Tuesday, December 30, 2014

New Year, New Location...

... and New Beginnings....

It's almost the end of 2014, and like many people I'm looking back on the past year and making plans for the coming one.

But with one major difference.... I'll be starting out 2015 by leaving the UK and moving back to Nigeria, after more than fourteen years away - if you don't count those short visits back.

It's a move that I was initially very reluctant to make, especially when I went to Nigeria in March, spent four months, and returned to the UK at the end of July. Nigeria had felt like a very strange and abnormal society and I was so glad to be back in relative "sanity" in London. Throughout the summer, I wrestled with the idea of moving back or remaining in the UK, and either way, I was faced with several pros and cons. I decided to do nothing and return to my default position and remain in the UK for the time being. I even started making my plans for the rest of 2014 and 2015 with the UK as my base. But....

Plans changed and now I'm going back! I rediscovered what it means to make a commitment and have to follow it through. That means I finally decided to stop procrastinating and started packing my bags. It still feels a bit weird and a bit scary to think that I'll be saying goodbye to the UK in a few days' time and returning to Nigeria. It almost feels like going back to my past, but finding that I've changed while the past has remained the same. I left Nigeria as a young, awkward, shy teenager just finished my A'Levels and about to start an Undergraduate course. That journey began sometime in September 2000. Many years later, I'm a very different person, with a different outlook in life.

I have to say, that my time in the UK has been a very productive one. I've been very blessed to have the experiences I've had, the husband and children I'm returning with, the education I have absorbed, the exposure to different cultures, meeting amazing people and making wonderful friends, the chance to rediscover my gifts and turn them into a career that I'm passionate about, the places I've been able to explore, and so much more. I'm very thankful to God for these blessings, and I'm reminded that He who brought me thus far to this chapter in my life, is more than able to take me through the next chapter and all that is coming next. I just have to trust Him and lean on Him completely.

So, while I'm making plans for 2015, I'm keeping at the back of my mind that I have to be prepared for a few surprises along the way! "Expect the unexpected" so to speak. Most people who have

relocated back to Nigeria have told me that the best thing is to be ready both mentally and emotionally. And to forget everything you know about living abroad so that you can adjust back to Nigerian settings faster.

I wish you all a very blessed year in 2015. I know there may be good days and not so good days, there will be happy days and frustrating days, as such is life. But I wish you lots of smiles, laughter, adventures, celebrations, success and good health to enjoy it all.

The next time I blog again, it will be from my new location.

Till then, remain blessed and favoured!


Sunday, December 28, 2014

Videos: Highlights and Readings from the African Literary Evening

Hello friends,

Compliments of the Season to all. Hope you had a lovely Christmas and you're looking forward to a wonderful New Year in 2015.

As promised, we now have a video showing the highlights of the discussions, readings, spoken word performances and other happenings at the African Literary Evening. I think it is a lovely summary of the event.


I also have a video recording of my reading two flash fiction stories. It's the first time I've recorded a reading and it feels very weird to watch myself.

I'm now considering signing up for public speaking classes.....

Hope you enjoy both videos.



Please feel free to comment and share. Thank you.

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Guest Post - Overcoming Inertia: For the Underutilized Creative Mind

Overcoming Inertia: For the Underutilized Creative Mind - Guest Post by Remi Roy

 I started writing my book in 2011. I was working at a creative job and had just read a book that beyond inspired me and I thought, “I can do this.”

 Before then I had written many short stories but just couldn’t bring myself to write anything longer. It was like my brain was in permanent short story and sometimes even, flash fiction, mode. So I accepted the self-imposed challenge. Write a novel! Huh… okay a novella. Great! Leggo!

 And I wrote. And I wrote. And frankly, time flew by and I was done (technically) before I knew it.

 So that wasn’t hard. I guess because I already had the story in me. It’s a theme that is close to my heart and it was just a no-brainer that I would explore it as my first book. So at the end of 2011, the book was technically written.

Now if I were a serious writer I would look for an editor to work with me on the plot and ask the hard questions. Does it work? Are the characters relatable? Does the story even make sense? But, huh…

No. I didn’t do any of that.

Why? I don’t know. Maybe life happened and I just got busy with other things. Maybe I was afraid. In any case the book lay buried in my hard drive for three more years. And for those three years I fought the battle of the mind, trying to answer the question; Am I a writer?

 Imagine!

 I had written a book. Imperfect or not, it had a beginning, a middle and an end! But I still couldn't move forward. Years later I had to accept what my problem was.

 I. Was. Afraid. Of. Mediocrity.

 I don’t know about you but I would rather do nothing than do something… bleh. And that was my problem. I was afraid to miss the mark because I thought if I did I’d never work up the courage to try again.

 Oh, creative person. Are you like me?

 That may explain your unfinished painting, or the half written book, or the self-published novel on amazon you have refused to actively promote, or the song demo no one has heard, or the floor design you have kept away from human eyes for as long as you can remember.

 You’re in inertia. Wake up!

 It doesn’t matter if it’s so good or needs more work. What matters is that you did it. You! Yes, you. You published the book. You released the song. You promoted your work. You submitted your design. You stood behind your own work. Then you get to do the next. And then the next. And if you don’t give up, that little girl will read your book, and sigh, and pick up her own pen.

 That’s the way of the world.

Author Bio: Remi Roy is a writer and author. She is currently finishing up her Master’s Degree in Emerging Media and Communication from the University of Texas at Dallas. In the past she has worked as a Magazine Editor and written for several magazines and online platforms. Her first book, Ms. Unlikely, is the story of a young woman’s search for meaning, fulfillment and love. Visit http://msunlikely.weebly.com for more information.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Photos from the African Literary Evening

Hello everyone! Hope you had a lovely weekend.

As promised, here are some of the photos from the African Literary Event that was held on the 8th of November @ The Proud Archivist in London. Enjoy and feel free to share or comment.

Thank you.

Photo credits: David Adetoye



Monday, November 17, 2014

Recap of the African Literary Evening

Flyer African Literary EveningHello folks! Hope you've all been doing great. I've been very busy, in my last post I mentioned I was planning a writer's event in London. Well, it finally happened! I was quite nervous about co-hosting and doing a reading on the day, but thankfully I got over my nerves long enough to last till the end of the evening :)

Here's a full recap of how it all went:

Last Saturday Accomplish Press and BlackandOutspoken hosted our first "African Literary Evening" @ The Proud Archivist in London. It was a great event, as we had in attendance: writers, readers,  journalists, publishers, poets, bookshop owners,  members of the press and people who love writing and literature, especially those who have an interest in promoting African literature to the world.

We had two panels discussing issues that are relevant to writers of African descent, based in the UK. The first panel was coordinated by Tundun Adeyemo and consisted of: Kemi OgunniyiNuzo OnohIrenosen Okojie, Amanda Epe and Kiru Taye.

They discussed topics regarding Genres, Reaching an Audience, and The power of Blogging as a means of building an author platform.

 The second panel was coordinated by me, Tolulope Popoola, and consisted of: Sade AdeniranAbidemi SanusiAbimbola Dare and Ola Nubi. We discussed issues such as Going beyond Print to tell our stories, New and different routes to Publishing, and Making it as a full-time writer.

(Click here for a download: Programme for African Literary Evening)
(Click here for a download: African Literary Evening Panel Members)

The panel discussions were interactive with the audience, and we had great responses, interesting questions, thoughtful contributions and many useful suggestions about the way forward in tackling some of theses issues. In particular, many people in the audience talked about a shortage of good books for African children and Young Adults, featuring African characters, morals and storylines that reflect our background. This is something that Accomplish Press is passionate about, and we will be doing something in the near future to address this gap in the market. We're already starting a new campaign titled "Get Young People Reading". Watch out for more announcements about this programme very soon.

Back to the event, there were interesting readings as well:

Ola Nubi read an excerpt from her forthcoming book: "Love's Persuasion". It is a romance story about characters based in Nigeria. It will be published next month by Ankara Press.

 Theresa Lola, a spoken word artist, performed two of her poems. One was dedicated to the girls of Chibok who were kidnapped so many months ago, and the other was a deep reflection on the power of womanhood. Everyone in attendance really enjoyed her performance.

Sade Adeniran read a short story, one of the stories from her collection in the Sade's World Podcasts. It was a story that reflected on a character's reaction to being fired from her job on the first working day of the new year.

Tundun Adeyemo read a poem from her collection, "The Immigrant" which described the farewell moments at Murtala Mohammed Airport as a character was about to leave Nigeria to study in England.

And I read two of my favourite flash fiction stories, one from the collection titled "Fertile Imagination" and another one published by Brittle Paper titled "The Alibi". I enjoyed reading the stories and I particularly liked the response I got from the audience at the end.

The evening ended with a networking session over drinks, book sales and signings.

We would like to say a very sincere Thank You to everyone who made this event possible. To the panel, the guests, friends who helped in really practical ways, to Battabox, Nigerian Watch, Mr Babatunde David Adetoye, the staff at The Proud Archivist, AUK Radio and many others. We really appreciate your help and support. We intend to host another event like this very soon, we'll keep you posted!

Read some of our attendees' comments about the event:

Obi and TitiAfrican Writers Literary Evening
Adeola Akintoye - A Literary Evening Extraordinaire 

Watch the video below (and read the blog post) by Battabox. They interviewed some of the guests and asked them an important question:

I'm still waiting for the feedback from Nigerian Watch, when I get it, I'll update this post. I'll also upload more photos and videos as they become available.

That's it! Thank God that went well, On to bigger and better things next :)

Monday, October 13, 2014

Upcoming Event: African Literary Evening


Hello friends. Hope you've had a good week and a relaxing weekend. I mentioned in my last post that I was working with a friend to put together a literary event in London this November. Well, we're almost ready! So if you are in this part of the world, and you love books, writing, literature, poetry etc, and you would like to meet some really amazing, talented writers, then come along! I'll be there too ;)

Here are the full details of the evening:

Accomplish Press in conjunction with Femy and Remy Ltd and Nigerian Writers, presents an evening of reading, conversation and inspiration with the best of new generation African Writers. 

The event will be a mixture of literature, poetry and spoken word performances, as well as a panel to discuss issues relevant to writers in the UK.

Featuring: A panel of African Writers, Publishers, Journalists, Poets and Book Bloggers.

Abidemi Sanusi
Nuzo Onoh
Ola Nubi
Sade Adeniran
Kémi Ogunniyi
Irenosen Okojie
Kiru Taye
Abimbola Dare
Adura Ojo
Tolulope Popoola
Tundun Adeyemo
Amanda Epe
and many more.

Topics:
•Is it possible to make a living as a writer?

•The future of publishing in the UK: is it traditional publishing, self-publishing and collaborative publishing or hybrid publishing?

•Beyond print; moving with the digital revolution: ebooks, podcasts, audio books and short films

•Who is our audience? Our community or beyond?

•Genres: moving beyond expectations placed on African writing

Hosted by: David G. Balogun

With readings and spoken word performances from: 

Ola Nubi - she will be reading from her soon-to-be published novel

Adura Ojo - she will be reading from her newly published collection of poems, “Life is a Woman Breaking Eggs”.

Amanda Epe - she will be reading a chapter from her new book

Tolulope Popoola - she will be reading from her book as well as a couple of flash fiction stories.

There will be a variety of books for sale, and an opportunity to network and chat with the panel and other guests informally over snacks and drinks in the bar afterwards.

Date: Saturday, 8th November 2014

Time: 5pm to 8pm

Venue: The Proud Archivist, 2 - 10 Hertford Road, London N1 5ET http://www.theproudarchivist.co.uk/

Tickets: Early Bird £5, General £8

Please register and order tickets via Eventbrite:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/african-literary-evening-tickets-12822098241

I look forward to seeing you there!


Saturday, September 27, 2014

Reflections

Hello friends,

It's been a while. I've been working, travelling, juggling motherhood with everything else on my plate, so it does happen that updating my blog takes a back seat sometimes. But I do miss having a journal, and I want to reignite that small but important aspect of my life. Actually, what I really miss, is writing in a diary, with a pen and having hours of time to myself to just scribble down my thoughts uninterrupted. But in this stage of life I'm in, time is such a luxury, so I'll have to make do with blogging once in a while. Hmmm.

I travelled to Nigeria in March and returned to the UK in August with my family. We were based in Port Harcourt for the four months, with a couple of trips to Lagos. I have to say that it was one very weird and eye-opening experience for many reasons. We are considering moving back sometime in the future, so this was a trip to "test the waters" and see what it would be like. But by the end of the trip, I returned to London with very mixed feelings. 

Some aspects of the trip were funny. I experienced culture shock, as usual, even though I still went back to visit in 2012. Upon arriving, the simplest things struck me as different. Seeing people carrying lots of cash around to pay for goods. Seeing people immediately count any amount of cash you give to them. Seeing Nigerians everywhere I looked (living in multicultural London, you see such a variety of nationalities). Seeing the huge and very obvious gap between the rich and poor. And so on. But for my three year-old, it was very amusing to watch her adjusting to a very different life from what she knew. For example, the fist time the electricity went off, she came to me and started apologising. She thought I had turned off the TV because I was upset with her. I laughed and laughed and after trying to explain that "sometimes the light goes off in Nigeria", seeing her confused face just made me laugh some more. She saw a cockroach for the first time and asked me, "What animal is this?", more laughter. We took a walk down the street and saw some muddy gutters and she said "Mummy, look! There are puddles in the road." Oh dear.

Now, actually living in Nigeria was unsettling. I think, in the past when I went back for visits, I didn't fully immerse myself in the day-to-day things that people did, so that didn't affect me. Or maybe because I was usually only staying a few weeks, so it was just a case of "I'll be out of here soon" so I tended to overlook a lot of things. But after a while, certain things about Nigerian society become obvious. The police. Where do I start from? The terrible customer service. Again, legendary. The roads, the lack of constant electricity, and the simplest things that I used to take for granted. The government? Who? Sigh. The religious fanaticism that is simple unbelievable. The level of dishonesty. The terrible work ethic. Then, the culture. The culture! At some point, I began to wonder if I had really grown up in Nigeria. Or if I had changed so much, that Nigeria was now a foreign place to me. I actually started doing research, asking people lots of questions, and taking notes so that I could understand my own people again. In fact, I started watching Nollywood films everyday, because I wanted to know (or remember again) what was normal and acceptable in Nigerian society. And what I found was (mostly) not pretty. In fact, a lot of things were downright disturbing. For one, the immense pressure on Nigerian females to suppress themselves and fit into a mould of cultural expectations was quite alarming. I didn't understand it for a long time, why some of the ladies based in Nigeria that I interact with online had some weird ideas about relationships, marriage, sexuality, ambitions, etc. But after returning to Nigeria, I started to understand. Then, realising how much misogyny and patriarchy is so deeply rooted in normal day to day life, made me bristle. I wondered, how do women put up with this? How do they cope? How do they not question these things? 
Case in point: I was watching a Yoruba Nollywood movie with my niece. One of the characters mentioned a proverb, "Omo to da, ti baba e ni, omo ti o da, ti iya re ni" which translates to "A good child belongs to the father, but a bad child belongs to the mother." Immediately I heard it, I was like "Why? WHY does the father get credit for a good child, and why does the mother get blame for a bad child? Aren't they jointly responsible for the upbringing of their children? Why doesn't the mother get any credit if the child turns out good? Or am I missing something here?" My niece tried to explain the proverb by saying that it means a woman has to do everything she can to make sure her child is not bad. But then, I argue, so what is the father doing? If a child is becoming bad, does he sit and fold his arms? That led to a long argument and discussion, and in the end, I realised that women in Nigeria have a very long way to go.
I could rant so much about so many other examples that I came across, but I wonder if it would make any difference. Maybe a little. Anyway I read an article on Sabi News by Joy Bewaji (click here to read) that sums up a lot of what I saw. The article is witty and funny but also very very sad. A year ago, I would have been naive enough to believe that she was exaggerating, but now I know better.

Well, the upside of going to Nigeria is that there is plenty of inspiration for crazy flash fiction stories (lol). Stuff that would strike people as unbelievable happen every day in Nigeria. You don't have to look far to see, hear or experience drama. So hopefully, when I need inspiration, I can dig into my Nigerian experience and come up with something. I'm hoping to publish another collection of flash fiction stories before the end of the year. Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, I've been busy working on Accomplish Press. We've completely redesigned the website and updated our publishing focus and services for writers. If you're interested in taking your ideas from inside your head to books reaching your audience, then check us out @ Accomplish Press. We can help make your publishing dreams come true. We're also co-hosting an event for writers in London in November, and I'll be sharing more details about that soon.

If you're still reading this blog post, thanks for staying with me. I appreciate it and I hope you'll leave a comment. Or two. Or come back again. Cheers and have a great weekend!

Friday, August 01, 2014

Flash Fiction: Looking for Something

I've had lots of varying reactions to this story. I find it amusing that some people don't understand what's going on with the main character. I think the clue is in the title of the story. Here it is, published on Magunga:

Flash Fiction: Looking for Something by Tolulope Popoola

As always, I hope you enjoy reading!

Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Flash Fiction: The Flight

I wrote this story a little differently initially, then I was approached by an acquaintance who also writes flash fiction stories. He wanted a submission for Flash Fiction Ghana to celebrate their anniversary. So I tweaked the story a bit and sent it to them. Here it is published on their blog:

Flash Fiction: The Flight by Tolulope Popoola

The stories I've been writing these days seem to have a common theme. Hmmm.

Anyway, enjoy reading!

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Flash Fiction: Counselling Swap

Hello friends,

It's another flash fiction story, published on Brittle Paper! I hope you enjoy reading it.

Counselling Swap by Tolulope Popoola

Aside: the story was inspired by true events I overhead while visiting friends. Life huh?

Friday, June 06, 2014

Book Excerpt: When You Let Go by Unoma Nwankwor

Hello folks! Hope you've had a good week and you're looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Today I'm sharing an excerpt from "When You Let Go", a new book by Unoma Nwankwor. Enjoy!


About The Book 
An answered prayer. An unforeseen betrayal. A family healed by grace. 

Amara and Ejike Dike had been married for six glorious years. Amara was convinced Ejike, was the perfect gift from God. Loving, charming and very easy on the eyes. They had a beautiful life. Well, not so beautiful. Amara’s inability to bear children made her feel like a less than the perfect mate for her husband. Then after many years, God lifted her faith and had finally heard her cry. The Dikes couldn’t be happier. A surprise visit from Chinelo, Amara’s long lost cousin, turns Amara’s world upside down and threatens to turn her once-perfect existence into ashes. 
Ejike loved his wife with a passion. They shared a burning desire and faith in God that burned deep. However Chinelo’s appearance would open a Pandora’s Box that had purposely been kept shut. Faced with the loss of all she holds dear, Amara finds herself at crossroads. Would she lean on God’s sustaining grace to let go and travel the rocky path to forgiveness? Or would she throw everything to the wind and walk away? When You Let Go is a novel about people who know what the Word of God instructs but struggle with actually doing it when the chips are down.

Excerpt

This was working out better than I thought. Amara had been gone for a little over half an hour. She had tried calling Ejike before she left but couldn’t get to him. Chinelo smiled because that meant Ejike had no idea that he’d be coming home to her.

As soon as Amara left the house, Chinelo took a quick shower and put on her blue jean mini skirt and a sheer white blouse. Despite the black tank top underneath, it still had the effect she was going for.

Moments later, she could hear the garage door opening. That must be Ejike. Amara couldn’t have made it back so soon.

Chinelo put her hand on her blouse and adjusted the twins on her chest. Even if God hadn’t done anything else, He had endowed her with a good cup size and a figure she could always count on. She hiked up her skirt a little and sat on the sofa.

“Showtime, phase one,” Chinelo whispered under her breath.

The adjoining door to the garage opened.

Chinelo snickered when Ejike stopped dead in his tracks. He blinked a few times, then regained his composure. She felt the emotion in his eyes as he made a quick sweep of her body. Scorn. Discomfort. But she noticed that didn’t stop him from staring at her legs a second longer. That was what Chinelo had counted on—she knew he was a leg man. She remembered it was Amara’s legs he salivated over first. It was nice to know that being a church man hadn’t affected his sight.

Chinelo did a sweep of her own. Now that Amara wasn’t home, there was no need to steal glances like she had done at lunch the other day. Ejike Dike was still the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His neatly cut hair and lean but toned frame could be lethal on any sane woman’s hormones. His dark eyes always seemed to have the ability to see right through someone. Chinelo also noticed his style hadn’t been affected by the years either. He had on dark blue khakis and a Tommy Hilfiger, multi-colored T-shirt that hugged his muscles like it was made especially for him.

Chinelo stood up and reached out to grab his portfolio and the bottle of wine he brought home. “Where is Amara?”
Ejike walked past her and scanned the room with his eyes. Chinelo felt her blood rise. He just walked by her as though she didn’t exist. She couldn’t lose her head though. She was on a mission. This man hasn’t seen anything yet.
“Well, hello to you, too,” Chinelo said.
“Hi, where is Amara?”
“You trust your wife now. She’s always trying to rescue people. She had to run out for a bit to meet with a client.”
Chinelo made an attempt to reach for his portfolio again. This time he let her have it. She walked to the staircase and set it down at the foot of the stairs. She would have taken it into the study, but this time they had was valuable before his goody two shoes wife returned. She was not about to leave him alone. Every moment was precious.

About The Author 
Born in Akron, Ohio to Nigerian parents.UnomaNwankwor spent her childhood and early adulthood years in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. She is a romantic at heart and is passionate about telling stories of faith and hope about love. She hope to capture her readers through stories that are faith based with an element of love. After all, “and now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” ~1 Corinthians 13:13 She is the published author of An Unexpected Blessing (2013) and The Christmas Ultimatum (2013) and many published flash fiction and short stories. Her work has appeared in Africa Book Club and the Kenyan Ezine ;Wamathai and well as numerous radio shows and blogs. She is currently working on her next novel A Scoop of Love (October, 2014). Her readers are in love with her unique way of telling stories that capture the essence of her present home base; Atlanta Georgia and her Nigerian culture. She calls them her God-given stories and strives every day to be a use her gift to His glory. 

To find out more about Unoma, visit her
Website: http://www.unomanwankwor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/unwanwkorauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/unwankwor
Email: unwankwor@kevstelgroup.com

To buy a copy of "When You Let Go" please visit:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Book Review: "Honour Among All" by Vivian Kay

Book Review: "Honour Among All" by Vivian Kay 

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction

Rating: 4 (out of 5) Stars

I read a copy of Vivian Kay's book, "Honour Among All" and I have to admit, it gave me a lot of food for thought. I had to read it one more time before I felt like I understood a lot of the complex issues the story was dealing with. It's a Christian fiction novella so it was written with Christian themes. The main premise of the book was about swinging (wife swapping) in the Christian community, but it was also much more than that. For me, one of the main issues was: how do we interpret God's word? Do we follow it to the letter, or do we twist it to fit our own agenda?

The story centres around Ladi and Moni, a Christian couple who have been married for about nineteen years, and they have a teenage daughter. As someone who is married myself, I dread that phase that is sometimes seen as inevitable in a marriage: when the excitement of the newly-wed stage goes away, when the couple are no longer spending time together, when pressures of career and raising children become the priority, when life gets in the way, etc and the whole thing fizzles out and starts to feel like a relationship of convenience rather than a fulfilling lifelong partnership. I get that, I really do. That keeps me on my toes because I never want to end up feeling like I lost the plot in my marriage. So I really empathise with Moni in this story. Her marriage is in trouble. Her husband had an affair. She's struggling to forgive him. Their anger and bitterness towards each other is affecting their daughter. There's no more trust, and pretty soon, other unresolved issues pile up until they are at breaking point.

Enter Ladi's friend, Debo who introduces him to swinging, promising him that it is fun, harmless and a marriage-saver. Apparently, swinging works for him and his wife, Adele. He convinces Ladi to give it a try. Ladi, who is desperate and bored, quickly agrees to it, but then straight-laced Moni (who only ever dated one guy her whole life) is reluctant and not easily convinced by it. Ladi practically had to manipulate and bully her into going along with the idea.

You'll have to read the book to find out how the story goes. But I have to say that I applaud Vivian Kay for bringing this issue up. I never knew it existed in Christian circles and I found it hard to believe that people could justify their lifestyles because apparently "God has more important things to worry about, than who we are sleeping with." Really?

I must also commend the author on the way she handled Moni's own issues, because she's not completely innocent either. Thankfully she had a wise mum that she could run to, who called her out and gave her advice when she needed help.

Vivian Kay handles all the different issues deftly and with maturity. The book is not longer than it needs to be, and the reader is reminded that all our actions have consequences, not just for us, but also for our loved ones. Highly recommended.

To purchase a copy of "Honour Among All", go to:
Amazon (Kindle) or
Barnes & Noble (Nook) or
Kobo

Vivian Kay is a debut Christian author weaving stories in Canada's banana belt. When she is not writing or daydreaming about writing, she's cooking, playing scrabble or snuggling up with a good book. Vivian loves to hear from her readers so please stop by at http://viviankay.wordpress.com/ or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VivianKayAuthor or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VivianKayAuthor

Friday, May 09, 2014

Interview with Vivian Kay, Author of "Honour Among All"

Interview with Vivian Kay, Author of "Honour Among All"
Hi folks! Today, I've got an interview with Vivian Kay, she's a Christian and a writer. She's written a book titled "Honour Among All" and I read it a couple of months ago. You know, just when you think you've heard it all, and nothing can surprise you any more, there comes a story like this. I was shocked that the premise of her story, even though it is fiction, is actually based on real-life. I'm going to do a review of the book very soon, but for now, meet the author:


Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a wife, mom and debut Christian author weaving stories in Canada’s banana belt. When I’m not writing or daydreaming about writing, I love to cook, play scrabble or snuggle up with a good book.

Your new book, "Honour Among All" is a Christian Fiction novella with a twist. What prompted you to write this story?
The prompt to write Honour Among All came in November 2013 after hearing a real-life story of Nigerian Christians involved in swinging (wife-swapping). My initial thoughts were that the practice was not wide-spread amongst Christians. After doing a search and finding a web site catering solely to Christian swingers, I knew I had to write the story.

My first reaction when I read the book was to drop my jaw in surprise. How did you create the characters and storyline?
I found a support website for Mormon couples who were ex-swingers. Reading their candid stories and visiting a couple of swinger chat rooms really helped with shaping the characters and storyline. Given that I wrote the first draft in a month and the book was completely written two months later, I also believe as a Christian writer, that I couldn’t have done it without God’s leading.

"Honour Among All" is Christian fiction. Do you see yourself as a 'genre specific' author? What attracted you to this genre?
I do see myself writing only Christian fiction. As a reader, I’ve always found books in the genre uplifting and life-transforming.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing this story?
The most challenging aspect of writing the story was the research. Visiting swinger chat rooms was not something I had ever imagined myself doing. But I wanted the story to be authentic.

Did you learn anything about yourself as you were writing "Honour Among All"?
I learnt how important it was to know the source of my convictions and the courage sometimes needed to stand by them.

What do you hope your readers will take away from reading this book?
In as much as I wanted "Honour Among All" to be entertaining, the core message is that of redemption and restoration through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

Why do you think your book "Honour Among All" is relevant in this day and age?
Like I had mentioned earlier, swinging is a modern-day issue in the Church and my prayer as I wrote the book was for it to minister to the few or many looking for a way out.

As a writer, do you experience writer’s block?  If yes, how do you deal with it?
Yes, I do. I often step away from the work and find something else to do.

Which do you prefer, writing with a computer, a mobile phone or old fashioned pen and paper? 
Most of my writing is done on a computer. I do carry a notepad with me at all times.

Have you always enjoyed writing? Did you see yourself becoming a writer as a child?
Even though writing has been a big part of my life for many years, I didn’t see myself becoming a writer.

What’s the best perk of having published your novella? 
It’s reading the feedback from readers.

Did you experience any challenges with the writing and publishing process?
Due to the topic of the book, it was difficult to find beta readers and someone to edit the book. At one point, I had questioned if I was doing the right thing.

What influences your writing?
Stories I hear, books read and definitely scripture.

What was the last book you read?  
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. I’m working on the sequel to Honour Among All and I needed to read a book where one of the characters suffered from amnesia as a result of an accident.

Who are your favourite authors and what books have spoken to you most? 
I love books by Francine Rivers. She was the first Christian author I read. Her book Redeeming Love is an all time favourite. I’ve also enjoyed books by Abimbola Dare and UnomaNwankwor.

E-books versus physical books. What's your preference?
Physical books have an advantage since I love their feel and smell.

What is next for you as a writer? 
I’m currently working on the sequel to Honour Among All.  It’s another novella titled Secret Things.It’s the story of Debo and Adele, two of the characters from Honour Among All.

What are your words of advice for aspiring writers? 
While learning the craft of writing is important, it’s also important to write those stories that engage both your head and your heart. Give readers characters who make them feel something.

Where would you want to be, ten years from now?
By His grace, alive, in good health while writing stories that bring joy to me and others.

Thank you for your time.
Thank you for the feature. And all the best in your writing journey, too.

To purchase a copy of "Honour Among All", go to:
Amazon (Kindle) or Barnes & Noble (Nook) or Kobo

To interact with Vivian Kay, please contact her on:

Website: http://viviankay.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VivianKayAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VivianKayAuthor

Saturday, February 08, 2014

I'm Officially an Adult

Hello friends. Yes, I know it's been a while. I've been busy behind the scenes, so I have neglected this space. I do apologise, I didn't mean to. I've been juggling a lot of stuff in my personal life and in my business life, but I'm grateful and I wouldn't have it any other way.

On the personal front, I became a mother again (yay!) so I had to take time off to go on maternity leave (lol!), take time to bond with my new baby and adjust once again to a whole new set-up in my household. It's been very interesting going from mum-of-one to mum-of-two. At first I didn't know what to expect, whether things will be the same as the first time around, whether things will be different, whether I would feel more confident because I've done this before. But like all things, somehow there is more grace provided for the new challenge. It's not easy because my workload has increased, but then my joy and blessings have increased too!

On the writing and business front, I've been busy too. I've had some more flash fiction stories published on Brittle Paper; see
I also did a feature on my journey from Blogger to Author  as well as a couple of interviews with Konnect Africa and Busayo Sotunde

I've been working on Accomplish Press too, in the months before I took a break. We've completely redesigned the website and updated our publishing focus and services for writers. If you're interested in taking your ideas from inside your head to books reaching your audience, then check us out @ Accomplish Press. We can help make your dream come true.

As for the title of this blog post, well.... I came to this realisation as I was sitting in a taxi the other day. For the past couple of weeks (or months) I'd been thinking about how much my life has changed and evolved. In the beginning of my life story, I was the child, needing the parents to do their job and look after me. Now I look at my life and I'm the wife and mother, looking after my children and taking care of my parents. Isn't that something to think about? To realise that the carefree days of childhood are over, the awkward growing up phase of teenage is gone, and the self-discovery phase of the twenties are gone too. Now I'm a proper adult, with responsibilities that aren't going anywhere. I may take a break from working or from my responsibilities from time-to-time but I can't rewind time and go back to being a child. Scary! One thing I know, this adulthood business is not for wimps.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for reading my blog and I wish you a wonderful weekend and a brilliant month of February.