Tell us about A Love Rekindled

When Efe Sagay receives a transfer to the branch of a prestigious hotel chain in the Nigerian capital, she accepts it, happy to return home to family after years in the United States. Also, Nigeria is a big place, right? There should be nothing about her new city, Abuja, to remind her of the heartbreak of her relationship with ex-fiancé, Kevwe Mukoro.

However, Efe is facing Kevwe across an office seven months later, swamped by emotions she’d thought were dead. When Kevwe claims he’s never stopped loving her, and asks why she abandoned him, Efe stomps off, incensed. It was the other way around! 

But they are unable to stay away from each other, and buried desire flares. Ultimately, passion is no match for the bitter memories of broken promises. Efe and Kevwe have to resolve the traumatic events of the past before love can be rekindled.

What genre is it?
Contemporary Romance

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
Anyone who likes reading romantic fiction, and books set in Africa

This book is the first in your A Love Rekindled series . Are they standalone novels or are they best read in the correct order?
They can be read separately, but I suggest it is better to read it one after the other to get the complete story.

Is there a long tradition of Nigerian romantic fiction, or is this a genre you are pioneering?
There have been other Nigerian romance novels, so it is not a new tradition. However, there had been a lull in publishing popular fiction as a whole in the country, and I hope to challenge that with my books as well as help promote other writers and authors.

Living, as you now do, in the United States, how easy is it to write about the country in which you grew up?
It is quite easy since I only left Nigeria a few years ago. I also try to plug any gaps in my knowledge, or learn about new settings I had never visited, using Google maps and reading blogs set in those cities and places.

Can you tell us about the Naija Stories: Of Tears and Kisses, Heroes and Villians (Volume 1) anthology? How and why did it come about?
NaijaStories.com came as an idea from my experience sharing excerpts from my first novel on my blog, and later coordinating an online interactive story. I found out about other writing sites like Authonomy, joined some of them and then realized that Nigerian aspiring writers could benefit from such a platform as a way to improve and network. Today Naijastories.com is the leading community for Nigerian writers and book lovers, combining elements of a writing critique website and a social networking site.

The mission of Naija Stories is to use community networking to encourage and support aspiring writers to improve their writing and feel more confident sharing stories from a Nigerian perspective. We also aim to encourage reading amongst the general public by making such engaging stories available on Naijastories.com, on other available partnering channels, and in anthologies. With our mix of content and activities, Naija Stories is especially versatile, attracting a diverse crop of readers, writers, and those with general interest in Nigerian literary affairs. We’re committed to telling fresh Nigerian stories; and we also promote authors, and book publishers by sharing publishing news, events and literary opportunities.

The 30 stories featured in this anthology were all originally published on Naijastories.com between March 2010 and March 2011. Of Tears and Kisses, Heroes and Villains is Volume 1 of the Naija Stories series. With time, the newly established NS Publishing imprint will add other lines of anthologies.

You seem to be remarkably busy; can you tell us a bit more about your websites and the social media you use?
I manage a couple of active websites, my blog Romance Meets Life, and the naijastories website. The first discusses life, relationships and other topics that interest me while naijastories is all about fiction. I contribute about 70% of the content on my blog, and mostly only review and publish other writers on the website. All the content on both websites are promoted through my social media outlets which include Facebook, Twitter (@Myne_Whitman), LinkedIn, and so on.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
Myne Whitman is a pen name. I was born Nkem Okotcha and raised in Enugu, Nigeria, where I spent most of my childhood reading and daydreaming or climbing trees and playing with the boys. I have a Master’s degree in Public Health Research but have recently chosen my dream of writing my real and imagined stories. I live in the Seattle area and I write and blog full-time, and also volunteer when and where I can.

My first book, A Heart to Mend was published in December 2009, and A Love Rekindled followed in March 2011. Both books are self-published and have been well received by an ever-increasing audience of both Nigerian and international readers with reviews averaging 4 stars on Amazon, Goodreads and LibraryThing.

Where can we buy your books?
The books are available in several bookstores in Nigeria, UK, US, and Canada. You can also order AHTM and ALR from online bookstores including Amazon (US, UK ) , Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Tesco, iBookstore for iPad/iPod, and in Nigeria from Debonairstores, IqraBooks, Walahi.com and Kalahari.

What’s next?
More books and more Nigerian stories.