As a child I lived in Nigeria briefly. I went to school and was shocked to see you could actually be caned on the hand for turning up late. Needless to say my lateness was short lived.
Lola Jaye by Erin Elise
When I was a little girl I watched the Thriller video and imagined myself as the jean cladded woman who Michael takes out on an ill-fated date before turning into a real werewolf! Her name was Ola Ray (sounds like Lola Jaye, right?) This might not have been the most romantic of scenes, but it was the start of regularly imagining myself as a music video love interest! Now, when I listen to a particularly emotive tune, I imagine myself being serenaded by the baggy shirted RnB singer as I sway from side to side dressed in a ballet type outfit and pair of sexy (but comfortable) high heels. Then I open my eyes and realise I’ve left the washing in the machine and mould may have set in.
I'm currently craving pie and mash wit lots of green liquor. Don't judge it until you've tried it...
The first concert I went to was a Bobby Brown concert way back in the dark ages. I remember lying to my Nan about were I was going (just meeting my friends to study, or something like that) and then finally admitting my treachery many years later, as an adult. Her response was a surprising shrug of the shoulders and not much else. I figured this to be very shrewd of me, because if I'd told her just after it happened, I probably would have been grounded!
My favourite part of the anatomy on a man is his arms. There’s nothing better than big strong arms sticking out of the car window whilst stationary in a traffic jam. Who said naughty dreams had to be naughty?
I cried huge, snot inducing floods of tears when my first manuscript got rejected. The accompanying notes were also not very complimentary. However, after a while I started to look at this rejection slip differently; if one of the most powerful people in publishing had taken time out of their busy schedule to write down such non complementary words- THEN I MUST HAVE SOMETHING. Even today, I realise that sometimes it’s about perception and how you see things. This can affect the rest of your day, even life. I decided to see that rejection as a motivator and I have never looked back.
I am a fully qualified psychotherapist with a keen interest in psychodynamic psychotherapy. So I have a healthy interest in Freudian theory. So, when I meet someone for the first time and they ask what I do, ‘psychotherapist’ or ‘writer‘ does seem to bring on an interesting conversation. I long for the day where I can add 'international supermodel who appears in 90’s style R&B videos' (see above) but I fear that day may never come.
Nearly published, I flew to New York City and pretended to be the black Carrie Bradshaw. I met with my publishers on 5th Avenue, stayed in a fancy boutique hotel that had only ten rooms, visited a lot of Carrie’s haunts but actually managed to miss the Sex in the City tour bus! That was okay, I simply spent the rest of the day eating cupcakes (at magnolia of course) and prancing about in floaty dresses.
I recently lived in America for a couple of years. I made a point of speaking 'rather proper' in a so not me, Queen's English. I felt it was expected of me, especially when yet another random person squealed; “OMG you’re from England? Say something! Say something!” Now I'm back, I find myself saying things like elevator, closet and drinking peach ice tea. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
I've had five books published but have just written my first historical Saga. According to my agent though, all my other books were actually family sagas in disguise. I’ve always had this compulsion to write about non traditional family dynamics spread over different time points. I find it more challenging for me to write about a time when the Internet didn't exist. Can you imagine if I’d set my latest book, Orphan Sisters, today? To find one of her long lost sisters, my character would simply need to Google her name and look at her Twitter feed!
Orphan Sisters By Lola Jaye is out 21st September