FIGHTING THE INNER DEMONS
Why am I not dancing with joy when my book is about to be published?
Greetings and Blessings, and hope you’re all being kind to yourselves in the midst of all the turmoil we’re witnessing in our world today. Sometimes, it’s hard to continue with the art of writing which seems so trivial in light of all the horrors taking place in real-time and across all our spaces. There is that guilt that one is being frivolous and selfish in bleating about their books, contracts, awards, submissions/acceptances/rejections, talks/panels/readings and all those myriads of stuff professional writers deal with, in the light of all the tragedies existing in our world today. This feeling has been an on-going one for me and something I know most of us creatives also struggle with. But I reckon we must find a way to make peace with our guilt whilst paying our due to our art and the people/organisations behind our success.
So, here I am again, bringing you some updates about my upcoming book, WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER, which will be released in exactly 15 days! Yes; on the 22nd of October, 2024, this my latest African horror/fantasy/magical realism book will be released by Titan Books! This is my first of four books that will be published by Titan Books and for some reason, unlike my other works, I have found myself suffering from an unexpected and unusual attack of nerves. I should be excited at the prospect of sharing my book with the world but instead, I find myself struggling with increased insomnia and panic attacks. My anxiety has rocketed to such debilitating heights that I’ve ended up bombarding myself with self-notes in my attempts to bring some calm to my sleepless mind. Below is a small snapshot of some of the notes I’ve written to myself in recent times. I suspect many of us also share the same worries, if not about our works, about other stuff. I hope that these will help you realise that you’re not alone and that regardless of what life throws us, FAITH & HOPE are two eternal weapons that will always lift us up.😊
September 8th 2024 (1.05am)
Illumination!
Hunter Woodhall & Tara Davies Woodhall have inspired me with their grit & success. He said he’s been journaling to himself about winning Paralympic gold, same as his wife, which ultimately led to both winning gold medals. So, I’m reconnecting with my journaling again which I’d abandoned for years. My mind has been very disturbed recently, worrying about this book, fearing people won’t connect with it, buy it, or review it. I’m tortured by thoughts of failure, checking daily for reviews & ranking on Amazon, while harassing my ancestors daily for their intervention and asking them to give me a million book sales or even 50,000 sales on release day. I’m trying to have hope and faith, but right now, it’s not strong & I feel embarrassed that I’m allowing something so transient & superficial consume my thoughts. Yes, I know I can’t have both faith and fear; it’s either one or the other. But I’m labouring under both. Basically, my faith is little and my fear, great. So, I’m very, very, very worried and we’re having no sleep again this night, me and my restless mind...oh well....
September 14th 2024 (2:23am)
Affirmation:
· WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER has sold 50,000 copies on release day, Iseh!!!
· WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER is now an Amazon Bestseller, Iseh!!!
· WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER will sell 1million copies eventually, Iseh!!!
September 24th 2024 (12.33am)
Inspiration & Illumination
· All Good Things come to those who WAIT!
· All Good Things come to those who WAIT!
· All Good Things come to those who WAIT!
· All Good Things come to those who WAIT!
September 30th 2024 – Final day of September (2.15am)
Exactly 22 days now to release of WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER! Friends/family telling me their copies have arrived! Surprised, as didn’t expect people to start receiving copies before 22nd, but there you have it. Still only 17 ratings and 14 reviews on Goodreads & me still stressing out my flat arse.☹ Anyway, I’ve decided to make some new resolutions today.
· I WILL NO LONGER STRESS OR WORRY
· I CANNOT ALTER THE WHEELS OF FATE
· MY BOOK WILL EITHER BE SUCCESSFUL OR NOT; EITHER WAY, I WILL LET WHAT WILL BE, BE
· STILL, I HOPE THIS BOOK IS A SUCCESS
· I HOPE IT SELLS AT LEAST 50,000 COPIES ON RELEASE DATE
· I HOPE IT GETS AT LEAST 500 REVIEWS ON AMAZON OR GOODREADS
· I HOPE IT GETS ON AMAZON TOP 10
· I HOPE IT WILL EXPOSE MY WORKS TO MORE READERS
October 6th 2024 (13:35hrs)
New Resolve
· I WILL NO LONGER CHECK ON REVIEWS FROM TODAY
· CHECKING REVIEWS INCREASES MY ANXIETY
· REVIEWS DO NOT DETERMINE MY WRITING, AS THERE ARE DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS
· I WILL NOT ALLOW REVIEWS TO DETERMINE MY PRIDE IN MY WORK OR DENT MY CONFIDENCE IN MY WORK OR INFLATE MY EGO & PRIDE
· I WILL BE AT PEACE WITH MY BOOK
· NUZO, ALL IS WELL!
There you have it! All the weird shit messing up my mental and emotional well-being ever since the release date for WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER started drawing closer! I have no idea where this weird fixation with reviews is coming from, but I guess that’s my way of avoiding stressing about the bigger stuff going on in my life. However, the journaling is good so far; I read and re-read them and find solace in them. I’m starting to think that I will be fine because, at the end of the day, I love the story I wrote and know that nothing can dent that belief or alter the wheels of fate. After all, Sylvester Stallone’s teachers had voted him “most likely to end up in the electric chair”. Yet, he wrote Rocky in just three days, believed so strongly in the script despite countless rejections that he refused to sell unless he played the lead. The rest is history!
So today, here is my fierce mantra:
I AM THE ROCKY OF AFRICAN HORROR! I AM INVICTUS! WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER & I WILL JUST BE FINE!
So guys, please PRE-ORDER your copy of WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER in any format today. Thanks, and hugs!” Also, since I’m not the best at self-promotion and struggle with social media, Twitter is the only platform I’m active on. So please, those of you active on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, and other platforms, I’ll be in your eternal debt if you can share this post and spread the word to your friends/family/colleagues and even your pets. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Below are the pre-order links:
1. AFRICA: (Nigeria & South Africa – purchase links soon to follow)
· Jonathan Ball Publishers, South Africa
· Rovingheights Books, Nigeria.
2. ASIA:
· Bookazine (Hong Kong)
· Kino (Thailand/Singapore)
· Sketch (Philippines)
· Periplus (Indonesia)
3. AMAZON UK
5. WATERSTONES
7. AFRORI BOOKS
WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER by Nuzo Onoh, out 22nd October 2024 (Titan Books)
Remember, do share you’re your thoughts and introduce your friends to Nuzo’s Nightmare Zone. https://nuzo.substack.com/p/coming-soon