Today, Creative Writing News plays host to Nigerian-American author, Nike Campbell-Fatoki. This is the first of all the ten stops in her week-long online book tour. You can read the tour schedule HERE. Now, please join us as we listen to readings from her Modern African literature story collection titled Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon.
I enjoyed reading this fantastic short story collection. And I’ve been looking forward to this book tour, much like everyone else who has read the book. Most of us have questions for her. Others might become more curious after they’ve listened to the audio and read excerpts. And thankfully, Nike Campbell-Fatoki will be here to answer your questions.
For the benefit of those who haven’t read the book, we’ll start by giving a quick summary of the plot. Scroll further down to hear Nike Campbell-Fatoki reading from Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon. Write your questions in the comments section. Join in the discussion with the author. Share. Invite your friends. Enter the draw by asking questions and participating in the tour. Triple your chances of winning by ordering a copy. Copies are available online: Click the order form at Quramo Publishing Ltd .
The books are also available at Patabah bookstore, Quintessence bookstore, Unilag bookstore and Salamander (Abuja).
Let’s begin.
Book Description
In this short story collection, Nike Campbell-Fatoki filters the lives of contemporary Nigerians through a colourful and vivid prism, where past sins come to upset settled lives, where lost lives fuel a campaign for a better future and nothing is as it seems. She explores well-known themes but delves a little deeper, questioning our ideas about people, our impressions and prejudices. Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon depicts the struggles of a young ambitious and hardworking Nigerian abroad with the same insightful candour as it does the tale of a brilliant but broken woman struggling with mental illness.
Listen To Nike Campbell-Fatoki read from the first story of the collection. It’s a memorable tale titled The Apartment.
Here’s the excerpt you just heard
I knocked on the door of apartment twenty-four for the third time. The smell of iru (locust beans) filled the hallway. If I do not get this food in soon, occupants of the second floor will call Mr Theodore, the building manager, about the odd smell in the building. I shook my head and knocked louder. Footsteps approached the door. Tamuno opened it, his towel wrapped around his waist; dark hair covered his broad chest. When he looked down at me, his shaved head glistened. He looked well-groomed with a goatee.
“Bros, good evening,” I said, handing him the plastic bag of food.
“You try for me, Ade. I swear! Ever since you introduced me to this restaurant I’ve been hooked! They put something for the food?” Tamuno joked. I chuckled.
He invited me into the living room. I walked in as he grabbed his wallet on the arm of the recliner. He pulled out a wad of dollar bills and began to count them. I looked away. The living room was furnished with expensive furniture – the dark brown recliner complemented the seven-seater leather sectional and ottoman. He pressed the dollar bills into my hand and walked me to the door.
“That’s for your transportation and for tomorrow’s lunch. Please buy me the stew with cow feet and ponmo next time.” I chuckled and teased him about the weight he would start gaining. When we got to the door, I reminded him of the IT position I applied for at his workplace. “Did you have a chance to talk to the HR. manager yet? You’re one of my references, bros.”
“I haven’t had a chance. You know I just got back from this business trip, and I’m in the middle of bringing my wife over.”
“Oh yes! Congrats! When does she arrive?”
He smiled.“She’ll be here in less than a month!”
“You said she’s a minister’s daughter, right? Which one?” I asked.
“Not that it matters, but she’s the daughter of the Minister of Works and Housing.”
His phone rang somewhere in the apartment. He said he had to go. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He closed the door in my face before I could answer.
About The Author
Nike Campbell Fatoki was born in Lvov, Ukraine. She is the second of four children born to Nigerian medical doctors in the old Soviet Union.A graduate of Economics with a minor in Political Science from Howard University, she also has a Master’s degree in International Development from American University.
Nike juggles writing with her day job in budget and finance management at Prince George’s county. Her first novel, A Thread of Gold Beads was published in 2012. Her latest work, Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon, was released in July 2016.
Nike lives in the Washington DC area with her family, where she is writing her next historical fiction novel set to be published in 2017.
Now leave your questions in the comments section. And don’t forget to join the tour tomorrow on brittlepaper.com and magunga.com.
Place your orders by clicking on the order form. Or buy from the aforementioned book stores. Patabah bookstore is located at Shop B18, Adeniran Ogunsanya mall, Surulere.
Quintessence is at Plot 13, Block 44, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi