Quick Chat With The Author… is a weekly OkadaBooks series that spotlights indigenous authors, amplifies their voices, and gives character and depth to the brains behind the amazing stories our readers have come to love on the OkadaBooks mobile app. Check back for new episodes Wednesdays at 12 noon.
For this week’s episode, we talk to Stella Ajanaku-Eromonsere, a real force to be reckoned with when it comes to steamy romance. It’s a fun episode filled with plenty of nuggets of wisdom. Dive in.
Briefly tell us about yourself.
I’m Stella, Author & Publisher of 38 Flirty & Feisty Romance Novels. I’ve been married to my too-hot-to-handle, sexy husband for over 22 years. We have two adult children to God’s glory and live in London, UK. My romance stories feature larger-than-life characters who, in their quest to find love, will elevate your pulse rate and make your heart skip here and there so that you’ll laugh, shed a tear sometimes, and gasp for breath as their story unfolds. I only write emotionally intense, happy-ever-after, steamy-hot stories.
Apart from writing, what else do you do for a living?
I’m a round-the-clock wife and mum of two young adult children. As simple as it sounds, that’s a full-time job. I resigned from my daytime job many years ago due to health reasons and I don’t regret it. I’m very grateful to God for the opportunity to show my husband how much I love him and to raise my children in a godly way. Do I get paid? Oh, yes. Every day, I get paid in kind and with lots of love and happiness that I can’t quantify. In addition, I share practical and useful tips on dating and marriage on YouTube and TikTok (@Dearstellatv) and on Instagram (@stellaajanaku).
How has it been juggling being a stay-at-home mum with your writing career?
Over the years, the way I’ve juggled writing with maintaining my family life has changed. When my children were teenagers and my husband was on a different shift pattern to mine, I wrote more at night because it was so peaceful and I could churn out stories through God’s grace without breaking a sweat.
In recent years, I have written more during the day when my husband is at work and my children are busy with their lives. Don’t get me wrong, I get interrupted by my family but that’s great because I pick their brains about my stories and characters sometimes.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you weigh your fulfillment as a stay-at-home mum, and how does it compare to the joys of writing?
Without question, my career as a loving wife and adoring mum is the most fulfilling career of my life, so it scores a 10. Yet, there’s room for my passionate romance writing that gives me great joy in many ways because I see both my writing of romance stories and sharing of dating and marriage tips as a calling.
You describe yourself as “a true romantic at heart”. Kindly expand on what this means?
It means I love all things romance! That includes reading romance books when I can, watching romance movies or true love series and shedding a tear or two while doing so, living a romantic life with my sexy husband, match-making when I find the opportunity, and, of course, passionately writing heart-warming, flirty and feisty romance stories. Also, I love attending wedding events. Anywhere romance is bubbling, count me in.
The stories you tell in your books are typically Flirty and Feisty as you’ve reminded us countless times already (LOL). Knowing how judgemental the average human (Nigerian) can be, have you ever been looked down on for choosing to tell the kind of stories you do?
I wouldn’t say I have been looked down on, per se. To be honest, my family and friends in the UK and in Nigeria and my Lagos Business School EMBA 11 colleagues were very supportive of my writing from the start. However, there are acquaintances and other people who I never knew even saw my posts on social media, or read my books. As the years have gone by and my books have consistently topped New Release Charts, more Nigerians have become more vocal about their support for my writing. Many tell me in person, over the phone, or via DM that I’m doing a great job and that they’re proud of me. Still, I remember one reader (American) who LOVES and READS my books, she told me she couldn’t share my posts on her personal Facebook page because she didn’t want her family to see it. In order words, some people read and enjoy my books in SECRET but don’t want others to ‘judge’ them, so they don’t flaunt it or share it. If a pastor’s wife reads my books, would she mention it to anyone? Nope! There are many life lessons in my books. As long as readers benefit from my stories and take these lessons to heart, my work is done.
Check out all books by Stella Ajanaku-Eromonsere HERE.
Do you feel a certain kind of pressure to always deliver better than your last story?
I put myself under pressure to deliver a more ‘unusual’ story than the last book, rather than a ‘better’ story. We all know story appreciation is subjective because it differs from one reader to the next. I have published 38 books in total. Whenever I ask [different] readers which of my books they loved the most, they pick different books. I find that interesting, so in my opinion, I don’t strive to write a better book, I aim to write books readers would enjoy, a story that would make their jaws drop and wonder, ‘is this [kind of] love story possible for me too?’
If you could take a break from sexy, romantic stories to tell a different kind of story, which other (sub)genre would you like to write for?
I’m considering writing Mafia stories, even though I’m not a fan of the sub-genre because of the drugs, crime, trafficking, etc. But I can see myself putting my spin on it and transferring some basic principles to make it mine by God’s grace. Writing children’s books is another genre that my heart is leaning towards. Self-help books on marriage and dating are also a possibility. An autobiography is also at the top of that list.
Is there any other passion you think you would be pursuing if writing wasn’t in the mix?
Giving motivational speeches about promoting warmth, love, and passion in marriage and sharing practical and useful tips on dating for marriage.
What’s a particular lesson writing has taught you that has helped shape other parts of your life?
Don’t close your mind to the possibility of love. I don’t take my love life for granted because many people would give anything to experience what I’ve got–a blessed, joyous, love-filled married life. Writing has connected me with authors and readers around the world that I would never have met. It has given me the privilege to hear people’s personal stories they feel moved to share after reading my books.
What’s the best book you’ve ever read? Tell us a little about it.
Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough: Book Three in The Stafford Brothers Series by Chicki Brown.
The hero, New York TV personality Greg Stafford, has been hiding a secret for years and when this secret is exposed to the world, he has to fight to restore his image with the public, his family, and his belief in himself. Meanwhile, therapist Rhani Drake spends her days listening to people’s problems and helping them to overcome their challenges. When Greg Stafford shows up at her office for therapy, she isn’t at all ready for the problems he creates in her life.
I love how the author weaves in tales about several characters in the series, so much so that I felt I knew the characters and there was no confusion. That level of writing takes skill and an eye for detail. It was a truly enjoyable read for me.
What’s a popular book you’ve never read? Do you plan to fix this anytime soon?
Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James. I’ve watched the movie, so I’m consoled. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I will include it in my current TBR list, so I can compare the book with the movie.
I’m taking a leap to assume your favorite book genre to read is romance. Who are your current top 3 romance authors?
You’re right. Let me go for the top 2: Cora Seton and Chicki Brown.
Check out all books by Stella Ajanaku-Eromonsere HERE.
If you could meet up with your younger self at any point in your past, when would that be, and what would you do/say when you get there?
That would be in my university days. I would say to my younger self, “love God and write romance stories.”
Let’s try a hypothetical. Say, I’m a shy male character in your upcoming book looking to approach and impress a girl I really like, what possible three actions would you let me take to score some points in her good book?
To be sincere, I hardly write about shy male characters but if I did, three actions would be:
- Say something remarkable about the girl he wants to impress. It could be about her dress: ‘Your dress flatters your figure’, or about her hair: ‘Your hair is lovely’. When you say it, look into her eyes to make a connection. Make eye contact when she speaks. Take an interest in her. Show her you’re interested in her to make her feel special.
- Put your phone away. Ignore your phone if it rings. A woman loves undivided attention.
- Help her with the door, or jacket, do the heavy lifting and help her do something personal to her. For more tips on the topic, find my video on my YouTube channel: DearStellaTV
I’m taking notes for a friend.
Who/what are the biggest influences on your writing style? Give them a shout-out.
God. To God be the glory for His inspiration, strength, and grace to write.
I write in a way that’s reminiscent of watching a movie. It’s the style of writing I wish more authors would adopt.
What are some of your interesting hobbies that might surprise your readers?
I swim like a starfish and play board games with my family. I also knit mufflers and love going to the park with my husband.
On average, how many books do you read yearly?
If I admit it, you will be horrified. One thing, I’m struggling with at the moment is reading books. I downloaded many books to read but I haven’t got around to reading them from start to finish. Every time I want to read, my urge to WRITE a book gets stronger and it overpowers reading a book. Another distraction I have is watching romance movies or series. I start reading books but I don’t finish them because I’m a slow reader. I read a lot in the past, now…not so much but I have decided to break the bad habit and read a chapter a day. Hopefully, I’ll stick to it. I didn’t answer your question because it is less than 20 books. There, you’ve got it, please don’t laugh.
Don’t worry, I won’t laugh… at least not now.
How many books do you publish yearly?
By His grace, 4 – 5 books.
Check out all books by Stella Ajanaku-Eromonsere HERE.
How do you decide on which story to tell next? Is there a process to this?
For series, it’s easy, I write the first book and then the next. My current W-I-P is the 3rd book in The Billionaire Brothers Series. But for standalone, it is different. The only process I have is that I pray to God to inspire me to write. Once a storyline or plot drops into my heart, followed by characters chatting on and on about stuff, that’s the start of a story right there. I seize the opportunity and start typing what my characters say. As the story unfolds, I organize it into chapters. Quite often, I title the book while the writing is underway, or at the end. Sometimes, the title can be the first thing I’m sure about, so it varies. I have no hard and fast rules about my writing process.
Are you a TV or Movie person?
Movie is my first choice for sure.
What’s that one Movie/TV show you really like and won’t mind rewatching, say, 10 times in a year?
Love is Blind. I love the concept. One of my books, Get Undressed, published on January 28th, 2020, has a similar plot.
What are your thoughts on the impacts OkadaBooks has on the Nigerian literary space?
It’s been a positive influence for sure. Many Nigerians who have no access to books on Amazon have access to millions of books on OkadaBooks platform. That’s awesome for an author like me who writes in the diaspora. Via OkadaBooks, my novels are readily available to readers in Nigeria, that’s important to me as a Nigerian Author.
Moving forward, what are your plans for your writing career, say, within the next year, 5 years, and 10 years from now?
A few ideas have occurred to me. God willing, I will continue to write more Flirty & Feisty Romance Novels. However, I’m considering writing outside of my regular genre. I could write self-help books on marriage, an autobiography, and children’s books. I’m also seriously considering writing in a different sub-genre.
I’ll be glad if this happens. I look forward to reading one of these new, different works from you.
What are your dearest hopes for Nigeria’s literary scene and the Publishing industry as a whole?
My hope is that Nigeria’s literary scene and publishing industry would continue to grow to include publishing paperbacks and hardbacks at an affordable price to the readers. Secondly, it’s my prayer that books written by Nigerian Authors would be adapted into Nollywood movies.
Amen to all that!
Got any word for your readers and prospective readers?
I want to say THANK YOU to my readers for parting with their hard-earned money to buy my books. I’m super delighted and grateful. If you want to read, After-The-Altar stories of my books, or read from my characters’ juicy dairies, or get a sneak peek into scenes from my upcoming books, sign up for my Newsletter to join Stella’s Readers Island.
To my prospective readers, buy my book and sail away to Stella Ajanaku’s Pleasure Island with my characters. The truth is, my romance stories feature feisty heroines and sexy heroes who will elevate your pulse rate, make your heart skip here and there so that you’ll laugh, shed a tear sometimes, and gasp for breath. If an emotionally intense happy-ever-after is what you want, coupled with a sprinkling of life lessons, turn to chapter one and start reading now. I dare you to read all my other steamy-hot stories.
Check out all books by Stella Ajanaku-Eromonsere HERE.
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