An interview with Abigail Anaba. Read our review of her book, The President’s Daughter here. Lady B also reviewed Abigail’s book, Sector IV here.

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

Abigail: I am afraid there is not much to be known about me. My name is Abigail Anaba, a mother of three teenage boys. I was born and have lived in Lagos, Nigeria, for the greater part of my life. I speak a few Nigerian languages plus English. Everything I do revolves around words: writing, speaking, teaching, strategy, reading. I also coordinate the Grill and Read events (by the way the 2020 virtual event comes up Oct 1 where I will be speaking). I love to keep my personal life personal. I have very strong traditional values. But I am also quite open-minded. My superpower is the ability to understand why a person had to act in a particular way without endorsing the person’s actions. This often confuses people who believe that offering an explanation for action equals justification.

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

Abigail: I started writing professionally over twenty years ago. I have answered this question so often that I am looking for a new angle [laugh]. But there is really no new angle. I started writing because I felt I could. As with every other thing I do, it’s always because I see a challenge and say I can. I have never allowed not knowing how to do anything stop me from trying. And when I do try, I often excel in it. I know I am an excellent writer.

LE: We know this is your fourth published book. What was the most difficult part about writing this book for you?

Abigail: I wrote a completely different ending for this book, and then I lost it—over 20,000 words. I just wanted to give up at that point. But somehow, I got through that and wrote it again, and I felt a lot better with the new product. I actually think losing those pages was a blessing in disguise. Then again, it’s a political story in a way, and I wanted to create something that represented an ideal. And that was difficult because the characters often just tell their own story. Another thing was the subtext. That was kinda difficult because somewhere in me I knew it could be missed but I hoped people would get it. I wanted to make people think. It is hard to get people to think when they always seem to take things so literally.

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

Abigail: Book two of The President’s Daughter. Well, you would have guessed it’s about the many unanswered questions from the first book. For example, who took out the people in the story? Why did the British Prime Minister not take action against Nigeria and what really is the deal with Osas? These, among others, will be addressed. Yes, I know a lot of people are already going wild with speculations. But they will have their questions answered in due time (Wink)

LE: Lastly, what are your hobbies?

Abigail: I work. Nothing could be more relaxing than more work…

Abigail’s published books are:

Sector IV

Dear King

The President’s Daughter

She is on Twitter, Instagram and blogs here.