Pump Up Your Book Chats with Azuka Thomson author of Dark Patches

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Dark Patches Virtual Book Tour

Azuka Thomson graduated from the University of Benin in Nigeria with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and later obtained a master’s degree from the University of Lagos. She worked as a consulting engineer for many years in Nigeria before relocating to Germany. She has three daughters and lives with her husband in Leverkusen. Dark Patches, her first novel, is on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Azuka-Thomson-Dark-Patches/116641701734714

Visit her tour page at pump up your book;

Thank you for this interview, Azuka. Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later? Do you remember your first published piece?

A: I did not write any stories as a child but I have always loved books. My only previous contact with publishing was as an editor for the professional newsletter of the Nigerian Society of Engineers in 1998 and 1999. I was then a vice president of the society. I decided to write a novel after retiring from engineering practice in 2003 following a car accident. Dark Patches is my first significant published work

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?

A: Being very new and unknown, the most frustrating side of being a published author is the uncertainty and the agony of waiting for the reading public´s reaction. My most rewarding experience was seeing the book for the first time in print. It also gives me a lot of joy to read rave reviews by people I do not know and to hear my friends discuss the characters as if they were real people.

Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life? Do you have support?

A: I am married and lucky to have a very supportive family. Being a night person all my writing is done between 11pm and 6 am, I then sleep till 1 or 2pm. My husband and youngest daughter share the housework with me and I spend the evenings with my family. I only start writing when they are asleep.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing? Where do you like to vacation? Can you tell us briefly about this?

A: I have the greatest fun when reading a really delicious book. Visits to the theater either for a live music performance or a movie also rank quite high for me. My favourite vacation place is a small sea side town, Zandvort, in Holland. I love its beach during the months of October to April when it is not swarming with tourists. It is only a twenty minute train ride from Amsterdam, a city that I also love for the scenic canal cruises, (lost count of how many I have taken them), its unique architecture, museums and general atmosphere. The winds in Zandvort can be vicious but exhilarating in a way because one is always so happy to finally reach the hotel after each walk. Being a purely tourist town, it offers a variety of cuisine from different nations at quite affordable prices. Best of all, the drive from Leverkusen to Zandvort takes less than three hours, which makes it also ideal for short getaways.

If you could be anywhere in the world for one hour right now, where would that place be and why?

A: Without a doubt I would choose to be in Lagos Nigeria visiting my eldest daughter Efemena and my two grandsons. Since this is a dream, my second daughter Onome, who works in Abuja would also coincidentally be visiting at the same time thus enabling me to spend the magical hour with both daughters and my grandsons. I am only able to visit Nigeria once or twice a year and miss them terribly.

Who is your biggest fan?

A: That is undoubtedly my youngest daughter Otiti, without whose encouragement I would not have written Dark Patches.

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

A: My writing is done on a work table placed in one corner of the living room because curious as it sounds, I did not find the study conducive to writing.

Do you have any pets?

A: No I do not.

Tell us a secret no one else knows.

A: I am afraid that my life is like an open book and I do not have any secrets.

What’s on your to do list today?

A: Today is a Friday and I worked till 6am. I shall wake up at 1pm and

– go to the clinic for my sensitization shot. I am allergic to pollen.

– do some laundry

– make some chicken stew to be served with fried plantains and vegetables for dinner

– watch some TV with my husband as my daughter has other plans

– reply some mail regarding Dark Patches

– do some work on my second novel Boomerang

Now I’ve got a couple of fun questions for you. If Tom Hanks, in the movie Cast Away, unearthed a copy of your book, how would that help him find a way off the island?

A: This is a hard question because Dark Patches is a social drama and does not have any practical tips that may help him to find a way to leave the Island. I however believe that he would spend a couple of lovely hours immersed in the story and at the end will find the resolve to make his way home doubly reinforced. After all, the moral of the drama is ‘fight for what you believe in’.

You have a chance to appear on the hit talent show for authors, American Book Idol, with judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara Dioguardi and the newest addition, Ellen DeGeneres, to determine whether your book will make it to Hollywood and become a big screenplay where you’d make millions of dollars. What would impress them more – your book cover, an excerpt or your author photo – and why?

A: Although I think that my book cover is quite impressive, I believe the judges would find an excerpt most interesting. A number of people have told me how intrigued they were by excerpts from the first chapter. A reader once wrote the following.

‘Wait o… all this yarn from me can (only) mean one thing. I dey vex, where’s the next page? This is cruel and unusual punishment na… Where’s the next page?’

You just got word that your book has received the 2010 NY Times Bestselling Book Award and you have to attend the ceremony to give an acceptance speech. Anyone who’s anyone will be there and it’s your shot for stardom. What would you say and who would you thank?

A: Thank you ladies and gentlemen for being here this evening. This award is more than I ever dreamed off and I´d like to thank all those who have helped me in my journey so far. I begin with my youngest daughter Otiti for serving as my sounding board while I was writing this book and reading the script over and over again. My thanks go also to Dr Henry Chukumah, Theodora Om´Iniabohs, Efemena Odogwu, Onome Ovuewhorie, Kelley Dönner and my husband Peter Morawietz for their invaluable support. I also thank the Frankfurter Literaturverlag for accepting to publish the work and Katja Luzia for the cover design.

Finally I thank the NY Times for this great honour.

I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in April via a virtual book tour. Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?

A: Dark Patches was released in November 2010 and being a very new and unknown author, I am yet to have the opportunity for live tours. More importantly, the book is available on all online outlets but is yet to be on the shelves of bookstores and as such is only available on order at the stores. It therefore seems only proper to promote it online through a virtual book tour.

Thank you for this interview, Azuka. Good luck on your virtual book tour!

A: Thank you too for giving me this opportunity.

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

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