Abidemi Sanusi : Through the fog

Through the fog

I have just returned from a 10-day book tour with the awesome Nicole Bromley in East Africa. The tour was organised by WordAlive, publishers of Eyo. It was a phenomenal success, not least because of the tireless work of the WordAlive team.

Not many people know this, but heck, I'll say it anyway, I don't enjoy writing much. Maybe it's because I live from deadline to deadline. Maybe it's because I'm sick and tired of the drama associated with 21st century publishing. Yes, that publishing drama that seems intent on driving writers to either an early grave or the nearest asylum. Or maybe it's because I'm burned out and have been for a while, but didn't know it. Anyways, it took a 10-day trip to my home continent for me to realise how much I really detest writing now. The throbbing toothache doesn't help and neither does my phobia of dentists. But out there, as I met people who'd been impacted by Eyo (virtually everybody told me they wept in anger and grief when they read the story), I found it odd that a book that had caused me so much pain when I was writing it and which I wanted nothing more to do with after publication could evoke such strong emotions from its readers. Funny thing, life.

Today, I'm working my way through a fog of toothache and ibruprofen to meet yet another deadline. My postgraduate coursework glares at me, hoping to get my attention, but I ignore it. I don't want to know. There is more to life than writing.