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The Community reached out to our Award Winning writer/ the winner of the just concluded NAIJA ON WATTPAD CONTEST (2022) to conduct the Winner's interview with him.
Read and get amazed.
The Green Community: What is your Full name? Winner: Donald Uzoka.
The Green Community: What is your wattpad username? Winner:DonaldUzoka
The Green Community: What state are you from? Winner: Originally from Anambra but I currently reside in Enugu State.
The Green Community: What are your interests? Winner: I have a lot of interests including my love for anything mystery/thriller, especially murder mysteries. I'm into graphic designing but I mainly design book covers. I also enjoy listening to podcasts and curating awesome playlists. And one thing that definitely keeps me sane is getting invested in long TV series.
The Green Community: What genres do you focus on? Winner: Mystery/thriller, Young Adult fiction, New Adult fiction.
The Green Community: What is your book; THERE'S NO TOMORROW FOR ME about? Winner: There's No Tomorrow For Me follows Jerry's nineteen year old life as he navigates the world of being a yahoo boy (internet fraudster) and basically everything that comes with it. But the story actually kicks off one week to Jerry's death date.
The book paints a picture of Jerry and his friends and how they live life (and die) after making human sacrifices and performing rituals for wealth. In other words, "yahoo plus." Just like his deceased best friend, Tej, Jerry had one year to enjoy his wealth but There's No Tomorrow For Me focuses on the final week of Jerry's life when he finds out he has a daughter. We also get to see Jerry's childhood, what his life was like growing up and how the past intertwines with the present.
So basically, Jerry has one week to live, he's trying to find a daughter he never knew he had before he runs out of time, he gets reunited with his childhood crush and might be falling in love, all the while avoiding the deadly cult group that seems to be targeting every yahoo boy in Port Harcourt.
The story starts out slow and with a lot of question marks but as it slowly unravels, things begin to make sense and you realize that everything is a lot deeper than it seems. I'd like to think it's a heartbreaking story with very high stakes.
The Green Community: What was the motivation behind this work? Winner: The countless stories about teenage boys killing their girlfriends and beheading their mothers for money ritual was enough for me to want to write something about it.
I remember it was early 2022 when the news broke that three teenage boys beheaded one of their girlfriends and got caught while they were burning it (the ritual they were asked to perform). I was appalled when I saw the news because these boys were in my age bracket. In fact, one of them was two years younger than I was. It was then that I got motivated to write about this. But it also got me thinking, "What could have made these boys want wealth so desperately and so quickly at such a young age?" I came up with a number of reasons like peer pressure, the illusion of wealth on social media, the expectations that came with being a male child/potential breadwinner, amongst others. And I tried to incorporate these things into the book.
The Green Community: What are the future plans for this book? Winner: I'll definitely be submitting it to publishing houses, hopefully this year. But one way or the other I plan to see it published and eventually I would love to see it adapted into a movie. We need stories like this not just on paper but also on screen.
The Green Community: Coke or Fanta? Lol. Winner: Coke.
The Green Community: When do you intend to make it a complete book? Winner: Hopefully, a month from now.
The Green Community: What other works do you have? Winner: I currently have three other books on Wattpad, all Young Adult books with elements of mystery and thriller. I'm a lot more excited about the books I'm yet to write.
The Green Community: What prompted you to apply for the NOWC22 contest? Winner: I loved the idea of the contest as soon as I read about it. I'm someone who struggles to finish a book and this contest provided the accountability I needed to keep writing. The idea of finally starting a new book was alluring too.
The Green Community: How did it feel to be announced winner of the contest? Winner: Words can't describe how I felt, honestly. It was good to start the year that way. I saw the credit alert for the cash prize first and I immediately put on my data and rushed here to confirm that yes, I'd won. I wasn't sure I'd win but getting recognized for this particular book was everything I needed and more.
The Green Community: Tell us something extra about yourself? Winner: Something extra... I guess this is not something I tell people but I definitely see myself working in the movie industry as a screenwriter, an actor or both.
The Green Community: Any words of encouragement to other writers? Winner: When I'm struggling to write and I've not written anything in a long while (as a result of writer's block or otherwise) I get really depressed and a little angry with myself and basically, everything, especially when I see other writers writing and updating their books everyday. But then, I remind myself that the only thing that matters is that I finish. Is it going to take me five years to finish this story? No problem, no pressure.
It doesn't matter how long it takes you, what matters most is that you see it through to the end. Even when it feels like you're the most unserious writer compared to others, remember that that book is a work of art, and you can't rush it. Writing a book is a process and as enjoyable or dreadful as the process is, it can never be the same for every writer and every book.
The Green Community: Are you open to collaboration with other Authors? Winner: Of course. In fact, I've worked with some of my writer friends in the past year. Hopefully, soon I'd get to share new projects and collaborations.
You have heard from the horse's mouth. Check out DonaldUzoka page and his work. Then come back to thank us later.
