Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a journalist by profession, a novelist by choice, and as I love to say, a poet by chance. I am a member of the U.K. Chartered Institute of Journalists, formerly special desk editor at ThisDay newspapers, an authoritative third world daily, first published in collaboration with the Financial Times of London. My poems have been published in two international anthologies: The Sounds of Silence and Measures of the Heart. One of such poems, Anguish & Passion, was adjudged winner of the Editors’ Choice Award in the 1998 North America Open Poetry contest, sponsored by the National Library of Poetry, USA. So far, I have published two books – Take Back the Memory, a contemporary women’s fiction, awarded a 5-star seal by Readers’ Favorite and Flashes of Emotion, a collection of poems.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Flashes of Emotion, a book of poetry collection, is my last published book. While some poems in it were just creative explosions that occur as part of my constant mental process, others were directly inspired by events, people, and situations around me over a period of time.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if this constitutes a strange writing habit but I enjoy listening to radio news broadcasts while writing. Sometimes I prefer a little musical distraction, especially movie scores like Ennio Morricone’s. That said, my writing process is a actually a simple one; I sit in front of the pc and stare at the screen. I stare at it until I come up with a satisfactory opening line. I smile at the scene unfolding in my mind’s eye and begin to write. When I’m done I ‘walk away’ from it for a while (which could be days in some cases) so that when I eventually come back to it I can view it from a reader’s standpoint and spot any structural weakness.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a strong admiration for authors with a unique writing style, and books of great insight. Some of the authors I admire, therefore, are Oscar Wilde, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes, Umberto Eco, author of The Name of the Rose, Arundhati Roy, author of the God of Small things, and Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on a mystery/thriller novel
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I wish I had an answer to that. Actually, I’m still trying to find the right method and/or the best website for book promotions.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Invent your style. No one can outclass you as long as you are yourself because there’s only one you alive. And–this is what I tell myself too–aim at the sky so you might hit the tallest tree.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Keep your hopes high and your expectations low, you are not entitled to anything but there’s nothing that you can’t achieve” – Taylor Swift, quoted by Ashton Kutcher.
What are you reading now?
Not currently reading, will start soon though, with a book by a friend in a genre that’s all too new to me
What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing, writing, writing.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The collected Oscar Wilde, a Scott Turow thriller, and The Man Died by Wole Soyinka.
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