Award winning fiction-writer, Ayo Oyeku was recently cornered at an event and I sought to have a few words with him, judging from his blockbuster novel (Tears of the Lonely)which is available in mobile downloadable version, he offered a few words about himself, career and the inspiration that lead to the novel, excerpts below....enjoy!!!
Tell
us about yourself.
Ayo Oyeku is my name. I
was born in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1985, into a family of four. My childhood years
in Ibadan were fun-filled and memorable; some of those childhood experiences
built up my literature curriculum. I attended a popular secondary school in
Ibadan; Government College Ibadan. And I went on to study Physics with
Electronics at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Most people wonder why
a writer would study a science/engineering course. But the truth is that a deep
understanding about matter and its related properties, combined with my
literature savvy actually gave me an edge. And also before I graduated from the
University, I took some professional trainings and courses in Information
Technology. And that I.T knowledge, combined with my entrepreneurship skills is
what I earn my living from presently.
I shuttle states within
the country for one project or the other, but I currently reside in Ibadan,
Nigeria.
Tell
us about your life in writing.
My interest in writing
began in my Secondary schooling days when my friends and I fell in love with
the school library, and subsequently became bookworms. We were young teens in our junior classes
then. After reading volumes of books, we realised we had this ‘little ability’
to write. And so, my friends and I began writing in our teenage years.
Years after, I was
introduced to a new publisher, based in Ibadan. The publisher took interest in
my writing, and he requested for some of my manuscripts. I had to write a
couple of Children Stories and he (my publisher) selected the best two. And
that was how I released two Children Storybooks under Benevolence Publishers in
2004: FIRST AMONG EQUALS and NOBLE AMBITION.
Subsequently after
that, some of my poems started appearing in foreign anthologies, journals, and
online poetry magazines. And most recently, I self-published my first novel, TEARS OF THE LONELY under Trafford
Publishing, 2011.
Some of my Children
Storybooks are yet to be published, and some of my recent writings would be
appearing in various collections later. My second novel is in the pipeline.
TEARS
OF THE LONELY is an
African fiction set in Nigeria’s post-independence years. The story casts its
light on a young native, Okiki, who had to battle the vicissitudes of rural
life, a dysfunctional family, and the desire to salvage his mother’s life from
the fangs of epilepsy.
Okiki finds solace in a mysterious cashew tree – a
talking tree. This novel brings life into a tree, as Okiki regularly communes
with this mysterious tree, and leans on its advice to shape his future. The
stage is set when Okiki grasps education as his lasting panacea to end his
tears. He emerges as the first person in his village to do so. But darkness
begins to roam around his flickering light of hope when his father escapes to
the city with his secret lover, his brother is being pursued by a weight of
guilty conscience, and his sister’s marital dream is being smeared in their
pursuit to salvage their mother’s life.
Can Okiki turn the tides? Would his flickering light
of hope survive the storms ahead? Would the tears of the lonely ever dry? This heart-rending
and inspiring story with twists and turns, brings pieces of life’s challenges
to the fore, and leaves every reader with a lesson or two.
Can
you give us a bottom-line phrase about the whole book?
Life is in phases, and men are made in stages.
The
readership level.
Thirteen years upward.
Where
can readers find your book?
This novel is available in Paperback, E-book, Amazon
Kindle, Nook Reader and Mobile Application format. It is available on my
website ( www.tearsofthelonely.com ), through my publishers, Trafford Publishing ( www.trafford.com ), Amazon.com,
BarnesandNoble.com Borders.com.au and all major booksellers worldwide.
Your
book is not currently available in Nigeria, how do you intend to bridge this
gap?
That’s true. Tears Of The Lonely has been published
in the international market for the purpose of quality production and global
reach, as such people can place orders for the book online, and have it shipped
to their homes within three days in Europe and within a week in Africa. The
book is also available in major bookstores online, and across all continents.
Currently, we are still
looking up to sign a publishing contract with a reputable Nigerian publishing
company, so that the book would be more accessible and affordable for
Nigerians.
But most recently, the
novel has been converted into a Mobile Application and millions of Nigerians can
now download it on their phones for free. With the advent of the Mobile version
of Tears Of The Lonely, we have been
able to bridge the gap between the young Nigerians who connect with the world
through their mobile devices.
Tell
us about the mobile version of your novel.
The Mobile version of Tears Of The Lonely was published a few months back, and this novel
debuts as the first Nigerian novel to achieve this feat. Once you download the
novel on your mobile phones, the book’s icon would appear in your folder. All
you have to do is click on the icon to open the novel, and start reading. It
has some pretty features like:
-
You can change the font size between
small and large, as you prefer.
-
You can also change the background
colour from black to white, as you wish.
-
You can use the ‘Bookmark’ option to
continue reading the book from where you previously stopped reading.
-
You can use the ‘Help’ menu to guide
you.
Basically, the application is easy to navigate, and
the features make the book readable and enjoyable.
Where
can people download it?
You can download it from the download page of the
novel’s official website:
You can also download it from:
Please, you have to open these web links from your
mobile phones. Follow the instruction on the page, and download the book
automatically on your phones either by clicking on “Phone Version” or
“Blackberry Version”
Blackberry users can also download this novel for
free from the Blackberry Application World.
Give
us your ‘writer’s view’ of Nigeria.
That’s a topical issue
which must be treated with all sincerity. But I would prefer to save my words
and just make a brief comment: Nigeria is yet to develop fully into her nationhood;
this is largely due to the religious, ethnic, regional, socio-strata and
cultural sentiments rocking the affairs of our country, and the overall
decision of the common Nigerian. Nigerians are yet to co-habit and coexist successfully
without treading on the issues I stated earlier.
Sometimes we have to go
back before we can go forward. We must review and strengthen our ‘culture of
community,’ and out of that we can challenge each other’s point of view
constructively, and also foster each other’s noble ideas towards an egalitarian
society.
Are
Nigerians truly reading?
Definitely, Nigerians
are reading. But they are mostly reading what’s in their academic curriculum,
motivational books, religious materials, and foreign novels. The problem we
have presently is that most Nigerians don’t read local content. It’s hard for
an average Nigerian youth to mention five current Nigerian authors – they don’t
know most of them, and they are not even interested in knowing them.
We can’t just revive
the reading culture in Nigeria with just book revival campaigns. We need to
“take the book to the people.” We have to study the average Nigerian; find out
what they love to read, how they love to read and how they wish to see the
books they are reading. We need to study the ‘reading budget’ of the average
Nigerian and key into this. And we must be able to write our poems and stories
in a convincing and understandable way the typical Nigerian would appreciate.
Most importantly we
need to build a good connection between the Nigerians readers and their
authors. There has to be a real connection.
Ok,
let’s relax a little. What inspires you?
People, and the thirst for a better world.
My day-to-day experience with people truly inspires
me. And because I always have these refreshing dreams of a better world in my
mind, I simply put my pen to paper and write about how we can get there.
Who
is your favourite musical artiste?
My all-time favourite is Beautiful Nubia. His lyrics
are so compelling and his songs are so inspiring.
Who
is your favourite movie artiste?
I really appreciate the works of Nigerian actors and
actresses. But, Brad Pitt is my all-time favourite. I really admire the way he
acts.
Tell
us one of your memorable experiences?
I have had quite a
number of memorable experiences, but the memory of the day I received my first
published book lingers on my mind.
After completing my
first Children Storybook manuscript, my family and my friends all anticipated
the release of the book. But you know
manuscripts have to go through thorough editing, sketch work, cover design and
printing. So we had to wait for quite a while, and during this process of long
waiting I couldn’t predict just when I was going to receive my Author Copies
any longer.
And so on a certain
afternoon, my publisher delivered my copies in our apartment. Everyone at home
was thrilled, but I was in school. Rather than wait for me to travel home by
the end of that month to see the book myself, one of my neighbours; a very dear
sister of mine, collected the book and persuaded a friend of hers to drive her
down to my school that evening. They had to risk their life and their time,
covering several kilometres just for me to receive my first published book
later in the evening of that same day.
I can never forget that
feeling. It wasn’t just about the book; it was about the love people shared
with me. And I guess the honour of having your joy shared with others who
appreciate you is such a humbling feeling one would never forget.
What’s
the most exciting remark you’ve ever heard from your readers?
Well, have received a
lot of compliments and encouragements from my friends and readers. But the most
recent remark, which I find very exciting also, was from Jumi Suleman, a female
friend in UK, who said “When are you writing your next novel?...Can I be in
your next novel?”
That
really sounds exciting. So will she be in your next novel?
(Laughs)…I can’t answer
that presently.
Any
other useful information about your novel?
Yes. Readers can join (Like) the Facebook fan page for
Tears Of The Lonely to get useful
updates about the book, gifts, and also get to interact with other book lovers:
Readers’ requests, requests for book reading, queries
from book agents, book promoters and publishers, can send their queries to:
info@tearsofthelonely.com
A
final word to your readers.
Circumstances build character; character builds
legends; legends live forever. Never let your present circumstances or
shortcomings deter you from fulfilling your God-given dreams. And most
importantly; your life is a gift, do not waste it.
I
hope to engage you in another interesting interview some other time.
I would be looking forward to that (smiles). Thank
you.
