Hello my wonderful readers and supporters!
Halloween draws close and here’s wishing you all a shivery Halloween 2022 in advance. For those of you too scared to venture outside to confront the great terror of “Trick or Treat” little monsters terrorising the neighbourhood on the day, I bring you the perfect treat for your enjoyment.
Against all odds, my first novel in five years, A DANCE FOR THE DEAD, is published on November 1st 2022! It was originally scheduled for an October 11th date, but as the popular Nigerian saying goes, “Man proposed, God disposes”. The 11th October date fell through, but a better date arrived – 1st November, 2022! And the book is now showing up for PREORDER on all reputable retail sites too! I am truly blessed by my ancestors.
And talking of ancestors, A DANCE FOR THE DEAD is your ghostly blueprint on the omnipotent ancestors. As the unforgettable opening line in my all-time fav film, The Godfather, goes, “I believe in America”. To borrow the phrase, “I believe in my ancestors.” My belief in my ancestors isn’t something that happened overnight, but as a result of a combination of experiences and revelations over many years, culminating in my unwavering acceptance of the existence of living, caring, powerful, and omniscient ancestors.
The story behind A DANCE FOR THE DEAD is a long and torturous one. It was written before the Black Lives Matter wave brought some reckoning to the literary world, amongst other industries. For the first time in my writing career, I made the conscious decision to seek an agent and publish A DANCE FOR THE DEAD under a different imprint than my own publishing company, Canaan-Star Publishing, as I had done with all my other books. This decision was made as a result of finding my books disqualified from many Awards due to being self-published.
It was a decision I was to regret for the rest of my life. I ended up spending 18 months at great emotional and financial upheaval, searching for the elusive literary agent. I even paid for the highly-expensive services of a professional agent and manuscript coach in my quest. To be honest, Mark Malatesta, the agent coach I hired, lived up to everything he promised for the thousands of dollars I paid for his expert services. With his manuscript treatment, query letter, and exclusive contact list of horror fiction literary agents, the responses poured in like wildfire. Never before had I received so many agent emails asking for my complete manuscript. My heart soared! Finally! Success!
Then, hard reality hit. The replies came hard and fast, brutal in their icy rejection. Almost without fail, they all repeated a mantra that seemed universally rehearsed – A brilliant story, great characters, setting and plot. Sadly, we don’t know how to market it/ not what we’re seeking at the present time, yadi, yadi, yadi.
My agent coach, Mark, was stunned by the negative responses. By the time we had sent over 200 query letters, he said he couldn’t believe the situation we found ourselves in. He had sold so many other authors whose stories couldn’t hold a light to mine, he said. Yet, the brutal reality was that the gatekeepers of the publishing world had no desire or interest to allow African Horror into their exalted halls. Mark’s unwavering faith in my work was the one thing that kept me going at the time. I know without a doubt that he would have secured multiple agents for me had the timing been different, and I will forever be grateful to him for his amazing work.
Needless to say, I was an emotional wreck. I started to hate my story. Resentment against the agents started to taint my soul with unwanted poison. Finally, I told Mark that I was done with the search. The relentless rejections were killing my confidence and my joy in my writing. I made up my mind to self-publish and market my book as I had done in the past with the help of professional publicists. I wasn’t rich by any imagination and had even cashed in several small pensions to support my writing career. But anything was now better than ever contacting another agent for as long as I lived.
In the midst of my depression, I turned to my mother who died in 2016. I found myself talking to her more and more with each passing day, pouring out my anguish to her. I felt her loving presence getting closer to me and soon, she started to visit my dreams with nightly frequency. I soon set up a shrine to her with her photos, crystals, candles, and incense. And finally, one day meditating before her shrine, I heard her voice inside my head, as clear as a gong.
My mother told me not to look for agents anymore. She said that at the right time, the right agent for me will seek me out. Her wisdom brought me solace and I was able to go through the pandemic and lockdown with relative ease. I actually thrived during those dire years despite not doing much writing or reading. Instead, I did a lot of walking and connected with my daughters in a deep and meaningful way. In the meantime, a long-awaited reckoning came to the publishing world and demand for speculative fiction from underrepresented communities suddenly grew.
Then one day, I got a message from the award-winning Australian writer, Eugen Bacon, telling me that an agent was asking for my contact details. When she told me who the agent was, I knew instantly that my mother had sent me the right agent she’d promised me. The agent was none other than Bieke van Aggelen, founder of African Literary Agency. Just hearing the name, African Literary Agency, was like nectar to me; an agency that deals exclusively with the genre I writer about, African Horror.
The rest is history. My mother sent me an agent who has become a soul-sister. Bieke Van Aggelen is the dream agent I had yearned for and my search is finally over. By a convoluted twist of fate, A DANCE OF THE DEAD, ended up in one of the best hands in the horror publishing industry, the American publishers, Stygian Sky Media, run by the two coolest guys that’s ever walked our earth, Jarod Barbee and Jeremy Wagner. Jarod reached out to me on Twitter, asking me if I had a completed manuscript for them to consider. I quickly sent him A DANCE FOR THE DEAD and after several months of the manuscript going through their rigorous in-house vetting process, he messaged to offer me a contract and an advance.
What can I say? These guys at Stygian Sky Media “get” my work. They didn’t try to massacre it with brutal edits and their vision for the covers was in perfect synch with mine. Thanks to them, I can now echo Bonasera’s famous words, “I believe in America!” This American publisher believed in my work and provided a home for African Horror. They’ve hired an ace publicist, Kaye Publicity, for my book and already, the results are dazzling. What can I say? I AM TRULY BLESSED BY MY ANCESTORS!
So, please join me in thanking my ancestors as I urge you to connect with yours. The ancestors in A DANCE FOR THE DEAD, lived up to expectations in the story, and I know that you will all be inspired one way or another to connect with yours or a higher energy you believe truly cares for you. I know A DANCE FOR THE DEAD will be successful. It has the powerful mark of my ancestors on it. All is finally well in my world.
Do grab your paperback copy HERE and I hope that you, my dear and valued readers, will enjoy this long-delayed return of African Horror. Remember, the special edition hardback copy is also available (Click Here)
Please check your inbox for further updates about my journey with A DANCE FOR THE DEAD, and as promised, I’ll not spam you or bombard you beyond my monthly update😊 As ever, beaming you all light and health. May the universe surround you all with kind people always.
Nuzo x
Congratulations, Nuzo! Thanks for sharing your story. It's so inspiring and reinforces my own belief that my grandmother watches over me from the Ancestral lands. God bless Oghenechovwe and Eugen for all they do for African Speculative Fiction Writers! Can't wait to order your work. ✨🎊🥳🎊💐👏🏿
November 1st is just around the corner, how exciting!