An OUOC Check-In!

Break in writing transmission (I promise I have been writing, sorta…) to give an update on OUOC – the full local print is ready at last and can now be purchased directly from the author (that third-person bangs) or through a number of bookstores including Roving Heights. Quick recap on where OUOC can now be found:

• Online readers – eBook available at your favorite online book retailer.

• Readers outside Nigeria – print version available on Amazon.

• Readers in Nigeria – print version available in the Worlds via Words online store and via the Roving Heights and the Book Peddler bookstore. Details for one additional retailer to be shared shortly.

With the release of the local print version comes an attempt to market! And they said the hard part was writing, whew!

So on that note, closing out with one of the first reviews by Ese Emmanuel who was kind enough to share on nantygreens – check it out! She’s clearly ana amazing writer herself – almost dare to say I loved reading her take over the book itself, ha! On a serious note, she was fair and balanced and I was particularly struck by the excerpt below:

One steps a curious foot into the novel but is immediately swept up by the strong currents of the plot. The prologue, very rich in symbolism— two-faced monsters, kookaburras, tree, blood, and a razor— provides a certain form of shock value. This perhaps results in the shedding of all preconceived assumptions. The presence of “childhood” in the title and the radiant pink book cover does nothing to prepare one for the self-harm that is encountered only a few pages into the book, but then, as they say, one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover— especially when it’s pretty in pink.

Ese Emmanuel

Isn’t that life? Mostly starts with a cutesy cover of a mewling baby and then…you know… trigger warnings.

Indeed, one of the hardest challenges in editing (I’m triggered now flashing back to those horror days) so long after the first version was doing my best not to imprint my personal journey of learning and unlearning on the characters. They needed to be presented preserved, unvarnished, uncolored by the weight of experience. It did mean I risked OUOC coming across a naïve and immature read but hopefully a risk well worth it.

Reserve your copy and see if you agree – yes, the obligatory plug!

L.