In post-Civil War Virginia, William Sheppard pursues his lifelong dream of becoming a missionary in Africa. But as an African American man, he faces heartbreaking prejudice from the Presbyterian missions board.

Unexpectedly, he is matched with an unlikely colleague—the very white Samuel Lapsley. A deep interracial friendship emerges as the two venture deep into the dangerous, Belgian-controlled Congo ruled by the evil King Leopold II. Traveling by steamship 1,000 miles up the Congo River, these two novice missionaries battle lurking pythons, rampant disease, cannibal tribes, and all the King's men.

When Sheppard and Lapsley discover Leopold has enslaved the Congo for the rubber and ivory trade, they speak out against the atrocities. Leopold lashes back with a slander lawsuit against Sheppard, leading to the first international human rights trial. Millions of lives hang in the balance. Who will win? The missionary or the monarch?

Discover this powerful story of a courageous African American man who risked everything to save an entire nation.

Among Kings includes historical photos and Book Club Questions.

Discover the courageous African American hero whose activism and passion for social justice helped free an enslaved nation.

Author Interview with Joey O’Connor

Why should readers care about William Sheppard?

William Sheppard is one of the most fascinating African Americans, yet he is largely overlooked in Black History. He is one of the most unknown African American heroes in America. I became intrigued by Sheppard's story after my brother-in-law gave me a book about Sheppard. As we researched his life and work, it was clear Sheppard was a beloved missionary and explorer. He was lauded by kings, queens, and U.S. Presidents. One of the most famous Americans of his day, he spoke at black and white churches all over the East Coast. He is a model of courage, compassion, and what it means to stand against injustice.

Why did you write Among Kings?

In our research, we learned that in the past 20 years over six million people have died in the Congo. It’s the world’s most overlooked humanitarian crisis. What began as curiosity turned into outrage. Here in America, outrage over the racism still in our society inspired us to pursue what an interracial friendship like Sheppard and Lapsley might offer us today.