Dear Elona: Letters to My Friends, the Brides and Brides-to-Be

 

 

There are many things that people don’t have the heart to tell the bride, but I believe she should know these things.

If you agree, then you will enjoy reading Dear Elona: Letters to My Friends, the Brides and Brides-To-Be.

I believe this collection of 50 heartfelt letters to 50 unique women, married and single, is timely and essential; especially for young Christian women today who hope to become wives, or just did.

I address the priority of choosing the right man: Is there such a thing as marrying the wrong person? Do you have any concrete reason for holding on to this relationship apart from the time you’ve already spent which you don’t want to go down the drain? Is he in love with you, or with the idea of you? Are you ignoring red flags or assuming you can “manage”? Does he handle life well?

I discuss the importance of becoming the right woman: Are there bad habits you need to deal with before becoming a wife? Are you comfortable in your own sexuality and knowledgeable about sex? Are you open and honest about your expectations? Have you bought into any marriage myths that are simply not true? Should you take your ex back?

Also, I talk about doing what is necessary to make love last, and knowing when to leave: Why does love fade in marriage? What does it mean to be happily married? What can we do to reduce the risk of divorce? Why do women stay in abusive marriages? How can we avoid being torn apart by money, or the lack of it?

As I wrote in Dear Elona: Letters to My Friends, the Brides and Brides-To-Be, “There are no guarantees to this marriage thing. But there’s no denying that it is best entered into with eyes wide open.”

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Pepper Soup

After years of insisting “I’m not a fiction writer, please”, I wrote a story. A love story.

I have always loved stories, and one of the things that keep me going is reading.

Starting and completing a series of novels with my reading partner is high on the list of things I am looking forward to this year.

I have written stories in my head since I was a teenager, and actually penned some down in notebooks, but it was nonfiction – articles – that I felt most comfortable writing.

Then one day, my friend Timendu Aghahowa contacted me about contributing to an anthology she was editing called Pepper Soup. I sent in a nonfiction piece.

When she got back to me and informed me that everyone had to write fiction, I knew the time had come. I couldn’t run from it anymore.

At first I was worried, because all the other writers ARE AMAZING! I didn’t want my story to end up looking like the raggedy help!

Eventually I sat down and wrote a story that has lived in my heart for years. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Pepper Soup, a collection of 12 short stories, will be live on Okada Books next Friday, February 10. I’m thrilled to be part of it!

My story also happens to be titled Pepper Soup.

Pepper Soup will be released at the discounted price of N500 until March 1 when it goes back to the regular 1k.

On Friday I will wake up and squeal: I’m a published fiction writer! Yippee!

Hehe.

#PepperSoup #Romance #LoveStory #Fiction #NigerDelta #Warri #Lagos #Nigeria #ReadThis

 

 

 

 

How Do People Read 50 Books A Year?

Bill Gates reads 50 nonfiction books every year. That’s a book a week! Radio host Dave Ramsey also reads at least one book a week. Ajit Singh, partner at the venture capital firm Artiman Ventures and consulting professor in the School of Medicine at Stanford, reads 50 to 60 books a year. In 2015, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg set a goal to read one book every two weeks, and by December he had read 23 books.

I’ve always loved books, but until I discovered the secret, whenever I heard things like this, I couldn’t help wondering how??? Unless one is jobless, one can’t possibly finish a nonfiction book in one week or even in two weeks, can they?

It turns out they can! I only recently discovered the mistake I’ve been making. Read more…