Wole Adedoyin interviews Fatima Ibrahim Abba Gana: My Motivation as a Writer Comes From the Joy of Pursuing What I Love Most: Writing

WA: TELL US ALL ABOUT YOUR WRITING BACKGROUND- WHAT YOU’VE WRITTEN, WHAT YOU’RE CURRENTLY WRITING:
GANA: Fatima Ibrahim Abba GANA is an Author of Hausa and English Books from the Northern Parts of Nigeria, she has written and published two books to her name Rakiba in Hausa and English, Karima Hausa Version only and currently working on her new book (Sounds of the heart) her 4th book in English

WA: WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT A PIECE OF WRITING?
GANA: The ability to bring my innermost thoughts and pen them down in words.

WA: WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS AND WHY?
GANA: Two of my favorite authors are Prof Zainab Alkali (The Stillborn) , Hajia Balaraba Ramat (Wa zai auri Jahila ) a hausa book and also reading the works of Chinua Achebe (Things fall apart) growing up and reading this legendary Authors help shape my being an Author today.

WA: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A NEW WRITER STARTING OUT?
GANA: The advice I would give to a new writer starting out is to always be creative and be original in storytelling and be able to send out meaningful lessons to the reader.

WA: WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE?
GANA: What inspires me as a writer personally is the ability to write and do what I love the most. Writing has always been my first love and the joy and pleasure in seeing my work at the end of the day in a book form and someone calling to tell me how they loved the story I had written and they couldn’t have enough.

WA: DO YOU HAVE A WRITING ROUTINE? A PLACE THAT’S SPECIAL?
GANA: My normal writing routine had always been I write from midnight to 5 and in the morning all day I am a banker and both of my writing and banking career had never interfered with each

WA: HOW, WHEN AND WHY DID YOU FIRST START WRITING?
GANA: I have always loved writing from a tender age and because I grew up accumulating a lot of books and having a personal library of over 5000 collection of different books I had always inspired for one day to see my name written on a book that I had written, the reason I started writing was for the love and passion for the literary world and aspiring to be a literary genius one day.

WA: WHAT WAS THE FIRST PIECE YOU EVER HAD PUBLISHED?
GANA: I actually published two at the same time Rakiba and Karima and after that I had translated two books for Dr Badamasi Burji (When Loves reaches its peak money has no influence) which was originally written in Hausa and I translated to English and the second book (For the sake of Love) which was originally written in Hausa and I also translated to English currently working on a personal project of my new book (Sounds of the heart).

WA: DO YOU ADDRESS PARTICULAR THEMES OR ISSUES IN YOUR WRITING?
GANA: I address issues and matters as they flow with when I am writing, like my book Karima was about Marriage without consent of the Girl to another Man because of  money and societal influence and at the end of the day it had a long lasting effect on all the life’s of the children and family involved while my book RAKIBA was deceit, deception, betrayal , love and all entangled into one it was a book I enjoyed writing because it was a complicated story that is the one we have in both English and Hausa.

WA: HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED SENDING YOUR WRITING OUT INTO THE WORLD?
GANA: I was elated and excited to send my works and when people started sending reviews that they loved my work and what I had written and they were looking forward to more of my works to be written.

WA: WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FROM?
GANA: My ideas come to me in my head and they just form naturally and when the story formulates I just allow it to come out like that when I am done I sit down and proofread and correct it.

WA: HOW DID YOU GET YOUR PUBLISHER?
GANA: I already have a publisher so I don’t have to look for one since he is someone I have always worked with.

WA: TELL US WHAT KIND OF RESPONSES YOU GET FROM AUDIENCES\ERS.
GANA: They loved my work and they would love to see more of my works and some even try to come and meet me where I am or when they meet me at book events they often ask for signed copies of my work and ask to take pictures with me.

WA: HOW CAN PEOPLE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YOU?
GANA: By sending emails or sending messages on my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter handles.

WA: TIPS, TRICKS, THINGS TO PASS ON TO DEDICATED WRITE?
GANA: Always be very passionate in what you do and always make sure whatever you are doing you take your time and do it very well

WA: ANY TYPICAL/COMMON MISTAKES THAT NEW WRITERS TEND TO MAKE?
GANA: The common mistake newest writers make is when they write a book they don’t give the work to a professional for Editing they just publish and release to the public oftentimes with mistakes and language constructions not being checked.

WA: WHICH OF YOUR BOOKS WERE THE MOST ENJOYABLE TO WRITE?
GANA: All my books I enjoyed working on my Favorite is Rakiba any time though

WA: TELL US ABOUT YOUR FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK? WHAT WAS THE JOURNEY LIKE?
GANA: My first book Rakiba was the first work I finished and I released it at the same time with my second book Karima into the market and it would always be my first love in all my works

WA: WHAT IS THE KEY THEME AND/OR MESSAGE IN THE BOOK?
GANA: The key theme of the book Rakiba was Love, deceit, deception , betrayal and family secrets that would lead to complicating lives all that were involved at the end of the day four men with one girl One goes completely Insane, the second dies and the third and fourth suitors fighting to win the hands of the girl in marriage and you would not be able to forecast how the story would end until you reach the end of the story and the last pages of the book because it is mind boggling and complicated to the last pages it would grip the reader and hold firmly on the edges of the sit till the end of the story.

WA: WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ONLINE?
GANA: I don’t have the books online, they are only available on hardcopy and we are actually trying to get one of the books on Amazon very soon but I can be reached on my email address for contact.

Fatima Ibrahim Abba Gana currently serves as the President of the Nigeria Chapter of the International Writers Association. She is affiliated with esteemed groups such as the International Women Writing Guild (IWWG) and the Society of Young Nigerian Writers (SYNW). In an interview with Wole Adedoyin, she delves into her literary endeavors and her fervor for writing.