What inspired you to write:

I think I was born to write. I was literally born on World Book & Copyright Day (April 23rd) and I loved literature from childhood. My earliest forays into creative writing came in primary school. I used to draw my own comic book characters, using a pencil or biro, inspired by such comics as Batman, Spiderman, The Phantom, Tin Tin, and Flash Gordon. My first “real book” was a crime novel titled When the Whirlwind Passes that he published online in 2001. It was Africa’s pioneering digital novel. I write across genres and each genre had its own literary heroes that I looked up to as an aspiring author. For example, I am a big fan of the short story form. Jeffery Archer is one of my inspirations in this genre although I also read the classics: Somerset Maugham, James Thurber, O. Henry, and so on. O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi is probably the first short story I ever read on my own volition. Thurber’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty had me laughing like a hyena in high school. I now have three short story collections of my own: Kiss, Commander, Promise; Disco Matanga and A Body Made For Sin.

Book titles: I have fifteen books so far, in multiple genres. They are:

1. When the Whirlwind Passes

2. Kiss, Commander, Promise

3. The Moon is Made of Green Cheese

4. The Talking of Trees

5. Disco Matanga

6. Yuppies!

7. What's Wrong With This Picture?

8. The Stacy Walker Interview

9. Hannah And The Angel: Volume 1 - Angels 'R' Us

10. King Bure Is Dead!

11. A Body Made For Sin

12. Where The Kremlin Live

13. Kenyan Theatre: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

14. This Time With Feeling: Essays on Theatre

15. Hannah And The Angel Vol.2: Comedy Roast

Recent Book Synopsis:

Here’s the jacket description of Hannah And The Angel Vol.2: Comedy Roast which is actually a stage play script but available on Amazon in paperback and Amazon Kindle formats:

In this heart-warming sequel to Hannah and the Angel Vol. 1: Angels 'R' Us, we reconnect with the loveable duo of Hannah and her rapping boyfriend, Jack. It's a year after Hannah's supernatural encounter with an angel and she's still maintaining the secret despite being in close proximity with Jack, as they work on a song together. Meanwhile, Jack gets an opportunity to compete against his rich friend, Brayo, for the King of Battle Rap crown. Later, Hannah organizes a unique event that the church is initially hesitant to support - a comedy roast revolving around Karis the Drunk..

What character are you most like in your story and why:

In Kiss, Commander, Promise, there’s a trio of spies that were former childhood schoolmates. They are all based on actual classmates. The protagonist is called Ernest and his personality is based on mine. He’s like my literary avatar. Other than that, the characters I create are usually nothing like me, even the protagonists. Some of them are even women. Even the men are not like me. For instance, most of them smoke or take stimulants, which I have never actually done. They key is to be a good observer of human behaviour and to do rigorous research. In the case of smokers, for example, some cigarette brands are associated with different countries, different social classes, and even different genders. Personally, I hate cigarette smoke; especially the way it clings to fabrics.

What advice do you have for upcoming African Authors:

To write. Don’t talk about it, be about it. Write. I know people that have been planning to write a novel or memoir for over ten years but so far, they are yet to compose even the opening sentence. Writers write. As pertains to African scribes in particular, my advice would be that they write from their own point of view; an African perspective. They should describe Africa as they see it, not as the outside world sees it. For the record, the entire continent of Africa accounts for only about 3% of published books worldwide. We need doers, not talkers.