An interview with Amara Nicole Okolo. Read our review of her book, Black Sparkle Romance here.

LE: Hello Amara, please tell us a bit about yourself.

Amara: I grew up in a lot of places because my parents were travellers, so most of my childhood was spent in different places, in and out of the country. I am from Anambra State, studied Law at the University of Abuja.

LE: What you do for a living? Is writing your full time job?

Amara: Although a lawyer, I also dabble into communications and media, so I work as a communications specialist in an NGO with ties to the European Union. Currently I am in the US, but I reside in Abuja, Nigeria.

LE: When did you start writing and what prompted it?

Amara: I wrote my first illustrated book at eight years ten months, but I’d say I became a professional writer after I got published by Ankara Press in 2014. I am also an artist and painter, and I simply felt the need to give my artwork a voice, names, a story. That was simply why I started writing.

LE: Are you currently working on any book and if you are, what is it about?

Amara: Yes. I am writing a coming-of-age about two sisters that got burned in a kerosene explosion in 1997. I am also writing a sort of autobiographical novel about my maternal ancestry. And that’s pretty much all I will say about that (laughs).

LE: Lastly, what are your hobbies?

Amara: I love running at night time…it clears my head, makes me feel less lethargic. I don’t know if I could categorize this as a hobby but I love listening to a lot of opera and Symphonies while writing or painting. It sort of speaks to my inner mind. My all-time favourite is Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. I even wrote a story off one of the verses. You can never go wrong with great music.

Amara has 2 published books:

Black Sparkle Romance

Son of Man

She is on Twitter and Facebook.