An interview with Ivie M. Eke. Listen to Lady B’s audio review of her book, Dirt in the Dust here.

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

Ivie: I’m from Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. I grew up in Lagos State and I had my Primary and Secondary School education there.

I have a B.Sc. (Ed.) Political Science from the University of Calabar, Nigeria and a Master of Arts in Diplomacy, Law and Global Change from Coventry University, United Kingdom.

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

Ivie: I currently write on a full-time basis and I live in Abuja, Nigeria.

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

Ivie: I’ve been writing since I was a child; I remember always looking forward to the English Composition aspect of English classes. I just enjoyed making up stories.

I got to a point in my life in 2015 when I questioned what made me valuable as a human being. I made a list of the things that I believed I was good at, and writing was at the top of the list.

I started writing short posts on Facebook in September 2015 and based on the positive feedback, I started my blog, classicallyivy.com in October 2015.

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

Ivie: I am currently working on my fourth book. It’s about a young Nigerian woman torn between doing her duty as a ‘good, responsible daughter’ and doing what she believes would be in her best interest. It tackles relationships (my favourite thing to write about!) and mental health.

LE: Sounds interesting. We look forward to reading it when it is published. Lastly, what are your hobbies?

Ivie: I LOVE reading! I’m one of those people who reads while eating (don’t judge me).

I also enjoy watching TV (comedy and crime series) and YouTube videos about organization, true crime, makeup and style. I love window-shopping, and watching action movies in the cinema (I’m waiting patiently for John Wick 3).

Okay Ivie, we won’t judge you.  🙂

Ivie has three published books:

Looking for Myself and my Phone Charger: A Poetry Collection

Walking on Eggshells

Dirt in the Dust

She is on Instagram, Twitter and as stated above, has a blog.