A little piece of me (2)

1) Is the weather really always that nice or are those just good days:
Most of the pictures were taken on bright and sunny days some as recent as last week. The weather in Seattle can be very fickle and temperamental. Summer was fantastic, over a month with no rain. Sunny skies but not run-out-screaming hot, except on two or so occasions. Now we’re in fall, it’s dry one minute and wet the next. It rains even when the sun is out. LOL, and it rains almost every other day.

2) As a writer, does all the art in the city inspire you or you don’t actively think about it:
I don’t actively think about it. I love going to museums and art events but more to relax. What inspires my writing about the city is the sense of serenity. There are trees all over the place and beaches when the weather is nicer. These are the things that get my muse in the right mood.

3) Who is your favourite author?
I love various authors and cannot narrow it down. The names that stick are; M&B, Cartland, Rivers, Sheldon, Ludlum, Uris, Grisham, and Critchton. And in Africa; Pacestters, AWS, Nwapa, Emecheta, Ekwensi, and Achebe. Recently I read more by how I like the preview or reviews of a book than who wrote it. However, I always try to buy a Nigerian author each time I shop.

4) How did you decide to self-publish your book?
I sent out the manuscript to about three publishers, but I always knew I might go the self publishing route. I’m not the literary author type that is more acceptable to mainstream publishers and the genre publishers may not be comfortable with the Nigerian setting. However, I wanted people to read my story and hope it leads to bigger things. I also own the rights and if a good offer comes in later, I will accept.

5) How long have you lived in Seattle? I have lived here for going on a year now.

6) What are the pros and cons of living there?
One big pro of course was being able to join SO, LOL. OK, Seattle is a slow paced city which I prefer and the weather is manageable. It’s close to the Canada border and to California so easier to visit these places (I like travelling). The cons are that the weather can get depressing at times. It is three hours behind the rest of the country time-wise and 8hrs behind naija and UK, making it harder to call friends and family. It is also far from the South, Midwest and East coast, and very far from naija with more expensive flights.

7) What did you study in college?
I studied Applied Biology for my first and Public Health Research for Masters. So what am I doing writing? Search me…LOL, the research comes in useful sha.

8) Are you a writer for real?
Who is a real writer? LOL...well I’ve been writing since I was little. I did sciences all through and still kept on writing. Now it is my 9 – 5 and hopefully more people are reading me now and will be reading in future. I’ll be very fulfilled when the first book is out in print I can tell you.

9) Other than writing, what else do you enjoying doing?
I watch a lot of TV and movies, listen to music, and chat with friends. I enjoy the outdoors with good weather and a long hike somewhere; beach, wood park, walking and hill climbing. I also love travelling, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures. Of course reading is the easiest and cheapest way of doing this and some of my best days are curled up with a book while it’s rain-drenched outside.

10) I always wonder how you manage to sit and write an entire story without throwing your laptop out the window. I have a big issue with over-editing my stuff.
It’s both a fault and a blessing. I cannot tell a short story unless I’m forced to. So it’s something I enjoy, writing long stories about people in my imagination. Now that I’ve made it my 9-5, you don see my life finish. LOL. I edit a lot while writing so that at the end it’s minimal. Still I appreciate fresh eyes to help me proof and then I force myself to move to the next project. “A heart to Mend” took me about 6months.


>>>>>That’s it my friends, some questions were answered in the previous comments. The details for those that want to contribute will be ready tomorrow with the first installment and poll. Thanks again…

A little piece of me (1)

So the theme of this blog will be changing in the next few weeks, at least till the end of the year. As most of you know, I have submitted the manuscript for Edward and Gladys' story to the publishers and the process has started. Now I have started research for the next book, it has to do with twins and of course romance in Nigeria. Some of you on twitter already know where it is set. LOL. It's gonna be partly in Benin-City.

Anyway I digress. The blog is gonna change a little to give me time to get my flow on the new one and till "A mended heart" premieres. So while we wait for the washing, SO has agreed to take some of the load off. He is a blogger though he rested his spot some time ago. Some of you may recognize him. Yes leggy, that is the person responsible for all the mushy poems so blame him when he comes oo.

As I was saying, we want to start an interactive story with the commenters. It will have a poll driven storyline and interested bloggers can contribute as well. Before the end of this week, I will have the details ready.

For now I was tagged by Scomiss to talk about the hype in my city. This ties in with my idea to celebrate my over 100 followers. I realised my blog doesn't share a lot of myself, though I leave a few pieces here and there on other blog's comments. So to share more of me, I have made a video of the city I live in with one or two pictures of me thrown in.

Look at the pictures, ask any questions you want in the comments section and I will answer as much as I can. My next blog post will be dedicated to answering those questions so look out for it too.

Thanks for following and thanks for the comments. I really appreciate it. I even think that without you guys, it would have been more difficult to finish the book so quickly. You're all the best. If you're not following, join now and keep commenting/ voting. Giveaways are coming again soon...

ps...I will take down the video once I have 10 questions I want to answer.