Author Interview with Nigeria

LaToya: If you could choose a famous African American who has impacted your life who would it be and why?
Nigeria: There isn’t one. The African Americans who have impacted me are the ones who I could see and smell their sweat.

LaToya: Where are you from? Where do you live now?
Nigeria: I am from New York City and I currently reside in New York. I don’t really see myself anywhere else. 

LaToya: Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 
Nigeria: From the moment I learned how to read I established in my mind and in my heart that I wanted to be a writer.

LaToya: When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?
Nigeria: My very first publication was actually a short story I wrote in high school. It was included in a college journal where I was participating in an enrichment program. For a long time I was committed purely to poetry. I don’t know where this novel writing came from. Maybe that’s why it took me almost seven years to get Born at Dawn done and published.

LaToya: How did you choose the genre you write in? 
Nigeria: The genre chose me. After giving my life to Christ I actually shut down and stopped writing. I didn’t know how to write and glorify God and if I wasn’t glorifying Him I didn’t want to do it. Then I found the novel Boaz Brown by Michelle Stimpson. After reading that novel I asked “God could I do this [write Christian Fiction]. His response seems to be a resounding yes.

LaToya: Where do you get your ideas? 
Nigeria: My ideas are combinations of things I’ve seen, heard, or personally experienced.

LaToya: Name one book that you would categorize as a life changing read. 
Nigeria: For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. That book changed how I viewed womanhood, relationships, and writing. It is so rich that I pick up something different every time I read it.

LaToya: Who is your favorite author?
Nigeria: I don’t have just one favorite author. I have a cross section of favs. My favorite poet is June Jordan. My favorite playwright: August Wilson. Michelle Stimpson is my favorite Christian Fiction author.

LaToya: Name one book you wish you’d written. 
Nigeria: There’s no book I wish I’d written other than the one I’m working on right now. However, one book that I really admire in terms of artistry and how quickly it was completed is Their Eyes Were Watching God. Zora Neale Hurston churned that out in seven weeks. Thinking about that makes me wonder what I could churn out if I just had an uninterrupted chunk of time to devote to writing a novel.

LaToya: Tell us about your latest book. 
Nigeria: My latest offering Tempted to Touch deals with a married couple in trouble. The troubles in their marriage help make the protagonist, Kira a little more susceptible to temptation than she usually is.

LaToya: How can readers connect with you?
Nigeria: I’m all over the place. Readers can connect me at my own website: http://ift.tt/1DpEiJv; on Twitter and Instagram: @NewNigeria; on Facebook: http://ift.tt/1Gb1uzv and my publishers website: http://ift.tt/1NlIjTEm

LaToya: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Nigeria: Don’t write the story you someone else wants to hear or the story you think will sell. Write the story that you want to tell.