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| Chinedu Enechi, Author IFECHIDERE |
Chinedu Enechi writes the story of IFECHIDERE to
tell us about child abuse and the unfair treatment of women and the underprivileged.
It is a story based on the real life of his mother.
Enechi says he has more stories to tell and plans to
continue writing. When he is not
writing, he enjoys watching movies, cooking, and reading.
Don't miss the excerpt at the end of his interview.
Q: In what genre would you place your novella,
IFECHIDERE? Would it be in contemporary women’s fiction? Why?
Chinedu Enechi:
Yes it is; it has a lot to do what is happening now in our society in terms of
child abuse and traditional violation in terms of the Osu/Ohu nightmare
that hurts a lot of marriages. Everyone should be treated with fairness and the
same. The same women that give birth to so called Osu/Ohu give birth to
so called free ones. From time immemorial, women have faced rejection from so
many quarters and it needs to stop.
Q: What inspired you, a man, to write a woman’s
story?
Chinedu Enechi:
I have a lot of faith in women. I hate it when women are marginalized or
disrespected.
Q: How does your setting influence your story?
Would Ifechidere have had a similar life wherever she was living?
Chinedu Enechi:
No, not really. I think the part of the problems Ifechidere faced came from the
culture and tradition in which she found herself. A culture and tradition that
neglects and takes the less privileged for granted and creates an illusion of
people not being equal. I think if she had to be in environment that respects
and cares more for children as well as less privileged, her life wouldn't have
been the same.
Q: Why will readers care about Ifechidere? How will
they relate?
Chinedu Enechi:
“Ifechidere” is actually based on my mother's real life story and it's a really
touching one. It's the kind of story that makes people ask questions and
re-evaluate how they treat the less privileged, or even how people relate with
each other.
Q: Does the concept of hero vs villain apply to
your story? Is Ifechidere a heroine? If so, Is there a villain? What makes a
compelling villain?
Chinedu Enechi:
Yes, Ifechidere is a heroine and there are a number of villains. I think a
compelling villain actually adds to the character of the hero.
Q: Did you use humor to tell your story or develop
your characters?
Chinedu Enechi:
Not really … but there are some places you laugh, because some things in the
book are just naturally funny.
Q: How do you drive readers to want to “turn the
page?” How important is suspense or romance?
Chinedu Enechi:
“Ifechidere” is full of a lot of moments. There's also suspense, such that when
you start reading, you won’t want to put it down.
Q: Did you write IFECHIDERE strictly to entertain
your readers, or did you embed a message in your story?
Chinedu Enechi:
Ifechidere’s story wasn’t actually for entertainment. It’s a story that conveys
a message.
Q: What’s next? Will you continue to write
fictional stories?
Chinedu Enechi:
Absolutely yes, I have more stories to tell.
Q: Tell us about Chinedu Enechi. What do you like
to do when you’re not writing?
Chinedu Enechi:
I am a determined person. I also enjoy going out whether or not I am with
friends, watching movies, reading and cooking.
About
Chinedu Enechi
Chinedu Enechi is a Philosophy graduate of
the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and an MA student of Political and Social
Philosophy at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
His hobbies include cooking, reading,
watching movies and hanging out with friends.
74 pages
The loss of both her parents, even before she
is old enough to speak, appears to pre-determine Ifechidere's life. She is made
to toil from dusk to dawn.
Yet, Ifechidere is no modern-day Cinderella,
as she finds that faith in the will to survive, which is stronger than any
absentee fairy godmother, will propel her to find herself. And it'll lead her
to the thing that was always meant to be ...
Excerpt
Chapter One
Ifechi sat pitifully on the damp floor with
her two legs crossed. It was sometime after the heavy and hideous pouring of
rain. The storm had been riotous and sharp. It was the last rain of the year,
in the middle of November, which would inevitably usher in the harmattan.
It was exactly 8pm. An hour earlier, she had
been summoned by her clod uncle and wicked aunty. Onukwube, the stubborn,
little child of Ifechi’s uncle, refused to sleep, crying himself into a popper.
He had kept up the crying since his mother left him and went out with his
father. Ifechi did everything humanly possible to stop him from crying; she
sang the lullabies, which mothers and nannies often used to lure kids to sleep
whenever they were disturbed, all to no avail.
Onukwube was a boy of six years, with a fat
face; he was ugly like his mother, heavily built, with small eyes and a big
head. When they came back, they saw him crying beside Ifechi, who was standing
outside their small three-bedroom mud house. Ogolo, Ifechi’s aunty, upon seeing
him, took him and started petting him, claiming that Ifechi was bewitching her
son. She scolded, then hit her with a wooden stick. Then she went inside the
house with her son, leaving poor Ifechi, to cry on the floor. After they had
finished eating the soft and smooth pounded yam with ogbono soup Ifechi
prepared for the family, they called Ifechi in and ordered her to clear the
empty dishes. She wailed disconsolately like a maniacal dog, with her nose
running.
With not even a sympathetic neighbour to
console her, Ifechidere sobbed. She lamented painfully and her stomach
grumbled. She had not been offered even a morsel of the food she had prepared.
Ifechidere’s mother, Obidiya, died while
giving birth to her after many years of childlessness. She named the child
'Ifechidere' – Ifechi, for short – as she gave up the ghost. The name alluded
to destiny; it literally meant 'what the gods have written'. Ifechidere was
only three years old when her father died in a bicycle accident – caused by his
wicked, greedy younger brother, who had his eyes on his brother’s inheritance.
The fact that Ifechidere was alive, was a
miracle. Even the daily beating, meted out to her by her uncle and his wife,
did not stunt her physical growth. She was nine years old now, with an elegant
oval shaped face, pointed nose, small, bright, sharp eyes, long and straight
legs and beautiful dark skin. She was the spitting image of her mother. That
was the reason that Ogolo and Obande hated her so much; each time they looked
at her, they saw her mother.
Links
IFECHIDERE is available in Kindle format in
Amazon markets in the
United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Australia and India.
It is also available as an EPUB
on Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Okadabooks and major online stores, as
well as in the Apple
store as an iBook
Publisher Facebook: https://facebook.com/FearlessStoryteller
Publisher
Twitter: Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ChiomaNnani
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