Writing Books

 When it comes to writers my idols include Danielle Steel, Stephen King, Enid Blyton, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Chiamanda Adichie, Chinua Achebe , J.K Rowling, Barbara Cartland and  Dan Brown. When I was a young child, I developed an interest in writing and spent half the time trying to put something worthwhile on paper. Looking back, I realise my interest wasn't out of the blue; it was through reading and watching book adaptations on T.V- The adventures of Tom Sawyer, Jane Eyre, Little Women, Ivanhoe, Alice in Wonderland, The Legend of King Arthur, The Prince and The Pauper, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.  Folktales came to me through Nigerian programmes like Storyland and Tales By Moonlight and books like Cinderella and Beauty and The Beast and stories from Enid Blyton. I spent most of the time over the years trying to put something worthwhile on paper and in 2006, my current books were published.
Right now I'm working on my first novel and more stories for kids; but right  I'm discouraged and unmotivated because of distractions, obligations and lack of money. Also; I'm not satisfied with my approach and I wind up having to start all over again! But a writer I chat with on Twitter says it's not unusual but I shouldn't  be overly concerned with how I sound, I have to leave that to the readers to judge; so I'm struggling to do just that.
A friend approached me today asking me to 'teach' her how to write. My reply was: everybody has a story to tell, I can't teach her to write- nobody  taught me. Besides, writing is a matter of interest, not talent; if you aren't in a habit of reading a lot, you can't put anything on paper. But another friend disagreed with what I said. As far as she was concerned, writing came from talent; not everybody had the skill to write books. After my own struggles and reading about other writers' struggles, I know better; it is interest and determination. It took four years for Barbara Taylor Bradford to complete her first and most famous book "A Woman of Substance", Stephen King's writing career started by writing short stories for magazines and manuscripts that were ignored until  his first novel ''Carrie'' was finally published.
Maybe I'm being impatient about it all- I want to be in King's and the other writers' level; to be a best selling author overnight; more for the recognition than the money- which I also want. But I also want to leave a legacy behind, something I'll always be remembered for. I don't see writing as a thankless, hopeless task because it's my true calling. But if I'm going to be a successful writer I have to be more focused, more determined, more optimistic and believe in myself. Luckily I'm not one to wait for inspiration; I do what I call 'practice writing' by writing fan fiction and posting it on the internet and then I  turn to the 'real' work and try to improve on it. It's been 6 years since my first publications so my determination has to remain strong. And by God's grace; I will succeed.

"When inspiration comes; let it find me working."- Pablo Picasso

BULLIES, JUST STOP!!!

During my secondary school days I was bullied, nearly every day from my very first day. It was an all girls' school and a public one for that matter. There was a handful of nice girls that I got along with, too bad the rest of them were the most horrible set of spiteful, dirty mouthed bitches I ever had the misfortune of being exposed to. I experienced it all; verbal and physical abuse- the more cowardly of them slipped poison-pen letters in my school bag; the bolder ones touched me and insulted me in my face- I still get angry just thinking about them. In my senior year I went to another school, also all girls' but private. The bullying there was more verbal than physical and I got a lot of novels I spent my hard saved  allowance on stolen, I never got them back and they all ganged up on me by not revealing who stole them. I wonder if it is a very serious crime to prefer reading a book instead of gossiping in class because that's what I did.
Why do bullies feel  the need to inflict pain and harm on others in the first place? Do they actually derive  satisfaction  and delight when a person crumple up and cry  and fight back? Do they like the look of frustration on the victims' face and wait for them to hit out so they could begin the physical part of the
 bullying ?
Bullying is NOT harmless at all; it is psychologically harmful as it is  degrading- verbal or physical- and these days it leads to tragedy. Where I come from, if a child is bullied, the child is expected to report to a teacher or FAR BETTER his or her parents and the matter is firmly handled from there. I keep on hearing about bullying cases in the States where victims of bullies actually commit suicide; the first time I heard it, I wept and kept on going over over why the parents and the school authorities did not know about it; the victim was far too young to die! I just heard about a poor girl Amanda Todd, a bully victim who took her own life and I wonder if her tormentors will show some remorse over her death, if they don't they are just pure evil!
There was a case some months ago where a bus monitor, a woman in her 60s who was verbally bullied by the students in the bus and it was caught on camera. The students were made to apologize after it got to the news; here in Nigeria where it is a taboo to insult your elders, those bullies would have been flogged! I've never heard such nonsense in my life where a woman old enough to be their grandmother would be treated like that by a bunch of mannerless brats!
I don't know what bullies are trying to prove. If they are being mistreated at home themselves it doesn't give them the right to inflict pain and humiliation on others. If they simply want to see their victims' reaction, to have a sense of power then they are simply evil, wicked and heartless, or basically pure cowards- I'd like to see how they would like it if they come up with somebody bigger than them or with a filthier mouth like them.
I HATE BULLIES  and the ACT OF BULLYING; always have, always will. How many more suicides and traumatized victims will it take for bullying to stop all together?
Please, a child reporting a bully to a teacher or his or her parents is NOT a weakling and the parents and school authorities should regard it as a VERY VERY  SERIOUS ISSUE! And Bullies deserve punishments for what they do and learn a HUGE lesson that they have NO right to torment their fellow man.

“When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.” 
― Chris Colfer

FRESH FROM THE FILM MAKERS...

                      HITCHCOCK 

Movie about legendary film maker, director and ultimate 'Master of Suspense' Alfred Hitchcock whose legacy includes Psycho, Mr. and Mrs. Smith,  Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, Rebecca and The Man Who Knew Too Much. Portrayed by Oscar winner Sir Anthony Hopkins; the movie details his relationship with his wife (played by Dame Helen Mirren) and the making of the 1960 horror/ psychological thriller Psycho (the movie that caused people to take sponge baths after the scary shower scene and don't get me started on the very eerie soundtrack... the scratching violins).

Trivia: 'Psycho' starred Janet Leigh;  mother of Jamie Lee Curtis who starred in horror films The Fog and the Halloween movies.









                  RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 

Milla Jovovich  returns once again as Alice  in the fourth sequel of the 2002 movie Resident Evil  and the fifth movie in the Resident Evil Franchise.







                           HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 


Dracula( voiced by funny man Adam Sandler) is not biting necks in this computer animated  movie; here he is a hotel owner and an over protective Daddy!

CARBO FAN FICTION- Return Journey: Chapter 6

 Chapter 6

Bo was going through a case file when he heard a knock on the door. ‘Come in.’ He said, not looking up and stiffened at  the sound of  Daniel’s voice. ‘Hey there, Bo.’

What the hell is he doing here? Bo thought, feeling his anger boil up all over again. it’s bad enough he was touching Carly, now he was about to rub his face in it. ‘Hey, Daniel.’ He managed to say. ‘What do you want?’

CARBO FAN FICTION- Return Journey: Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When Carly got to her sixth month, many people finally noticed her condition. At the supermarket she saw Caroline, Kayla and Maggie staring at her bulging stomach but kept on walking. Their opinions didn't matter to her nor did she give a damn what they thought.

TO MY READERS/VISITORS

RIGHT NOW I'M SICK  SO IT WILL BE SOME TIME BEFORE I UPDATE THIS BLOG, SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME, THANK YOU

Single ladies put a ring on it... or not for now

Image courtesy of  Salvatore Vuono at freedigitalphotos.net

Where I come from, a single woman past her 30's is considered old and the general whisper behind her back would be, 'what the hell is she still waiting for?' among family members and insensitive friends and acquaintances. Do they bother finding out the real reason? NO; they stick to making stupid assumptions and go along with it- the thought there might be a reason to the lady's prolonged single status, a reason that lies deep in the bone. One general  assumption of the single woman  who lives alone in Nigeria is that she is a slut, an easy, indecent female- so suffice to say; Independent single women shouldn't exist- it is a must that when they leave their parents' house it is straight to their husbands' house. Independent bachelors on the other hand are more acceptable.
 But lets get back  to the reasons why the average Nigerian woman takes a while to settle down; the real reasons that is.


1. After years of being told what to do and always doing what people expect of her and NEVER what she wants suddenly decides she wants her own life for once; doing what she wants, WHEN she wants; the chance to finally achieve her dreams, hopes and aspirations before settling down.

2. She's been a silent observer of marriages of friends and loved ones crashing (adultery, jealousy, third party interference- 3rd one usually the case) in front of her so she is disillusioned and wants no part of it.

3. She's been once bitten, twice shy by several unhappy relationships and finally decides all men are untrustworthy  pigs.

4. She's been over protected and sheltered as a child. When she finally notices men; she continuously feels a sense of terror when a man shows interest in her. She feels cornered the whole time he's talking to her and inwardly wishes he'll go away. Like the bossed around one, she just wants to depend on herself and sees men as menacing intruders and is scared of getting hurt by them, especially if she hasn't seen him angry before.

Even with those reasons, single women passed their 30's are unfairly judged; they are simply expected to conform with society and their families' expectations... marry, bring forth children. From what I've seen, people of this country don't look at nor care about  emotional feelings; why people are the way they are. Call me embittered but it's true- as I am a single woman myself and the general assumption is that my standards are high; I'm looking for the perfect man- so perfect that I would probably have to build him.  No finding out the real reason- just assumptions!!!

"Stand up for what is right even if you stand alone." -Anonymous