Ehigbor Okosun (Eh-hee-bor Oh-koh-soon), or just Ehi, is an Austin-based author of one of our newest titles Forged by Blood in this summer's To Bee Read book box subscription. Forged by Blood is Okosun's debut novel newly published on August 8, 2023 and is already getting rave reviews.
To learn more about our To Bee Read book box subscription and get on the waitlist, follow the link.
Okosun, a multi-genre author and also an accomplished academic from the University of Texas with degrees in Plan II Honors, Neurolinguistics, and English, as well as Chemistry and Pre-Medical studies, brings us an incredible and thought-provoking duology inspired by Nigerian mythology that's filled with action and magic. We know you'll want to put this one on your TBR list!
We were so lucky to have Ehi do a personal interview just for LitJoy. We're excited to get to know her along with you!
Q&A with Ehigbor Okosun
LitJoy: What are 3 books on your TBR?
Ehi: The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang → Gonna treat myself to this one in a few days. Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto → Can’t wait to read, I’ve heard good things. He Who Drowned The World by Shelley Parker-Chan → Shelley P. knows how to carve up my insides.
**Bonus: The sequel to The Hurricane Wars (Earth to Thea, I need to know what comes next)**
LitJoy: What is the first book that made you cry?
Ehi: Animal Farm by George Orwell. My dad gave it to me as my 6th birthday present. I couldn’t stop crying about Snowball, and I can still recite the song by heart. I got Oliver Twist the next year and Lorna Doone the one after that. Tearjerkers each.
LitJoy: What was the last book you read?
Ehi: Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon → It was adorable, loved it!
LitJoy: What are you reading now?
Ehi: Re-reading City of Brass, because Shannon Chakraborty is a G and I never get tired of this one. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune --> I think I know where this story is going but trying to settle in. (psst: this title is on our Ultimate Spring Break 2023 Reading List)
LitJoy: Who are your favorite authors?
Ehi: Too many to name, but a few off the top of my head:
- R.F. Kuang, Tochi Onyebuchi, Keigo Higashino, Jane Austen, Jeffrey Archer, Tracey Deonn, Rebecca Roanhorse, Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, Deb Calletti, Cyprian Ekwensi, Neil Gaiman, S.A. Chakraborty, Han Kang, Alisha Rai, Vaishnavi Patel, Enid Blyton (It’s complicated), and Agatha Christie (Also complicated). I also love Dickens (very complicated), and Shakespeare. I read widely and have many favourites.
LitJoy: What is your writing process like?
Ehi: It really varies from book to book, but one thing remains the same–The characters come first. They’re usually screaming at me, appearing in these vignettes that I have to scribble down. They won’t leave me alone until I write them, so I start writing a few perspective pieces with them, then I write an opening and a few chapters. After that, I have a stronger sense of where the story is going and I write an outline–which I often deviate from because characters have minds of their own!
LitJoy: If your book was made into a movie, which celebs would you cast as the characters?
Ehi:
- Ama Qamata / Thuso Mbedu / Khosi Ngema for Dèmi.
- Sam Corlett (w/ no beard, shorter hair) for Jonas.
- Booboo Stewart as Colin. No questions at this time.
- Idris Elba for Ekwensi, 1000%. He has that “get what you need done” energy.
- Han Hyo-joo / Shin Hye-sun as Nana.
- Jesse Williams as Will
- Zoe Saldana / Tessa Thompson as Ayaba
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Yetundé
- Jaimie Alexander as Mari.
- Tom Hardy / Dan Stewart as Alistair Sorenson
- Gael García Bernal as Lord Kairen
LitJoy: Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what kind?
Ehi: I do! I have a soundtrack for every book I write. For fantasy, it’s filled with mostly epic music like Demented Sound Mafia, and Two Steps From Hell. For contemporary / thrillers, it’s a mix of songs depending on the different moods the book puts me in. I once woke up to the same song, “Sunburn” by Droeloe for months on end while I was working on an intense, mind bending thriller. For Forged By Blood, I’ve listened to Demented Sound Mafia, Tom Day, Ólafur Arnalds, Monogram, Ibeyi, and Iniko.
LitJoy: What’s your favorite piece of feedback you’ve received from a reader?
Ehi: That reading my work made them dream again and got them writing stories they’d long since buried. I love that.
LitJoy: Which character do you identify with the most?
Ehi: There are pieces of me in a lot of characters actually, haha. I’ll talk a little bit about two though–Dèmi and Yetundé. Démi struggles with the weight of her responsibilities and finds herself caught between (justifiable) rage and reason. In a way, Dèmi honors the first-generation post-colonial experience I had where I had to grow up really quickly, and live with outsized responsibility from an early age. Yetundé is more measured and though she’s had her share of disappointments, still holds onto hope that a life without constant oppression exists. She clings tightly to that because she’s had to believe that to keep going. I am also a hopeful and optimistic person despite the things I’ve seen.
LitJoy: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Ehi: Be brave. Go to places you dare not tread, write the stories of your heart, and let them be what they are. Don’t box yourself for anyone.
LitJoy: How do you celebrate when you finish your book?
Ehi: I sleep, binge watch dramas, take walks, and read other books/ manhwa / manga / manhua that have been piling up. While I’m drafting, my characters often don’t leave my dreams, and at random times throughout the day, I’ll freeze and start thinking about the way something needs to work for a certain character, or I’ll hear something that uncovers another piece of the direction the work needs to go in. It’s awesome but disorienting.
LitJoy:What’s on your nightstand right now?
Ehi: On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi and Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
LitJoy: What's the last show that you binged and loved?
Ehi: Andor → This show is everything, really. Spy x Family → Blending action verging on horror and comedy is my jam. See You in My 19th Life → I read the manhwa of this a while back and I love Shin Hye-sun so I was excited for this one.
Thank you, Ehi, for your beautiful, poignant, and important story Forged by Blood, and thank you for taking the time to share some of you with us!
