Do you experience Joy when writing? Would you like to learn how to write and publish a book?
Then you will most likely be interested in this article. Today, I am interviewing Philomène Luyindula Lasoen about her personal experience as a published writer.
Philomène curently lives in Cape Town, South Africa. I had the pleasure to meet Philomène when I was doing volunteer work in Cape Town in 2002. We have not seen each other since then but we stayed in touch.
After you read this interview, let me know: Do you feel inspired to write the book you have been wanting to write? And/or to read Philomène’s book?
Let me know in the comment section below. I look forward to reading your answers! 🙂
- Philomène, Can you Tell us about Yourself?
- Can you Tell us about your Experience as a Published Author?
- What is your Book “The Widening of the Womb and other Stories” about?
- How about the Money?
- What Final Words would you Like to Share with our Readers?
- Good Resources for Writers?
- And Now?
- My Secret
Philomène, Can you Tell us about Yourself?
Philomène:
I have the strangest names! Philomène means ‘the one who has many friends’ and I have indeed been trying to add to my incredible collection of friends since my tween years. When I was about 12, I would count the number of hugs and kisses I received on the playground. This would often reach a bit more than 100, yet I have always had a shy side too.
I am sometimes the most boring person and due to occasional anxiety I cancel parties at the last minute unless I host. And I am quite happy to organise events for over 100 people, it is such a lovely number!. At other times I do cook ups and bring together people who were always meant to meet.
Luyindula Ndevolo is the Kikongo for ‘think before you act’. I would say that it is heavy advice to gift to a newborn. Because I am from the early 70s generation, I am part of those who have their individual surnames rather than a family one. I am of course quite impulsive!
Aside from these qualities, the narrative of my life is slightly complicated and yet it is my only path. I am the daughter of a Congolese couple. My mother Nkelani died in a road traffic accident when I was 4 as we were crossing a street. I was holding her hand but have no recollection of the event except a fear of soldiers because there was no police in Kinshasa and we were taken to an army camp.
It is our neighbours who came to fetch me even though our lives would not have become intertwined without my mother’s death. They were a wealthy white family in a rich suburb but there was a plot next to their property whose owner let my mother erect her shack on.
In my current context, that is when living in South Africa, I cannot imagine that a woman with infants is the way to prevent someone moving onto your property. But we found ourselves near this other family who became my very own instant family. So I also have a French mother and a Belgian father.
My biological father is alive again – I say that because I was told in 1995 that he passed away. He is a humble man full of love and tenderness. I hope to meet him again and then I will write more stories.
Can you Tell us about your Experience as a Published Author?
Philomène:
I have been wanting to write for as long as I can remember but only voiced it around the time that I was 13.
When I turned 40 I decided I could no longer blame my parents for not following my dreams so I asked around for courses.
I was directed towards the author and medical doctor Dawn Garisch and attended one of her memoir writing courses. She is brilliant and we must choose our guides well even though they are presented to us in unexpected ways.
Instead of writing my memoir, I seem to have attempted to write multiple ones for women who died several centuries and millennia ago.
I feel compelled to write. Writing is my true language. It is my happy place just like gardening actually – that I dry a single rose, arrange a bouquet or grow a large cabbage, flowers and plants bring me joy.
In terms of writing, I may ink only two lines about Grace or versify. Also, I will be ready, quite soon, to submit the manuscript for the sequel to my first book.
For The Widening of the Womb and Other Stories, I went the self-publishing route. Almost as a reward, I was told by someone who reads well into my life that it was what I needed to do: a birthing of something that was wholly mine and for my own benefit.
I don’t think I could have done it before I turned 40. If you haven’t been told that 40 is the new teenage life, let me tell you that in my case, I was hormone mad, self-absorbed and selfish… just selfish enough to make time to write and market my book a year later.
I still get a shiver of pleasure when I am referred to as a writer. Sometimes even the word poet is used and this actually feels like ‘future me’. In 2018, one of my poems on xenophobia was published in the anthology Disrupting Denial: Analysing Narratives of Invisible/Visible Violence and Trauma. This I think is the best book for individual and community healing.
I do not want to go the self-publishing route again (for book that is. I intend to publish a journal/dream diary). I am aware that even with the best publisher, I would have to do a lot of marketing. So I would say that publishing a book is a journey into self-love because you have to read your own words over and over and tell the world how amazing they are. [laughter]
What is your Book “The Widening of the Womb and other Stories” about?
Philomène:
The Widening of the Womb is a collection of short stories. The title is the English translation of the name of Rahab, a woman whose story in the old testament is not given the attention it deserves but I have made it my central story.
Her narrative addresses the issues of exile, revolutions, shifting power, transactional sex, community. Hopefully this is what my book is about: exploring the past, fighting the erasure of women, discovering healing paths for our contemporary selves through the medium of stories that come from an ancient sacred text.
I have delved into the old testament from a feminist lens but perhaps specifically as a Christian black feminist raised in an atheist family. And may I also add that the other combinations of my background impact on my reading and retelling. So wealth and poverty and privilege and humility seep into my characters’ thoughts.
My characters are splendid even though I say so myself. They have come to live with me, waking me in the night to share their mischievous plans and then I had nothing else to do than to start typing.
How about the Money?
Philomène:
The Methodist Publishing House advised me to go the self-publishing route for this first book because feminist theology even in creative writing still comes across as a religious book.
I think that I have successfully marketed it outside of this limited identity since it appeals to people of all and no religion as well as folks of all ages and genders.
But! Yes, there is a but. In South Africa, a religious book is a best seller if it sells 450 copies and I would have earned about 1 euro per copy. At this stage the ebook is doing well and my sales from the first print batch brought me 3 times more than what I was told to expect should have I gone to a publisher.
So I am grateful for all the advice I have been given and all the help and encouragement that came my way because as in The Alchemist, I can say that the universe conspires to lead us into our desires.
What Final Words would you Like to Share with our Readers?
Philomène:
May I quote from a little passage in the book? It is something we always need to be reminded about:
“The trail of Light we’ve left behind us only gets dimmer to our own eyes. To others, it shines brighter – an accumulated history of sparkles and beautiful moments.”
Good Resources for Writers?
Are you a writer who would like to live from her pen? Or would you just like to improve your writing skills?
I am currently compiling a list of good resources for writers. Bookmark this page and come back to it later to check it out.
Alternatively, you can also sign up for my newsletter below and be informed when this compilation is ready.
If you are French-speaking, I can already recommend this free online webinar with the free guide “Les Trois Choses à Savoir pour Vivre de sa Plume”.
And Now?
Well, dear reader, let me ask again, do you feel inspired to write the book you have been wanting to write? And/or to read Philomène’s book?
Let me know in the comment section below. I look forward to reading you! 🙂
You can also connect with Philomène on her book’s FaceBook page by going here.
To our Joy and Happiness,
Nathalie
My secret…
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Hello Nathalieu,I have read your article and learned a lot. Actually, if you want to be a writer, it is a lot more true and real. The first wish is to bring a different feeling from everyone. I will be a writer. But many people do not let their will ultimately make the reality. How to become a writer? Our best authors should know how to become a writer. Get started today by collecting the biography of the world’s top 100 writers today. There are some stories like water flow in the eyes. George Bernard Shaw wrote more than 10 pages a day to be a writer. I want to write your article again. I liked your article very much. I will share this article with my friends.
What you say is to the point. We need to write in order to be writers. It is lovely that you point out to the serious writers! Can I add to your list to read/listen to characters who are writers? This may sound strange but how a writer portrays a character who is a writer in a book is also fascinating. My favourite one at the moment is Rebecca Finch in the book Aphrodite’s Workshop for Reluctant Lovers written by Maria Cobbold.* The character has an emotional crisis caused by many things but perhaps also because she is a romance novelist who realises that love isn’t like in her books. So her angst is on battling to write (and lots of things) whereas she previously wrote 2000 words a day! Ok, it’s a book. Lots of angst also for Cupid and the Greek gods – lovely book!
Blessings,
Philomène
*Valentine theme since we are in February
Wow she has an amazing story to tell, one that gave me goosebumps. I can’t imagine losing my Mother at such a young age, but it was good the neighbors took her in.
I’ve always thought of starting an autobiography after the suggestion from a therapist when I was just a teen. I never got around to it and now I have three small children at home.
I think after what you’ve been through you deserve some “selfishness” as you put it! I’ll be turning 40 this March so yay me!
I have to ask though, did any of your writing affect people you wrote about in a negative way?
Hello Amanda,
You are asking if my writing affected people I wrote about in a negative way. I am so worried about making this a long answer 😉
1. No. The Widening of the Womb characters are rather feeling vindicated, especially the women since their stories are often left silent. But all these people lived several centuries ago
2. I have only shared in a writing group some excepts from my memoir – it is not edited/not published. The feedback has been gentle and positive. The hearers loved my family members and wanted to know more. Yet I wasn’t sharing the easy parts and I even skipped a few paragraphs – writing alone is different to reading one’s story/stories in public! I will deal with the hurts later, if there are some. I will keep loving and writing my story from a space of love. But if the underlying issue in your question is rather we need permission then please give yourself permission to write and then you are free.
3. I am told over and over that one must first write. So I want to tell you the same. Once each story, chapter or the book is complete you may want to fictionalise some characters or events.
4. My first poem was a celebratory poem about the death of a pedophile I knew too well since he was in my family. It started like this: ‘I feel like a witch. I feel like dancing on a grave.’ It is the type of truth that is going to hurt some people but we each need to own our truth.
Blessings,
Philomène
Well first off the bat – I really enjoyed meeting this Philoméne character as she has some really interesting angles and she’s very easy to listen to.
As I kid I dreamed of writing books but my general grammar level was never professional enough – I eventually ended up using my creativity on music and I’ve lived life as a composer instead.
Great article – lovely to find out the first hand opinion from someone who succeeded at writing (something I wish I’d done!)
Thank you for your comment, Chris!
Wow! You’re a composer!? That’s great! My husband composes guitar tunes. You do indeed need a lot of creativity to compose music. What kind of music do you write? Classical? Other? And how have you been making a living out of it?
You know, about books, you can write the story and have someone else check the grammar for you… it’s pretty simple nowadays…
All the best,
Nathalie
There was sometimes ago I told my parents about my decision to be a writer,my father laugh.because it took me for a joke and told me not to follow that line of work because he want more for me in life than just been a writer.
he sent me to school.i later got a job and later with a newspaper company to write articles for publication.
Wow! Great story! Thank you for sharing!
I guess this shows that when you are meant to do something and you can really feel it within you, it’s going to happen one way or another!
I honor you for having found a way to follow your inner desire to write!
Many blessings,
Nathalie
Well done Ajibola, you managed to do what you set out to. You are a writer!
You know of course that you can look at the different types of writing and if you haven’t yet done so, write stories, poetry, your memoir.
We need more stories!
Thank you for your positive post.
Blessings,
Philomène
This is quite helpful as I was lately thinking about going the self-publishing way myself.
I had never been that into writing when I was younger but as I started my first blog 2 years ago, my love for writing keeps increasing day after day.
Looking forward to your writers’ resource page to start gaining some momentum 🙂
Thank you very much!
Hello Xaric,
It’s great to hear that your love for writing has been increasing day after day. What is your blog about?
Yes! I too am looking forward to sharing my writers’ resource page. I’m sure you will find something helpful there.
All the very best,
Nathalie
Well, this was a very enjoyable surprise! I found your interview with Philoméne to be quite fascinating. She is a true gem and I actually wanted to keep reading. My favorite line in the whole article was when she summed up her “Why?” when she said,
“My characters are splendid even though I say so myself. They have come to live with me, waking me in the night to share their mischievous plans and then I had nothing else to do than to start typing.”
Like a voice in her head that told her she must tell her story. I have a sister who is part of n organization called Dining for Women. You should seek them out if you haven’t already. I think Philoméne could increase her audience exponentially if they knew of her book and heard her stories.
I am a writer myself. I’ve written songs, blogs, and currently, I am doing a podcast for musicians. I found this article to be very inspirational and begs the question – Have I found my path, or has my path chosen me? Hmmm.
From writer to writer, thank you Hal for kind words, sharing contacts, the focus on what you’ve found meaningful and the philosophical question. I’d love to read your answers. I will look up your sister.
Hello Hal,
Yes, indeed, Philomène is a true gem!
Thanks a lot for this information about Dining for Women. It sounds very interesting!
Very good question you ask… Have you found your path or has your path chosen you? Or maybe the two of you have always been together but you could not always see it? Hmmm. 😉
All the best,
Nathalie
Hi Nathalie, I must say this is quite an interesting interview. Writing is not usually an easy thing especially when one is starting newly in the field. Even people that has been in the field for long often experience writer’s block. I will definitely check out your blog for that Good resources for writers.I love that quote from Philomene “The trail of light we have left behind us….”Going through this interview, I became more determined to perfect my writing skills and of course, I will like to read Philomene’s book.
Hello Gracen,
I am still working on compiling good resources for writers. Sorry to keep you waiting for so long!
Yes! Read Philomène’s book and let us know how it made you feel.
Enjoy!
Nathalie
Gracen,
Thank you for mentioning writer’s block. It is the boogy man of writing, isn’t it? In fact I knew of writer’s block before I had even penned anything.
I went to a creative writing workshop last week and the facilitator, South African author James Fouché , simply stated that he doesn’t believe in writer’s block. He advised us to think of breaks for input and output. Sometimes we just need some beautiful writing to motivate us to write again. But sometimes we need to do the hard work to, to jog our imagination so he gave us a tough exercise : wrote a story without using the letter E. I stopped after 5 lines but it was lovely to write something from scratch. There was no pattern I could follow, new brain paths I think. I will share it on my book’s facebook page tomorrow and I thought I should let you know about it in any case because you might want to write a review of my book on facebook or on the Amazon link. It would be so kind!
The Facebook group has the same name as the book: The Widening of the Womb and Other Stories
Blessings,
Philomène
Wow, this interview is incredible. I will be honest, after reading this it sounds so easy to write. But I know that it takes a lot of effort and energy. I am really admiring people who are good writers. I still think is a gift, but I heard a lot of opinions. Tell me please, do you think that everyone can learn how to write?
Thank you for taking the time to leave your comment here, Igor! 🙂
I do believe that storytelling is something we all have inside of us AND that we can learn ways to become better storytellers, whether verbally or in writing. 🙂 So yes, I do believe that everyone can learn how to write if this is something they really want. Some people just have other priorities. 🙂 And that’s fine too! 🙂
Why don’t you give it a try, as an adventure?
All the best,
Nathalie
Hi Nathalieu,
Thanks for sharing a great article about how to write and publish a book interview. There is no end of learning and I understood some unknown issue from this article. I love the quote “The trail of Light we’ve left behind us only gets dimmer to our own eyes. To others, it shines brighter – an accumulated history of sparkles and beautiful moments.” I believe many beginners will find great inspiration from this story. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for your kind words of appreciation!
All the best,
Nathalie
Oh My God, it is funny I was just thinking for a while now that I want to write a book, nothing big but I really want to write it. One of the things that stop me has been not being native English and I am afraid people will not understand me or enjoy it. Still, after reading your post I really feel like I should go for it and do it. Thank you for being such an inspiration
Hello Barbara,
Thank you so much for your comment!
Yes! Definitely go for it! Get it started and see where it takes you! And above all, enjoy it!
Best wishes,
Nathalie