Hey there!

Today we have a remarkable young lady with us, her name? Irene Ibiwari-Ikiriko 

She is a writer and blogger; an inspiring, beautiful and intelligent one at that! Beauty and brains? Yup. Irene is a graduate of the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. *whispers* with a first class guys! And also a lover of God.

Bonus: she can laugh for universe, lol.

Are you excited to meet her? I sure am! Let’s get to it already.

 

Q: Can you tell us about yourself?

A: The hardest question I’ve ever answered in life is to talk about myself. .but I can try. I was brought up by a single mum, I lost my dad when I was 5, going on 6, so I haven’t actually called anyone ‘Dad’ for almost two decades. I have lived in three houses in general but I’ve spent holidays in more houses than I can count (it’s helped me understand human beings and their behavioural patterns better). I would rather be inside my house, on my bed than anywhere else in the world. I am a deep romantic, mostly thanks to all the fairytales I watch (movie freak here). I love surprises and I simply adore people who are sincere because I try to always be sincere in my dealings with others. I’ve always looked forward to having a world where everybody is united by the bond of humanity. I love comparative education, biology, geography and any studies carried out on the earth and life. I would rather have quiet than listen to music but then you can hit me up with Spanish hip-pop music. My favourite clothing is always going to be trousers, any day, any time. Someday, really soon, I hope they consider making me a Laughter Noble Laureate because I always enjoy a good laugh.

 

[bctt tweet=” I’ve always looked forward to having a world where everybody is united by the bond ” username=”bookclubsng”]

 

Q: Which books/authors/people were significant in shaping your perspective towards writing?

A: I am aware that when you write, people expect you to have a writer, author as an influence. I can’t really say any writer shaped my perspective on writing in particular, but I love reading from Chimamanda N. Adichie, Nicholas Sparks and Ibiwari Ikiriko. I especially love Purple Hibiscus, The wedding and Oily tears of the Niger Delta but they did not influence my writing. My writing has been influenced largely by the need to write something and the events that occur around me.

 

[bctt tweet=”My writing has been influenced largely by the need to write something and the events that occur around me.” username=”bookclubsng”]

 

Q: What’s your favourite quote? And what great lesson has life taught you?

A: My favourite quote generally is:

[bctt tweet=”“Catch on fire with enthusiasm and the world will come to watch you burn.”” username=”bookclubsng”]

The greatest lesson I’ve learnt from life is that you’re only assured of yourself, others will love you along the way but you must first love yourself or nothing else would matter.

 

Q: If you knew that whatever you wrote would come to pass, what would you write?

A: Errr… this one’s pretty tough. If I knew whatever I wrote would come to pass, I’d write that microorganisms would never be able to cause diseases, (since contagious diseases are mostly caused by microorganisms).

 

[bctt tweet=”If you knew that whatever you wrote would come to pass, what would you write?” username=”bookclubsng”]

 

Q: Could you share some things you can never be caught doing?

A: I will NEVER be caught pretending to be someone else, or eating guava , watching football when it’s not the World Cup (and I only watch Nigerian and Spanish matches during the World Cup even), I am pretty sure I will not be caught marrying a man with dreads and high unkempt hair, and I definitely won’t be caught in a club! I think there are a lot of others but these are the ones I want to dwell on for now.

 

Q: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across, that you would like others to tap into?

 

A: “If it reads like writing, tear it up and start again.”

 

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am passionate about living, about life. I don’t want to be that human who just existed – ever! When people ask me ‘what’s up?’ and I reply, ‘life’, they laugh and think I’m trying to be funny. I’m really passionate about living.

 

Q: What do you do when you aren’t reading or writing?

A: Lol . . . Now you’ll make me think my life is boring. When I’m not reading or writing, I talk with my sister, I think about/plan for the future a lot and it occupies most of my time than reading and writing. I see lots and lots of movies (at home, not a fan of the cinema).
 

Q: Can you trace when your writing adventures began?

A: Of course! As early as age 5, I was already writing a short anthem for the school I hope to have in future. By 8, I was writing dramas in short 60 leaves notes and papers. Through my secondary education, I was rephrasing works of other people and in late 2012 (Lord bless that year) – writing called me and I answered!

 

 

Q: Have you published any book? Great! Tell us about it. If not, what’s cooking?

A: No, I haven’t yet, sadly and I’m looking forward to writing/publishing one (because I definitely would like to read a book from myself – Hey! I’ve been reading those of others, it’s time I read mine). I really hope 2018 provides me with the recipé to write one.

So here goes . . . I have no published works yet but I blog at inspireneyou.com. You can see most of my quotes on Instagram and Twitter (which both share the same handle) @ireneikiriko and to the social media that introduced me to the world Facebook! Connect with me via Facebook with Irene Ibiwari-Ikiriko. Thank you.

Thank you too Irene! Nice meeting you (errr…e-meeting, lol).

And… we wrap it up here guys, thanks for reading and don’t forget to leave your comments! By the way, who would you have us interview next?