Author Bio:
I am a passionate writer, a gifted poet, an accomplished lyricist, a recorded singer, and above all a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya.
I have penned down FIVE titles, which are readily available and accessible both online and offline in Paperback and eBook formats via CreateSpace Publishers, Amazon, etc. They include:
[1] There is no Country Called Kenya: If you Must Steal, Just Steal a Little Please
[2] The UglyBeautiful Tale of a Stupid, Stupid Heart: When Mother Hen Eats her Grownup Chicks
[3] A Must-Have Guide for Every Aspiring Writer: Easy, Learnable, Realistic and Sure Ways to Earn Money as A Writer Online (Earning a Living as A Writer) (Volume 1)
[4] Please! Remember to Forget Me! And Other Short Stories
[5] Crawling to my Death and Other Poems: A Poetry Anthology
More so, I have two other works that will be hitting your bookstores at the soonest opportune possible. These include a Swahili Riwaya titled Yajapo Yapokee, and an English Novella titled Married to my Shadow: Love is for the Dying and Weak in Spirit.
What inspires you to write?
Not long after my birth, my parents walked their separate ways after a not-so-happy marriage that I would come to learn many years later was characterized by violence, drunkenness and negligence.
Denied both motherly and fatherly love, it didn’t take long to realize I was on my own. I started asking why…then Papa died, closely followed by Isabel, my late girlfriend, and the only kind soul I ever knew.
For me, writing is not only a past-time hobby, but a therapeutic undertaking that has helped me discover the real me.
What happens around me greatly inspires me…. It could be the sudden loss of a loved one, the runaway culture of impunity, and rampant corruption in my country, a heartbreak, and most important, solitude and loneliness.
Tell us about your writing process.
Writing for me is not a linear process. I write as ideas come; sometimes, continuously, at other times, once in a while. Oftentimes, I usually begin with an outline which has a clear beginning, and an equally clear ending. In addition to the outline (without the help of a software of course), I usually prepare a sketch of main characters, their key roles, motivations, goals, setbacks etc.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Yes, of course. Oftentimes, my characters exist entirely behind the back of my mind, always ready to show up for an impromptu interview about their motivations, secrets, phobias, etc.
Who are your favorite authors?
Violet Kala, Waste Not Your Tears, Chinua Achebe, A Man of the People, and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Weep Not Child
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Traditional Publishing is no longer appealing to amateur writers not yet established out there, and it is for this reason that I opted for Indie Publishing.
Not only does it give me freedom of determining the final product, but also saves me a lot of time that I would have wasted waiting for editorial reviews from a traditional publisher.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Traditional Publishing might be overtaken by Indie Publishing thanks to their strictness, bureaucracy, and cold shoulders against up and coming authors.
What genres do you write?
Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Self-Help
What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print
Website(s)
Link To Levi Cheruo Cheptora Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
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