The Mrs Club

Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Book Club Interview

I have been invited to speak about the Mrs Club at a book club here in Atlanta. I am really psyched because it is an African American group and I really want to know if the book has crossover appeal. They take their book club pretty seriously, they have a newsletter and everything. So they sent me some interview questions for their newsletter and I thought I'd share with you.

Interview
1. Tell us your latest news.

Well I am living, laughing and loving my life! I am presently preparing to go to London to do some promotion for the book and discuss some logistical issues. After that I will be back in the states to continue the hustle. Also I am psyched to tell you that Upscale magazine just featured my book in the May edition!

2. What inspired you to write this novel?

I guess the book came out of conversations I was having and stories I was hearing about women who felt pressured to be married by thirty and as a result were doing different crazy things.

3. Is there a message you want your readers to grasp?

Yes, it’s the same message I plan to give my daughter. It is simply this “You are enough”. You don’t need a man to complete you, define you and certainly not oppress you. I think a man is what we in Nigeria call “jara” which translates to icing on the cake. When I told my father I had met my husband and we wanted to get married, he asked me if I was sure. When I said yes, he said “well I haven’t met him yet, but regardless of how wonderful he may be, I hope you know that you like all my children are completely complete just the way you are”. Till today, that singular statement fills me with joy and it actually freed me to love my husband freely and truly.

4. Which of the characters is most like you?

Everyone asks that! Well there will be some obvious similarities between me and Amaka, who is a pharmacist, voluptuous and sweet. However her story isn’t mine and I feel a similar kinship with the other girls. I connect with Titi for her tell it like it is nature and with Mina for her tough girl exterior.

5. What have been your greatest successes in your life?

My greatest successes are yet to come. I have many things I am proud of and many that I am not. I think completing this book and presenting it to the world is a success and teaching my daughter to love and be happy is another success. Being a wife to my husband is yet another success, because regardless of how much you love each other, marriage is hard work!

What do you feel the causes are for them?

Simply put, I will succeed because I believe I can and I will act upon that belief. One of my family’s favorite quotes is by Anatole France and it states “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

6. What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Start writing and read like it is going out of style. Also write for yourself first. A few people I knew were somewhat disappointed that I wrote a chick lit book, because some people don’t consider chick lit real literature, but I love what I wrote and judging from the emails I have received so many others do too. So be true to yourself no matter what.

7. What kind of books do you read?

It runs the gamut, my library features everyone from Toni Morrison and Richard Wright to Sophie Kinsella and Helen Fielding.

8. What have been the greatest lessons you've learned?

1. The truly successful in life are not the most exceptional people, they are simply those who dare to believe that they can be successful.
2. You can’t love too hard, laugh too loud and dream too big. Life is limitless.

9. What have been the greatest surprises in your life?

That after almost six years of marriage, some of those years being really hard that I would fall for my husband all over again. That my two year old would teach me how to be audacious. That I can love what I do and do what I love at the same time.

10. What book has made the greatest impact on your life?

As trite as it sounds…The Bible. My favorite book is Proverbs. It is like a blueprint for successful living.

THE MRS CLUB
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GET YOUR COPY TODAY!

Posted by Naija Babe :: 5:55 PM :: 1 comments