Birthday Surprise!

 

Before my 50th Birthday, I had started to think about my future, and I wanted to take writing seriously. I enjoyed writing but wrote sparingly. Over the years, I had written some non-fiction pieces that I shared with family and friends. I thought it was time to work on the ideas I had in my head - all non-fiction. Fiction was not my thing anymore; how could I have thought I could write fiction?

On my 50th birthday, my family organized a Zoom party for. My sister, Mope, asked me to send her a photo of myself the night before. I didn't think much of it. The party started and progressed into tributes giving. Cousin Akinyinka began to give his tribute and started talking about a girl who had some challenges. I didn't know what he was talking about, and I thought he would circle back and talk about me. Then a book was displayed on the screen, and it had my book title! It clicked - they were launching my book! The book I finished writing 25 years ago! That was why Mope needed my photograph, to put on the book cover. To say I was shocked is an understatement. That moment, I was confused, shocked and worried. Worried that my hidden work, with all it's imperfections, was not outed. There was no going back; copies were pre-ordered with a release date of November 1, 2020.

I found out what happened behind the scenes. Mope and my sister-in-law, Sis Toyin Fafowora, had a conversation. Sis Toyin asked Mope for a birthday gift idea and said she knew I liked writing. Sis Toyin suggested a writing course, and Mope told her I had written a book. Sis Toyin decided that my book would be launched on my birthday as a surprise. Overnight, she got someone to design a book cover, and the photo Mope asked for was on it...that's how I became an author!