'Concealed' Revealed: Inside a Dark Sykesville Fairy Tale

Historic Main Street Sykesville has served as the setting for fictional stories through the years, even appearing as the backdrop for the blockbuster movie Head of State starring Chris Rock in 2002. 

Most recently, long-time resident Sang Kromah has taken the small town's stardom to a new level, making it the setting for her first novel--a dark, young adult fairy tale titled Concealed.

“Since I was a child, I had always said I wanted to write the ‘great American novel’ and to me that means a local story with foreign origins,” said Kromah. “That’s exactly what Concealed is.”

Kromah combines the stories from her native land of Liberia with her hometown of Sykesville, where she lived for more than 17 years, bringing fables from her childhood to life in the pages of her novel.

“I believe I was born a storyteller, but my Mom inspired me to be a writer,” said Kromah. “I always loved telling stories. My parents would tell my brother and me stories from their native land of Liberia and I would get carried away with it, creating my own stories. Soon I began writing and pretty much never stopped.”

She currently lives in New York and is a freelancer copywriter, editor and public relations specialist.

Kromah is also living another one of her dreams as well--modeling. Her pictures have graced the pages of Essence, Jet, Black Enterprise, Clutch Magazine and more.

But Kromah says that all of her successes started in the “quiet and beautiful” town of Sykesville.

“In seventh grade I had a Language Arts teacher at who encouraged me so much and I think that’s when I knew that I could actually become a writer, because someone who wasn’t related to me believed in me almost as much as my mom did,” said Kromah.

Her book Concealed is a powerful story about creatures called the Djinn and a love that should have never been. Literally meaning "to hide" or "to be hidden," the Djinn are sometimes hostile beings with a wide array of powers, including granting wishes.

Set in a shadowy, unknown world, the story explores the human experience of finding oneself and having the courage to choose one's own destiny.

“As a child, there was one story that stood out to me about a strong-willed, feisty, mischievous girl named Femeni who escaped what should have been sudden death at the hands of a notorious Djinn,” said Kromah.

“After hearing the story, I always wondered what happened to Femeni and did she have any other encounters with the Djinn? As I grew older, the questions became more complex. What was so special about Femeni that helped her escape the Djinn? What if Femeni had a child, would there be something special about that child as well? These questions gave birth to Concealed.”

Even though she now lives more than 250 miles away from her hometown, Kromah says Sykesville still has a special place in her heart.

“I still consider Sykesville my home. My parents still have a home there and I am there quite frequently,” said Kromah.  

“I had the best childhood. At the time, I probably didn’t appreciate it as much, but Sykesville is such a historical place with so much beauty and honestly, it’s always the quiet and beautiful places that have the best stories to tell, so why not my own hometown?”

“Concealed” can be purchased from Barnes and Noble for $15.95 through its website here.