- How long have you been writing?
From about the age of six.
- What is your favorite genre to write?
Oh, wow. I don’t actually have a favorite genre to write. I write human stories.
- Which genre have you never tried before, but would you like to try out?
There are a lot of genres I haven’t tried. Science fiction is one; I just can’t get my head around it. Crime and procedural is another … but I’m working on a screenplay, whose meat is crime and procedural, so that’s one thing I can tick off the list (laughing).
- Please tell us about your book.
It is a cocktail of friendship, love, sisterhood, domestic violence, religion and cultural clashes.
- Which character was your favorite, and why? Which character was your least favorite, and why?
My favorite was Stella – she’s the mischievous, pull-you-outta-your-shell, ride-or-die friend who becomes a sister. Not quite the ‘tart with a heart’ but she skirts certain lines. My least favorite was Tony because well … you’ll have to read the book to find out why (laughing).
- What was the hardest part about writing your book?
Writing about abuse. Researching it, too. It was mentally difficult to have certain pictures in my head.
- What is your writing routine? Are there things you absolutely need to start writing?
To be honest, it does vary from one day to the next. I run The Fearless Storyteller House Emporium Ltd – a media and publishing firm based in Nigeria. So, between working on manuscripts (including clients’ ones), signing off on covers and editors’ work, figuring out the best marketing plan for each client, thinking about my radio show and dealing with the other components and products of the company – having a writing routine per se is actually unrealistic. I do have a 90-day goal list that I check every morning and every night. The goal list has actionable steps to take for each to be achieved, a space for their completion date and another space for the consequences of failing to deliver. So, the books that are on that list – whether they’re for release or marketing or both – I have a clear thing of “You need to finish this manuscript by X date, so it can go to the editor by Y date and get released on A date.” The same way I would treat a client. I treat myself like a client of the company – when it comes to writing books – and stick to that, because my goals are important.
- How long did it take you to write your book from start to finish?
18 long months and seven exhaustive re-writes.
- Can you tell us about your editing process?
I have a trusted editor, who is even more brutal than I am. And I know not to take things personally.
- Is this book part of a series? If so, how many installments do you have planned?
No, this one is a stand-alone, this-is-the-end, it-is-what-it-is book. Having said that, I am working on a trilogy aimed at teenagers to be released in the summer. They’re called “Summer Party”, “Summer Camp” and “Summer Job”.
- Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Write. Read. Write. Look for a good publisher. Read. Write. Invest yourself and your money in your career.
- Why should everyone read your book?
There’s a fair bit going on. Coming of age, travel, women’s issues, legal issues, culture, religion. Some of it is quite disturbing, though …
- If you could meet three authors, dead or alive, which authors would you choose?
Lynda La Plante – I’d like to know how she’s done everything she’s done. She went from writing to having material commissioned for television. That’s an area that very few people can do well. Then, I’d like to meet J. D. Robb – how on earth has she churned out all the amazing stories in her “In Death” Series?! Plus I’d like to get into her mind; some of the stuff that the character of Eve in the series go through, and the character of her husband (Roarke) is very unusual. So, I’m like, “What was going on in your mind when you were writing this?” And Jeffrey Archer – because a part of me is like, “I think I want to be like you when I grow up. Without the prison part, of course”. But on a serious note, it was reading one of his books that gave me an idea that I am working on, next quarter.
- What inspired you to write your book?
Ooooh, a lot. Women in trouble. The reaction of the church to domestic violence. Traveling. Studying abroad. A lot of things.
- Are you working on something at the moment? If so, can you tell us more about it?
Absolutely. The company is releasing three new books in March 2017. One is called “Survival” by a new author called John Yusuf. It’s a coming of age story with a lot of stereotypes being broken and a theme of friendship and camaraderie in the midst of shared tragedy … and there’s a sense of just how far a person will go, what rules they will break and testing the boundaries of what they had considered ‘morality’ when they are trying to survive. That comes out on the 1 March. Then, there’s “Because Home Is …” whose release date is 13 March, my birthday. I’m the author and it’s basically about finding home, coming home and being home – even with ‘being’ as a person. I read a book by Faye Kellerman a long time and there was a character that said that “Everyone is either running away from or towards something”. Then, it dawned on me that you run till you get home. And home is that person, place or thing where you can be naked and unashamed. So, that’s what this book is about; it’s a collection of short stories. And there’s another fiction book called “Sun Sets At Vanity Fair” coming out on 30 March. The author is Tobore Mit Ovuorie; she’s a Nigerian, multi award-winning, investigative journalist; her story became public a couple of years ago or so, when she published her discoveries (in the newspaper she used to work at) after going undercover to expose a human trafficking ring operating out of Nigeria.
Then, I’ve got a blogazine that is set up to run like a magazine. We won the 2016 BEFFTA (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) Award for “Blog of the Year”. So, we’re building on that and sticking to a plan that was created even before the blogazine was born. Resuming my radio show in March and beginning to work on screen productions next quarter. So, quite a bit going on …
About the Book
Title: Forever There For You
Author: Chioma Nnani
Genre: Romance
When NADINE is confronted with the reality of her failing marriage, her first instinct is to work it out. She has had it drummed into her that marriage is ‘for better, for worse’. Walking out is just not an option – her faith would condemn her and her culture would make her a pariah.
The combination of Nadine’s background, education, social standing, friendships, faith, experiences and past relationships is meant to equip her to become a success. Failure is alien to her and love means forgiving at all cost.
As she tries to survive and make the most of the curves that life has thrown her, she discovers that ’success’ is a subjective term, and ‘happily ever after’ is something that you have to discover and define for yourself …
Author Bio
Chioma Nnani is an award-winning author, who also contributes to business, lifestyle and literary publications. One of Africa’s most fearless storytellers, she is a 2016 CREATIVE AFRICAN Awards finalist in the category of “Best Fiction Writer”, and a DIVAS OF COLOUR 2016 finalist. Chioma has also been nominated twice for a UK BEFFTA (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) Award in the “Best Author” category. A talented ghost-writer who is known for “being able to get into your head and under your skin, before writing down exactly how you’re feeling”, Chioma has been named “One of 100 Most Influential Creatives in 2016” by London-based C.Hub Magazine.
She holds a Law (LLB) from the University of Kent and a Postgraduate Certificate in Food Law (De Montfort University, Leicester). She is the founder of THE FEARLESS STORYTELLER HOUSE EMPORIUM LTD (a premium storytelling outfit based in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, where she lives), typically contributes to lifestyle and literary publications, and runs the “Memo From A Fearless Storyteller” blogazine at www.fearlessstoryteller.com for which she won the 2016 BEFFTA (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) Award.
Links
Amazon (Kindle): United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Australia and India. It is also available on Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Okadabooks, and major online stores. Okadabooks is mainly for buyers in Africa.
As a paperback, Forever There For You is available from Amazon in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Canada, and India.
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