Myne Whitman: Telling the Naija stories
Myne Whitman’s muse has been chasing her since her childhood. This is probably the reason she just had to read everything she could lay her hands on. The US-based writer of romance fiction hails from Asaba, Delta State.
Growing up for her was a lot of fun; she always looked forward to her annual family trip to Asaba from Enugu, which she was always excited about because of the environment and the people she meets. The writer, who read biological sciences at the Nnamdi Aizikiwe University, loves her craft.
Not that she actually practised, but she did work as a consultant for a health-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), that is as far as her biological practice went. Writing took over. She writes about romantic experience because of the universal appeal it has, as she says, “Most people will experience relationships more than anything else in their lifetime.” In her stories, she uses the characters and frames them against the background of a real-life setting. Writing love stories is something she has always wanted to do. Growing up, she read a lot of romance series like popular Mills & Boons, which had the attention of many young readers, as well as the Pacesetters and African Writers Series.
Starting her first novel at age 18, what she felt was the deep urge and motivation to write stories that featured everyday people; people the society could identify with. Her deep love for love stories pushed her into writing romance fiction. The writer finally took the deep writing plunge mid-2009, when she moved to the United States. On getting there, she found it difficult getting a job, so she started writing. She also joined a writing group, started a blog, which seems to attract a lot of followers and positive reviews. It was then she finally decided that writing would be her full-time career.
Writers have been known to use pen names; in fact, most of the writers Whitman grew up reading used pen names. So, she decided to adopt one – Myne Whitman. Though a pen name, it is actually her name translated into a funky English form. “For me, it is a way of channelling my creativity and retaining my privacy at the same time. I reserve my real name for more official and professional stuffs,” she states. Not many writers pitch their writing tents in love stories. This, for the writer of romance fiction, is because “publishing in Nigeria is really in the dumps across board,” insisting that this is a reason why many writers would rather write literary fiction – they can submit for contests and awards.
“I'm not writing to win awards, or be a famous writer, but just to share stories that people will relate with and enjoy.” The brilliant and beautiful storyteller shares that her love for writing and reading drives her, “I have always had the passion to pursue a goal in development in Nigeria. The path I took in my education and some of my work experience was in health systems, but at the stage in my life when I started blogging, that path was not open to me.
Instead, I saw this opportunity to make an impact in the reading and writing sector and I decided to take it. “It helps that I have had encouragement from my immediate family and the Nigerian online community along the line. The emails I get on a regular basis - saying how readers enjoy my books, and that writers have been inspired by my actions also motivate me.” Romance fiction may seems too escapist for some people, but for the writer, “If a reader wants to escape through a romance novel, that is perfectly okay, the world is tough enough as it is.”
She shares that she receives a large number of fans’ mails letting her know that her stories have given them an insight they never had. On profitability, Whitman’s first book, A Heart to Mend, occupied the first position on the AmazonUK Kindle store for romantic suspense. To date, over 20,000 copies have been downloaded. Her second book, A Love Rekindled, was at the top of the bestseller list for one of the major books stores in Lagos between August and September. But, regardless of the number of copies sold, the writer appreciates that her stories can help readers make sense of the world around them.
NaijaStories.com, a leading community for writers and story enthusiasts, was an idea that occurred to Whitman from her experience as a blogger and coordinator of an online interactive story. The website that has almost 2000 members on its mailing list and an average of 1000 daily visitors, promotes Nigerian stories, writers and book publishers. It also serves as a writing critique and social networking site. In a space of two years, the website that came into existence in 2010 has published over 3,500 stories in various categories, including short fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, and organised several writing contests.
With this mix of content and activities, NaijaStories is especially versatile, attracting a diverse crop of readers, writers, and those with general interest in Nigerian affairs. Whitman, who enjoys a great online presence, feels that Nigeria could do more with publishing houses and distribution channels. She also feels that the current publishers focus a lot on books written for international audience, which, as far as she is concerned, does not excite Nigerians as the books do not tell Nigerian stories. The writer is very particular about putting the Nigerian and African audience first.
