Hello everyone,
Welcome to our monthly feature for authors.
The author for the month of March 2022 is Rosemary Okafor, author of ‘Many Waters’, ‘Paradise’ and other books. I have read and reviewed her books on this blog and you can check out my review (in “Book Reviews) to see if you may be interested to read them.
Today’s interview will give us a sneak-peek into Rosemary’s life as a published author. I hope you enjoy reading her answers to these ten questions but first let’s begin with an introduction of the author.
So here we go…..
The Author:
Rosemary Okafor was born in 1987, at the little town of Aba, Abia State, in Nigeria. She is married with children and also a community service volunteer. She has written short stories which are featured in three Anthologies: Be my Val volume 2, Hell has no fury and Nights at Club Nova.
Her first book ‘One more night,’ was published in 2020. She has further published two other novels titled ‘Paradise’ – A Twin Bliss Resort Series Novel and the recently published ‘Many Waters’.
The Interview:
WHEN DID YOU START WRITING?
Rosemary: Sometime in secondary school when my crush ignored me and chose to go for my friend instead. I wrote our story (which I never published). Some years after, I was writing plays and radio dramas. From there I got into writing short stories on my social media pages, most of these stories got published in anthologies. I officially became a published author with my debut romance book “One More Night.” Published August 2020.
WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISING THING YOU DISCOVERED WHILE WRITING?
Rosemary: Story Ideas are really limitless! Inspirations are everywhere around us. One only needs to open his or her mind.
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF GOOD WRITING?
Rosemary: Oh, continuity. Fluidity. Relatable characters and scenes. Depth! Well developed characters. Emotional connectivity.
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOK – ‘MANY WATERS’?
Rosemary: A family friend who is in the military. His heart-gripping stories about his missions to Niger-delta hinterlands. His journey to finding love amidst difficult situations and all.
DO ANY OF THE CHARACTERS HOLD A SPECIAL PLACE IN YOUR HEART? IF YES, WHO?
Rosemary: Yes. Ebube stole my heart. I fall in love with him almost immediately.
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE?
Rosemary: Many Waters? I got that from the potion of the bible, Song of Solomon 8:7. Many waters can not quench love, neither can flood drown it. This talks about the many ordeals the two major characters went through and still remain true to each other. The hardships, the near-death experiences, e.t.c. The long years the couple had to wait to see themselves again.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PART AND LEAST FAVOURITE PART OF THE PUBLISHING PROCESS?
Rosemary: Favorite part? Birthing the Idea. Drafting it maybe. Then seeing readers react positively to the story.
Least favorite? Editing, rewriting, marketing. Counting down to release date— the anticipation is killing (Lol).
WHAT ONE THING WILL YOU GIVE UP TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER?
Rosemary: Procrastination. Aside that nothing else. I just wished I would be given more than 24 hours in a day as every thing I do each day seem to be important. Work, kids, church, being a wife, singing.
HOW DO YOU HANDLE LITERARY CRITICISM?
Rosemary: It wasn’t easy for me to deal with initially. Then I developed a thick skin. I read every criticism knowing that some readers already have personal bias about a theme and Idea while reading, so their criticisms may be based on personal feelings. Also, I understand that criticisms can be constructive and when I read such, I don’t ignore. I pick up what I can from criticisms and use it in my next work.
Finally, people are entitled to their opinions so…
ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOUR READERS?
Rosemary: Of course I am. I am currently brushing and polishing a Christian romance. Started writing it sometime last year. Finished the draft and left it to publish Many Waters.
You will be the first to know the title of this sweet , soft romance, “God, Michael and Me.”
Hopefully, it will be published on or before my birthday, 1st May.
Then The Soldier’s Story Book 2 (Felix’s Story) is still in the drafting stage. No date of release yet. I am taking my time with it.
I hope you enjoyed reading the author’s responses as much as I did.
If you still have any more questions for Rosemary, you can write them in the comments and she will respond to you.
Have a good one!
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