A London author has pledged to donate a percentage of the proceeds from his new book to a sickle cell charity.

Lyndon Haynes, is originally from North London and has self-published three books and has become one of the most talked about Black authors in the UK.

Speaking to The Voice, Mr Haynes said a percentage of the sales from his new book, Rosa, will go to a charity helping those suffering with sickle cell disease.

He said: “Giving back is something that I have always wanted to do since my first book, it is so important to me and is part of who I am. I want to acknowledge those charities who have given so much to others.

“Giving back is something that I have always wanted to do since my first book, it is so important to me and is part of who I am.

“Anything that I earn whether that is £10, £100 or £100,000, I will make a percentage donation to a sickle cell charity. I will do what I can to help.”

Mr Haynes grew up in Tottenham and has previously donated to the Sickle Cell Society. He said medical experts and charities played an important role as throughout his childhood –which allowed him to live a relatively normal life.

The father-of-one believes more needs to be done to raise awareness about how detrimental sickle cell can be.

Awareness

He said: “Sickle Cell Awareness Month is a start and at least we have a dedicated month to promote what the health condition is. It needs to be recognised as a serious illness because people can die from it and I don’t think enough is being done to emphasise this.”

Sickle cell is an inherited health condition which affects the red blood cells. It affects people from the Black community more than any other group. The most serious type of the disease is called sickle cell anaemia.

The author urged the Black community to get screened, so they are aware if they are a carrier of one of the genes which causes the disease. He said: “We need to encourage people to get screened, this will check to see if you have the trait before you have children.

“In the Black community, we are not big on blood donations, but if it wasn’t for blood donations, I may not even be here. We need more blood donors to come forward, I wish I could donate blood but I can’t.”

A percentage of the sales from his new book Rosa, will go to a sickle cell charity helping those diagnosed with the disease.

Rosa: A Crime-Romance-Thriller

Mr Haynes describes his latest release, Rosa, as a crime-romance-thriller.   The book is based in London and tells the story of a young Mexican woman who moves into an estate with her brothers after her mother is killed by drug cartel.

The sibling’s new life in the UK takes an unexpected journey, which will evoke many emotions in the readers.

“It is a story about identity, trust, betrayal, loyalty, grief and everything that comes with it,” he added.

Before launching his career as an author, Mr Haynes attended drama school.

During the early 1980s, his mother persuaded him to study performing arts as a way to stay off the streets and avoid trouble. As a child actor he worked on TV programmes which were shown on the BBC and Thames TV.

During the mid-1980s, Mr Haynes was influenced by the birth of Hip Hop music in America. He started writing lyrics and began to rap and was part of a band called The Sindecut. In 1990, the band signed to Virgin Records. They made history and became the first UK Rap group to ever sign to a major UK label. The group toured Europe and the UK with iconic British Soul group, Soul II Soul.

He went on to have a successful and long-lasting music career for 25 years, but also had the urge to write.

Mr Haynes attended a creative writing course in Enfield College and studied part-time while he worked.

His studies helped to inspire him to write his first book, which is autobiographical and tells the story of a young man being diagnosed with sickle cell.

He said: “I was ill quite a lot of the time and I was always going to the hospital with my mum and was always in a lot of pain and I wanted to share this in the first book to help someone else.”

Mr Haynes said being diagnosed with sickle cell in the 1980s was very difficult for his parents, due to the lack of information about the illness.

Determined

He revealed he always knew he was “different” but was determined not to let his diagnosis “stop him from living life.”

He said: “Doctors told me I couldn’t play sports or go on a plane. But all that did to me was help me build up mental resilience and self-belief that I could live a life as normal as possible.”

Mr Haynes revealed to The Voice, as a teenager he was told by doctors and teachers he couldn’t to attend a school skiing trip because of his health condition. But he was determined to go.

Despite some hesitation from his parents and medical professionals, he went on the trip and had what he still calls “one of the best times of his life.”

Mr Haynes told The Voice, this early can-do attitude has helped him and he wants to encourage others with sickle cell to make the most of life. “You can live a normal life, you just have to manage it and manage it well, if you do feel unwell go to the hospital and see the experts,” he said candidly.

He said eating healthy, avoiding alcohol and smoking has been beneficial to his wellbeing. The author also wants to inspire a new generation of writers and is urging other aspiring authors to consider self-publishing their work.

He said: “I would encourage other authors to self-publish their books if they can because we need to hear more stories from our community. Self-publishing is the easy part, the difficult part is the promotion and marketing.  I would encourage them to do their research and ensue they have a good team behind them. Aspiring authors are welcome to contact me on my socials if they want advice about self-publishing their book.”

Mr Haynes said he plans to continue life to the fullest and is currently writing his fourth book.

Mr Hayne’s books are available on Amazon UK and are also available across the world in all leading book stores.

For more information on Lyndon Haynes, please visit:  https://authorlyndonhaynes.com/ or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mr_lyndonh/

For more information on Sickle cell disease, please visit the dedicated NHS page here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sickle-cell-disease/