By Chinedu Onyali
Hello Cambridge, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I grew up in Nigeria as a child, in the midst of the carnage and death surrounding the Nigeria/Biafra civil war. My father, now deceased, was a lawyer, businessman and politician and my mother, a retired school teacher. She brought us up with a love for books and I wrote my first story at the age of ten and have since then lived with a pen and notebook in my hands.
I was sent to a Quaker boarding school in York to study for my A’ levels and later, to St Andrew’s tutorial college, Cambridge. I later married and moved to Switzerland with my first husband, who is an international civil servant with the United Nations. My daughter, Candice, was born in Geneva.
When my first marriage broke down, I left Switzerland in 1986 and returned to England and soon obtained my Law degree from Warwick University. In 1999, I remarried a man my father did not approve of and had my daughter, Jija. When the marriage broke down, I suddenly found myself alone, caring for a sick child and struggling with depression and subsequent debts. My situation worsened when I decided to return to Warwick University to study for a Masters degree in Writing.
Thankfully, despite all my problems, I succeeded in getting my degree and founded my own publishing company, Canaan-Star Publishing, which in just over a year, has already published thirteen books with several others due to be released soon.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
My mother was my inspiration. She surrounded us with books – she even set up a special room she called the “study room”, where my siblings and I were encouraged to spend several hours a day reading from the numerous books in the shelves. From then, the writing was a natural progression. I wrote my first book about a bird without a nest when I was just 10 years old.
Which writers have inspired you?
Amazingly, despite all the European books in our library, I fell in love with a writer called Amos Tutuola, whose ghost stories fascinated me throughout my youth, later overtaken by Stephen King, who has remained my all-time great. I guess I have always loved the horror genre even though my writing is anything but horror.
Tell us about your new book “Anything for Money”
Anything for Money is a story of unbridled passion, love and betrayal, tragedy and triumph. Desperate single mum, Rose Philips, finds herself having to make several moral choices when her husband runs off with her best friend, leaving her a very reluctant lone parent, “breeder of under-achievers, social misfits and future criminals”. Overweight and depressed, Rose finally takes some drastic action when she begins an unlikely friendship with Emma Pitkins, an Escort and pole dancer.
In no time, Rose is back to body beautiful and rolling in dough as well. In the process, she begins a torrid affair with her boss, Paul Griffin, the owner of the exclusive Gentlemen’s club, where she works as a pole dancer/hostess. Then her ex-husband comes back to the scene and Rose has some tough decisions to make.
Are the experiences of the protagonist, Rose Philips, based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I tend to see Rose Philips as my alter ego, the woman I would love to be if I were blessed with her looks and her courage, albeit, without her complexes and insecurities about her race. My experience of debts and spousal betrayal were my initial inspiration but then, Rose took on a life of her own and the story became her story alone and I simply went along for the ride.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing “Anything for Money” to life?
The main challenge was time – finding the time to write amidst my other commitments as a working and studying single mum. I would write while sitting in my car waiting to pick my child up from school; I would write in the kitchen while waiting for the chicken to boil. Literally, my notebook and I were glued to each other till I completed the book.
Struggling with debts was another challenge. It’s not easy to let your imagination run free when it’s clogged with money worries. But thankfully, as I said, stories have a life of their own and once I start typing, the words just flow. The Internet was a great help for research purposes.
For instance I was able to write about Oswestry in rural Shropshire without ever stepping foot in the place. But as every writer knows, you have to be accurate to the minutiae when researching – right down to the exact driving distance between cities and landscape, for instance. I visited a Pentecostal church to get some in depth knowledge for one of my chapters, where Rose receives her visions from “Pastor” and his prayer warriors. So research for me is usually a combination of first-hand experience and second/third hand sleuth work.
Getting the book published was the least of my problems since I did so under my own imprint. Since then, I have vigorously promoted the book, with interviews with BBC Radio, The Sunday Mercury & Coventry Telegraph. Right now, the book is in the process of being syndicated with the national media by the Birmingham post, which will help give it wider exposure and hopefully, boost sales.
As well as being a writer you also own a publishing company, Canaan-Star Publishing. What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?
Interestingly, I published an article titled “5 Reasons Why Every Writer Should Self-publish”. Amongst my strongest argument for self-publishing is the fact that self-publishing gives you the freedom to write what you want to write about, without censorship or unnecessary and excessive intervention of editors and third parties.
As writers, we have a story to tell; we know what we want to say and how we want to say it. With self-publishing, you take total control of your work; you write and choose who to publish with and presto! Your book is published! So, you can see that I only have nothing but positive views about self-publishing.
Traditional publishing is great because it has big budget marketing machinery at its disposal but unless you’re the author of Harry Potter or some other big name; they’re unlikely to spend millions promoting you. You’ll end up doing as much promotion as a self-published writer and getting fewer royalties for your efforts.
What do your plans for future projects include?
Right now, I’m working on growing my publishing company, Canaan-Star Publishing, so it becomes a successful house. In the meantime, I’m promoting “Anything for Money” while writing my next book, “All for Alan”, which I’m hoping to publish early next year or around Christmas.
If people wanted more information how could they keep in touch with you?
Please visit my personal website www.Cambridgeonoh.co.uk . The book is available from Amazon and Foyles. Asking all your members to please get a copy and help me finally get out of debt!!!
Anything for Money will be discussed at the July instalment of ICSN Book Club.
UK Black Writers Forum 