Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and what inspired you to start writing
• About Myself
Levi Cheruo: I am a passionate writer, a gifted poet, an accomplished lyricist, a recorded singer, and above all a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya.
I have penned down FIVE titles, which are readily available and accessible both online and offline in Paperback and eBook formats via CreateSpace Publishers, Amazon, etc. They include:
[1] There is no Country Called Kenya: If you Must Steal, Just Steal a Little Please
[2] The UglyBeautiful Tale of a Stupid, Stupid Heart: When Mother Hen Eats her Grownup Chicks
[3] A Must-Have Guide for Every Aspiring Writer: Easy, Learnable, Realistic and Sure Ways to Earn Money as A Writer Online (Earning a Living as A Writer) (Volume 1)
[4] Please! Remember to Forget Me! And Other Short Stories
[5] Crawling to my Death and Other Poems: A Poetry Anthology
More so, I have two other works that will be hitting your bookstores at the soonest opportune possible. These include a Swahili Riwaya titled Yajapo Yapokee, and an English Novella titled Married to my Shadow: Love is for the Dying and Weak in Spirit.
Additionally, I am an occasional Op-Ed contributor for major local dailies here in Kenya namely:
1. The Daily Nation
http://www.nation.co.ke/…/440…/2841514/-/fsy6my/-/index.html
http://www.nation.co.ke/…/440…/2533486/-/bw5vng/-/index.html
2. The Standard Group Media
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/…/why-ex-pm-back-door-admiss…
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/…/lets-avoid-the-road-that-…
3. News24
http://www.news24.co.ke/…/raila-a-political-cheat-or-timely…
http://uganda.news24.com/…/1001-reasons-that-makes-kenya-bo…
4. Sido News Network
http://www.sabaots.com/Levi_Cheptora_Cheruo.html
5. Kenya Yote
http://kenyayote.com/political-appeasement-killing-the-spi…/
6. Kenya-Today
http://www.kenya-today.com/opinion/police-reforms-in-kenya
7. Kenya London News
http://www.kenyalondonnews.org/?p=3769
Some of my fiction writings have also been featured in reputable sites such aswww.africanwriter.com and www.writeoutloud.com.
• What Inspires Me to Write
Levi Cheruo: Not long after my birth, my parents walked their separate ways after a not-so-happy marriage that I would come to learn many years later was characterized by violence, drunkenness and negligence.
Denied both motherly and fatherly love, it didn’t take long to realize I was on my own. I started asking why…then Papa died, closely followed by Isabel, my late girlfriend, and the only kind soul I ever knew.
For me, writing is not only a past-time hobby, but a therapeutic undertaking that has helped me discover the real me.
What happens around me greatly inspires me…. It could be the sudden loss of a loved one, the runaway culture of impunity, and rampant corruption in my country, a heartbreak, and most important, solitude and loneliness.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My books are mainly centered on the themes of relationships, justice, equality, good governance, and leadership accountability.
The UglyBeautiful Tale of a Stupid, Stupid Heart was inspired by the 2007/2008 Kenya’s Post Election Violence, and the subsequent victory to the alleged perpetrators; There is No Country Called Kenya is an answer to the current wave of perpetual state-sanctioned thieving that threatens to tear Kenya apart, and so are the rest of the titles.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I never write an outline neither do I ever bother with character autobiographies before commencing my writings. I just write…
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite authors include:
1. Violet Kala, Zimbabwe: Waste not Your Tears
2. Ngugu Wa Thiong’o, Kenya: I will Marry When I Want
3. Chinua Achebe, Nigeria: Things Fall Apart
What are you working on now?
I have two other works that will be hitting your bookstores at the soonest opportune possible. These include a Swahili Riwaya titled Yajapo Yapokee, and an English Novella titled Married to my Shadow: Love is for the Dying and Weak in Spirit.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
https://www.goodreads.com/author/program
https://authorcentral.amazon.com/
Do you have any advice for new authors?
f you have an idea you strongly believe in, and that you know it will impact many a soul out there, do not sit on it…write your heart out…you deserve to be heard as soon as last year!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When you are writing, you are just writing. You are not planning, you are not editing. You are writing. Once you have planned your story, it is time to sit down and write it.-JK.ROWLINGS, Harry Porter Series
What are you reading now?
One Day I Will Write About This Place: A Memoir
by Binyavanga Wainaina
What’s next for you as a writer?
As long as I am alive, I will continue uplifting souls, igniting dispirited hearts, cheering up sad faces, and restoring hope to the hopeless through my writings.
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?
I will definitely bring along a Bible, a Church Hymnal Book, Violet Kala’s Waste Not Your Tears, and Nelson Mandela’s Abridged Autobiography A Long Walk to Freedom
Author Websites and Profiles
Levi Cheruo Website
Levi Cheruo Amazon Profile
Levi Cheruo’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account