Why and how did you become a part of the “In My Dreams it was Simpler” project? Favoured Girl wrote a short story that I liked, people left comments and she thought it could become bigger and asked for people who would like to contribute on Facebook. It sounded like something fun and a way to express my creativity, so I decided to give it a shot. FG and I have read each other’s works as writers, we had discussed our works in the past, and our writing styles are similar so I believed I could work with her initial story.
What did you hope to achieve with the character?
I hoped to present a young woman trying to find her way in life. Funmi is a young woman who seems to have it all together on the outside but is struggling in some parts of her life. Gradually, I’m presenting her as who she is and who she will become. Eventually every young woman can see themselves through her eyes--no one is perfect. You have to be willing to fall down and let others catch you.
How did you connect that character to the whole plot of the story?
It’s a story about dreams, about friendships, about life and love. Life is generally about these things so it was not hard to build a character that would fit into the plot of the story.
What one lesson did you learn from this ‘group’ experience? Actually, I’ll mention two (if you permit me).The benefits of team work. I alone could not have published a book last year but WE did it. The second thing is that working with a team has a lot of challenges and you have to be willing to respect other people’s points of view.
What books are currently reading? Cs Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and The Princess by Lori Wick
In your view, how has internet changed the face of publishing? The internet has made self publishing easier. You can publish your book online, sell online, publicise online without having a physical selling point. It has really helped.
What’s your take on the Nigerian publishing scene? I think publishing is almost non-existent in Nigeria. Most so-called publishers are just printers and the few who publish mostly do books that have been previously published abroad. Most writers have to look for agents abroad or resort to self-publishing. I think there’s a lot of room for growth in the publishing industry and hopefully we’ll have the growth.
List five of your favorite blogs and why?
Verastic- Her wit and humour
Solomonsydelle- Her kids’ antics make me laugh
Aloted- She’s my friend and she used to do the Thankful Tuesday series that inspired me to start my own Thankful Wednesdays
Jaycee- Her use of allegory in describing the things of God is awesome.
GoodNaijaGirl- I like her openness and sincerity
What are you scared of? I don’t think I’m afraid of anything. I would be scared of not fulfilling my potentials though.
What inspires your writing? Anything and everything. People, things, other people’s experiences and my own experiences. A lot of times, I’m like a gist monger, always listening when people say things because I always think, that could come in handy someday. My husband inspires me too, he gives me story ideas, he is very imaginative and I flesh up the ideas.
What is the worth of a book? Books are priceless!
Who are your literary heroes? The late Professor Ola Rotimi (he was my lecturer and i’m just biased to him, I love him), Chinua Achebe, Flora Nwapa, C.S Lewis and so on.
What does it mean to be a writer?
A writer is someone who writes. A writer draws inspiration from things around him or her, puts pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as the case may be) and lets their imagination take them to places they have never been and have experiences they might never have had. A writer writes!
What does the future hold for you? More stories, more articles, more books, more laughter, more love, more friendships..maybe an unveiling of Writefreak in the near future though I know I’m not as anonymous as I used to think I was.
