Today we’d like to introduce you to Enitan Oyewole.
Enitan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My parents are from Nigeria, but I grew up in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. I spent most of my childhood in Prince George’s County, Maryland. I think growing up, as a child of African immigrants in the US made for a pretty colorful, interesting and at times friction-teamed childhood. Not to mention, being the only girl in the house with three brothers (that’s a whole ‘nother segment), lol! I can definitely laugh at so much of it now, as I reminisce, and glean from the past. As I matriculate through life, I realize, more and more, that I have so much to be grateful for.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’ve definitely met this road with its share of bumps and potholes along the way.
Some of the struggles I encountered were:
– Not always knowing what the next step should be, or which way I should take.
– Uncertainty.
– Trying to figure out how and where to begin the whole process.
– Feelings of inadequacy.
– Fear of failure.
– Dwelling on past regrets and mistakes.
– Being anxious about what others thought and said.
– Feeling like an island.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
How I got started… Well, I’m actually an educator and my book started out as a lesson with my students. We were studying a unit in Reading/Language Arts about fairytales and character sketches. I had assigned a writing project to culminate the unit, in which they were to write a fairytale, via creating a character sketch of the key characters in their story.
Whenever I assign a project, I always model it by doing a demo myself. So my story was actually just a demo for the lesson. I read the story to my students and they really enjoyed it (to my surprise), but I didn’t think much of it; although, I had been wanting, for some time, to write and publish (children’s books, poetry, and my own autobiography – as well as songs). But of course, I wanted something fresh, and something from scratch.
Sometime later, my friend, Nicole and I were talking, and she often writes poetry herself. We were just catching up and sharing on goals and such. She read some of her poetry and I don’t know why, but I shared my, then, demo lesson project with her. She said, “that sounds really good, you should publish it!”
I was encouraged, but intimated at the same time because I thought, where do I begin? How do I get started? Where do I get the funds? When her words kept ringing in my ears and heart, I began researching and asking a lot of questions from other authors and publishers. The illustrator, Andrea Pyle, is also an educator and a mutual friend of Nicole and I. I was hesitant, but I asked Andrea, or Andi, as we call her if she’d be interested in illustrating, and what do you know, she agreed to it! She read my storyline and liked it as well. My book is the 3rd book she has illustrated for.
Book Snapshot:
The title of my book is called, The Strength of Roussan. It is a fairytale. And as I mentioned earlier, it began as a lesson with my students. The setting takes place during the medieval times and the main character, Roussan is pretty laid back. Without much effort, he’s adored by many – which makes him an easy target of jealousy. You will find in it, elements of Samson & Delilah.
Central Message or Lesson:
One of the key lessons in the story is that integrity speaks for you in the long run. Sometimes we want to prove who we are (or may even find ourselves in unfair situations), and it can be challenging to verbalize it in a way that people can accept, believe or take seriously, but our character and actions will speak for us in certain situations. There is a time to speak up and there’s also a time to refrain. It’s often difficult to tell when either is needed and having that as a discipline at any age is enough to make you sweat.
Target Audience or Age Group:
Children ranging from ages 7-10 would really enjoy, The Strength of Roussan. For children who are not yet reading independently, it could always serve as a good read-aloud or bedtime story.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I am not actually familiar with Dallas, other than the one time I had a layover in Dallas/Fort Worth. I actually enjoyed my brief stint of shuttling between terminals. It was pretty cool, and not too hot – no pun intended 😉.
Pricing:
- $13.95 (before taxes) and $14.79 (tax included)
Contact Info:
- Address: Halo Publishing:https://halopublishing.com/enitan-o/
- Website: http://www.roussanstrength.com/
- Phone: (301)-275-9712
- Email: RoussanStrength@gmail.com and Enitan.Oyewole@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheStrengthofRoussan/
- Other: https://halopublishing.com/enitan-o/
Image Credit:
Image Credits:
* Tunde Tiamiyu
“AdEni Engagement Photoshoot 222”
“AdEni Engagement Photoshoot 527”
Katherine Scott (Ogueri)
“Balloons 4”
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
