Many thanks to MissJ, Michael Onobote and Lady in Black for entering my valentine giveaway! You all gave excellent responses, and I couldn't choose so I used a random number generator:
So Michael, you've won a free copy of Nothing Comes Close! To claim, please send me an email to favouredgirl @ gmail dot com with your details and I'll get the book to you.
To be fair (since I'm so nice) if Lady in Black and MissJ don't mind, I'll be happy to send you Nothing Comes Close as an ebook. If you wish to claim, please send me an email as well.
Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy reading the story.
Hi everyone! Hope you've had a great month in February! I can't believe it's over already. It's been a busy month for me, with work and personal stuff. I've slacked a bit on some of my fitness goals, but I think I'm making some good progress on my reading and writing.
So far this year, I've read: The Life of Pi by Yann Martel Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away by Christie Watson Thursdays in the Park by Hilary Boyd Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
and I'm currently reading The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka
I've also started working on my next novel. I have to do some research but I'll focus on getting the first draft done before I start filling in the background details, otherwise I'll never finish. I can't wait to get to the end of that process!
In other news:
Nothing Comes Close recently received four great reviews from different readers and publications. As a writer, it's great when readers connect with something you've written, and explain it from their own perspective. So it's perfectly possible to have two different readers interpreting your work in different ways. I enjoyed reading the reviews below, and they've given me a few things to think about. I hope you enjoy reading them too.
BN Reviews on BellaNaija ~ A truly African love story, Nothing Comes Close shows us how African women fall in love—cautiously but completely. It is London sometime in the 2000s. Four young women—Lola, Funmi, Temmy, Maureen, and Titi—are caught up in the usual London hustle, doing the career thing and still finding time to look pretty at parties and bars. But their lives aren’t perfect, especially for Lola, who is nursing a broken heart and hanging on to a job—as a financial analyst—that she doesn’t like. At a house party organized by one of the girls, she meets Wole. The attraction is instant, but in her classic Nigerian-girl approach to romance, she is hesitant, always worrying about “losing all sense of caution.” But when unexpected tragedy strikes in the form of a murder, the force of desire heightened by the pain of loss drives Lola into Wole’s arms. From that point, the driving question of the plot becomes: will Wole reward her need for comfort with love or will his dark past destroy their chance for happiness?
OnePageWeekly ~ The romance between Popoola’s protagonists hits a rough patch when a murder investigation threatens to unearth some unpalatable details from the male protagonist’s past. The depth of trust, love and faith that was deposited in the relationship goes through an unfair test. Throw in a meddling relative; Lola’s sister who in the process of being protective almost murdered the relationship that Popoola got us rooting for. There, we have us a typical romance story. The good thing is that this novel is more than the conventional romance novel.
Critical Literature Review ~ Nothing Comes Close flexibly narrates love with the complex mishmashes of life as its characters battle different torments. It is in the battling that the reader is hooked to the book. He suddenly sees his life in scattered shards in the characters’. In Lola; you will be the lady thrashing around to be loved, hurting with every move… In Nothing Comes Close, love twirls everything, leaving in its wake disgusts, pains, hurts and fulfillments as the chapters in the books are skillfully divided between Lola’s and Wole’s point-of-views.
Just Read It ~ The novel is a typical boy-meets-girl story but fused with twists and turns, interfering relatives, jealous friends, unexpected deaths and more than a few secrets, lies and revelations along the way. Lola is an attractive independent, confident young woman who likes to hang out with her three best friends. She meets Wole at the party of one of said best friends and is immediately charmed by his good looks and cool mysterious demeanor. Wole too is taken by Lola and the two very quickly develop a relationship. But the course of true love does not run smooth because Wole despite being Mr Perfect is a man of several unbecoming secrets which are slowly revealed as the novel unfolds, leaving Lola to wonder if she can really trust him. The evidence and her sister (the interfering relative) says not. But Lola wants to follow her heart, and without wanting to give too much away she does but not without cost.
I was interviewed last week by Adeola Fayehun for Sahara TV's Inspire Segment. I talked about writing, my novel, my adventures in publishing and leaving my Accounting job to follow my dreams of becoming a writer.
You can watch the interview below:
Many thanks to Tundun Adeyemo and Adeola Fayehun for making it happen.
Thanks for watching. Do feel free to comment and share!
Blog Giveaway: For your chance to win a copy, just leave a comment below, telling me about your best ideas to celebrate Valentine's Day! Let me know if you want the paperback or ebook.
These days, I'm wearing many hats. From the minute I wake up, to the minute I flop down on my bed (usually) at night, I am doing several things at the same time. Writing stuff for new novel and other projects, marketing stuff for current novel, looking after a toddler, running a small business, catching up on reading, social networking, keeping up with house chores and other responsibilities, etc. It's mostly fun, but it can be overwhelming sometimes. Just ask any working mum how she juggles all the things she has to do in one week.
So at the beginning of this week and this month (hi there February, you crept up on me), I set myself some new targets. Must do another few thousand words on WIP. I must finish writing that short story. Must write that flash fiction I promised to send to the magazine. Must eat healthy and fit in exercise. Must read that novel and review it, the author has been waiting since November...
Fast forward to today, and I feel like I haven't achieved a single thing all week. I'm sure I must have done some things, maybe I just don't think it's significant enough. Sure I looked after an active toddler all day, everyday and managed to send a few emails here and there, but I'm seriously slacking on my writing goals. It's not like I haven't tried to write. In fact, yesterday I was feeling guilty for not writing, so I sat at my desk, ignored the noise around me and forced myself to write. But by the time I finished and looked at what I'd written, it didn't make sense at all. I gave up and went to do other things instead.
I think trying to do several things at the same time can sometimes be counter-productive. It becomes difficult to focus on one thing and get that done. There are times when my head feels so full of "things-to-do" that I actually prefer to shut down and just read a book instead. I'm realising that I need to find a more efficient way to organise my tasks each day, so that I make the best use of my (limited) writing time. It's alright to set goals and targets, but there's also a need to check how they are working out for me in my day-to-day activities.
How are you doing with the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year?
It's the first week of 2013! Happy New Year to everyone. I hope this will be your best year yet, and I pray you'll have many reasons to be thankful by December.
Like most people, I use this time of the year to reflect on the past twelve months, and also make plans for the coming months. 2012 was a remarkable year, globally and for me personally. There were big world events like the Olympics and Paralympics, the re-election of President Obama in America, chaos in Syria, bad news as Eurozone crisis gets worse, historical elections in Egypt, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in the UK and so many other news; good and bad.
On a personal level, as I look back on 2012, I think of it as a year where I had to work really hard, but I feel blessed because I made a lot of progress with my personal and career goals. I achieved some things I was aiming for, I had some surprises along the way, and I also had a few disappointments too. I'm glad I was able to finish writing, editing and publishing my book, Nothing Comes Close, plan and execute a book launch, and collate some of my favourite flash fiction stories into an ebook. I was able to set up my own independent publishing company, Accomplish Press and even get recognised with an award nomination.
As the new year progresses, I have some goals on my next-to-achieve list, some are "must happen" and some are "maybes" and "like to achieve". I remember someone told me that dreams are just that, dreams, until you write them down and make plans for incorporating them into your life as you go forward. So I've decided to write down my main goals for 2013 here:
1) Writing: I plan to finish working on my second book. This involves the writing, editing and publishing. To achieve this, I should cut down on distractions and aim for writing around 4000 words a week. I also want to write some more flash fiction and short stories.
2) Reading: Last year, I read only eighteen books (insert embarassed face here). That's bad, so this year, I'm determined to read a lot more. I've already got four books lined up to read this month, and several others to look forward to as the year progresses. If you want to know what I'm reading, follow me on Goodreads.
3) Be More Social: Yes, I need to get out more. I work from home, and my job involves hours of sitting at a desk typing away. And for many months last year, it seemed like my default answer to every invitation was "no, sorry". By nature, I'm an introvert but this year I'm going to make more of an effort to accept a few more invitations, go out and meet people, network with other writers and publishers, and generally connect with people in the real world, instead of just the virtual one.
4) Exercise more: Don't we all struggle with this one? I know all the benefits of eating a healthy diet and exercise but somehow, in the midst of working and looking after my family, it gets pushed down my list of priorities. I'm going to take it more seriously this time. I actually started making changes towards the end of 2012, so I just need to be consistent with it. One motivation: I'm approaching my thirtieth birthday and I want to make sure that I'm fit and healthy now so that I can keep up the good habits well into my thirties and beyond!
5) Publishing: I have three projects in the pipeline for Accomplish Press, and a partnership that I hope will enable me to expand the reach of the books we publish. I’m hoping that I can bring more writers to the attention of the public in 2013 and invest more in our campaign to get more young people to read more books.
So there we have it! I would be scheduling regular intervals throughout the year to check up on how well I'm doing with these goals. So help me God.I look forward to celebrating each milestone as I achieve them.
Do you have goals for the year? Feel free to share some of them in the comments.
"Nothing Comes Close" makes the list of Africa Book Club 2012 Books of the Year! Woo-hoo! I'm in really good company!
It's amazing to think my book has been featured on a list of best books of 2012. The list was compiled by the editors and reviewers of the Africa Book Club.
Daniel Musiitwa, the managing editor, said "Our 2012 list includes the top picks from our team of reviewers, that is, books they read and recommended as deserving to be on the list. We also scoured the continent (and, of course, the Internet) to find books about Africa or by African authors that generated the most buzz, received literary awards, or made the bestseller lists."
Nothing Comes Close was featured in the fiction category, alongside other exciting books such as: The Spider King’s Daughter (by Chibundu Onuzo), Daughters Who Walk This Path (by Yejide Kilanko), On Black Sisters Street (by Chika Unigwe) and No Time Like the Present (by Nadine Gordimer).
According to the reviewer, Dianah Ninsiima, "Nothing Comes Close" makes for a refreshing read – certainly a departure from other African stories that mostly center on the continent’s instabilities."
Hello everyone! Hope you've had a great time at Christmas and you're looking forward to a wonderful 2013. Isn't is remarkable how quickly 2012 seemed to fly past?
I'm pleased to say that Nothing Comes Close got another great review from the wonderful AdeOla of Jostwrite! She had been one of my beta-readers with earlier drafts and her feedback was very helpful. I'm pleased that she enjoyed reading the final version of the story.
"When drama stalks the man you love, it is important to evaluate what you want...him or a drama-less life. Beautiful, sassy and independent Lola had to make that decision about her relationship with handsome and mysterious Wole in Tolulope Popoola's debut novel, Nothing Comes Close. For a romance novel, the twist and suspense embedded in the pages made it all the more delightful." ~ AdeOla
Read the rest of the review HERE and leave a comment!
Hi folks! I'm glad to have received another great review and interview by the lovely Mary of Mary Okeke Reviews:
Read her review of "Nothing Comes Close" here: "Tolulope's way of writing is simple, straightforward, engaging and, hence, it's an uncomplicated read. The description of the characters are so genuine that I felt connected to them. Besides, this novel is not just about a simple love story per se, it is a story full of intrigue that evolves in an enjoyable manner, and kept me on the edge of my seat." http://www.maryokekereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/nothing-comes-close-2012-by-tolulope.html
Hi folks! It's almost the end of 2012 and I'm having a good week :)
The lovely blogger, Bookshy wrote a great review of "Nothing Comes Close:
"Nothing Comes Close was a very enjoyable debut novel, made even better with its relatable characters and unpredictability. Just like some movies, where you have to stay until after the credits, if you think you're done reading Nothing Comes Close, there's more." ~ Bookshy http://bookshybooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/book-review-tolulope-popoolas-nothing.html
And she also interviewed me for her "Meet..." series here:
Last week, I got an email, informing me that Accomplish Press (and me, Tolulope Popoola) has been shortlisted for the prestigious Women in Publishing New Venture award! I was so excited, because a friend nominated me, but I didn't even take it seriously. So imagine my surprise when I was invited to the awards ceremony!
The award ceremony was held on the 12th of December 2012 at the Women’s University Club in Mayfair, a beautiful and cosy venue with a lot of history, heritage, and lovely art collection. I almost didn't make it because I couldn't arrange childcare at the last minute, but when I called the organiser, she said she didn't mind if I came with my little one. So off I went to the ceremony, baby in tow. It was great though, everyone welcomed her and she got on well with all the guests. One of the speakers, who is also a member of the Women in Publishing Committee suggested I should come and give a talk at their next meeting. The topic? How to Balance Children and Careers! Lovely stuff.
After the speeches, the award announcements were made. First for the Pandora Award, which recognises a “woman who has made a significant and sustained contribution to the publishing industry” and this year the runner up was Sam Missingham, The Bookseller’s head of marketing and events and the co-founder of Futurebook. The winner was Marjorie Scardino, the CEO of Pearson, who has been in the role for fifteen years.
Then it was time for the New Venture Award! This award aims to recognise “a woman who has done pioneering work on behalf of under-represented groups in society”. Claire Pimm, the co-ordinator of the event and a committee member for Women in Publishing, said they were really impressed by the quality of candidates for the award this year, so they included a “Special Recommendation” category to recognise a third woman.
And the awards went to:
Special Commendation: Rivkie Baum, founder and publisher of SLiNK magazine, featuring plus size models
New Venture Awards Runner Up: Tolulope Popoola, founder of Accomplish Press (yay!)
New Venture Awards Winner: Caroline Taylor, founder and editor for 91 Magazine
I'm delighted to be recognised by such a great organisation of inspiring and creative women, and I'm really grateful for the honour. When my name was called, I had to go up to give a speech and collect my award certificate. I was a bit nervous but I managed to get through it with a smile.
(Here's a photo of the New Venture Award recipients courtesy of Maia Walczak)
It’s such a lovely recognition and a great way to round up my first year since I ventured into publishing. Here's to even more achievements, and more exciting things to come in 2013!
So it was the 1st of December 2012, and the date for the launch party for "Nothing Comes Close". I was excited cos I'd planned most of the details myself and I was looking forward to it, hoping everything would go well. I prayed for good weather (very important in London), and I was hoping there wouldn't be major issues with transport or parking for my guests. I was also nervous because I had to read an excerpt of the book and I've never done a public reading before!
The venue was the Vortex Jazz Club, a nice cosy space with great, helpful staff. They kindly set up the space, the projector so that we could show the book trailer and manned the bar so we could have drinks :)
After waiting a bit for the venue to fill up, we started the event by showing the book trailer:
And then it was time for me to do a reading:
Afterwards, I was interviewed by the lovely Abidemi Sanusi (so excited she came to my book launch!)
Next there was a Q&A session with the audience. Lots of people asked thoughtful questions about my choice of genre, if I intend to write a sequel, if I would like my stories translated onto the big screen, etc. There were also questions about the publishing side of things, and if I intend to take on other writers as time goes on. Then my dad (yes, he came from Nigeria to attend my book launch!) totally hijacked the rest of the session and chatted for ages about how I got my writing skills from him because he studied English at university, how he's been friends with me since day one, why I should work faster on my next book, etc etc.
Moving on, there was a book presentation, and then it was time for book signing and refreshments!
Mini-book cupcakes anyone?
The cupcakes were so cute! Very tasty too, all courtesy of Deluxury Cupcakes
Then we had the the raffle giveaway! Some of the gifts and prizes included two special goody bags, jewelled scented soaps, umbrellas, handmade chocolates, wine and Amazon gift cards. Congratulations to the guests who won something!
Signing copies :)
Posing with my very good friend, Sefa.
A very special someone wanted his own copy signed too :)
(Blogger is taking ages to upload the photos, there are more on my Facebook page)
I just want to say a very big thank you to everyone who pitched in to help with the event, to the guests and friends who came, the venue staff, everyone who sent me congratulatory messages, and to you all who have been a big part of my writing journey since way back in 2008! I really appreciate your kindness and your support.
Two other lovely bloggers have posted their summaries of my book launch. Drop by to read their views and say hello:
It's a few days after the book launch and I'm exhausted, but happy! I'm really grateful to all the folks that came out to support me on a freezing Saturday afternoon. The event went very well and I had a great time. I'll put up the photos and a full break-down of the programme in a few days.
For now, I'm pleased to say that Nothing Comes Close got a great review from the wonderful Adura Ojo! I'm glad she enjoyed reading the story and I hope to learn from the few weaknesses she pointed out:
"No woman likes nasty surprises in a relationship, particularly when it is her heart on the line. So it is plausible that the reader feels the jolt of every twist and turn in the journey of these two lovers as they learn to put their trust in no one else but each other." ~ Adura Ojo
Read the rest of the review HERE and leave a comment!
If you live in the UK and would like an invitation card in the post, please RSVP with your address to sarah@accomplishpress.com
PS: If you can’t make it to the event, you can still purchase the ebook or paperback online from many retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, WHSmith, Foyles, Book Depository and many more!
