Welcome to the Winner’s Circle where we celebrate the success of our ICL students. Today we are celebrating published author Joy Lo-Bamijoko!

What is the name of your book? Who is the publisher?
Mirror of Our Lives: Voices of Four Igbo Women,iUniverse

Legend of the Walking Dead: Igbo Mythologies,Sbpra Publishers

Pregnant Future,self-published

Tell us a bit about your path to publishing, from idea to submission to published book.

I am primarily an Indie author. I chose to go this path because I had so many rejections in trying to have one of my books published that I decided that if I have a story, I want to tell it and I want it to be read. So, I put that book aside and started writing memoirs. My first and third books are memoirs, but the second is a fiction.

After writing my stories, I use two or three Beta Readers to go through and give me an idea of what the stories feel like, I make corrections, and send the story to an editor, then to a proofreader, and then I publish. This is what I did with my third book. I try to go the same route as orthodox publishers to be sure that my stories, when published meet the same standards as those published by orthodox publishing companies.

How long have you been writing?
Since 1966.

What’s your favorite genre to write and why?
I typically write is two genres; memoirs and fictions. Memoirs, because it allows me to talk about factual life experiences of which I know a lot, from having lived a long and interesting life. Fiction, because I come from a very rich culture of beliefs and mysteries that are still waiting to be explored. I have only touched the tips of it with my Legend of the Walking Dead….

What ICL courses have your taken?
I started from the bottom, and went all the way to the top from the preliminary course; Writing for Children, to the Advanced course; Novel Writing.

What do you do when you’re feeling discouraged or blocked? Do you have any tips for your fellow writers?

I travel. Because I’m free from a 9 to 5 job, I take off to Nigeria, especially during the winter months. I spend the whole winter months there, and come back to the US during the summer. This really helps me to remain in the loop all the time.

If you could go to the yard sale of any character in the history of children’s literature, whose would you go to, and what would you buy?
I have just started reading the Cat in the Hat for my grandchild, so I know what you mean. I will buy the two Things as they both work so well together.

How has ICL helped with your writing career?

I had great teachers during my study with the ICL. I learned a lot and was well prepared to start writing immediately. I have since published numerous short stories, and three full length novels.

Joy has written and published extensively on national and international scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers. Her first short story “I Come from Utopia” was published in AFRICAN VOICES. Since then, she has published numerous others in RAVE SOUP FOR THE WRITER’S SOUL Anthology, Bks 1-3. MIRROR OF OUR LIVES: VOICES FOR FOUR IGBO WOMEN was published in 2011, and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Contest in 2012. THE LEGEND OF THE WALKING DEAD: IGBO MYTHOLOGIES is a journey into the mysteries of life and death of the Igbos of Nigeria was published in 2014. Her new novel, PREGNANT FUTURE, is the story of a young woman alone in the world and left to fend for herself. It is the story of the pitfalls that await such a woman. It is the story of survival. Joy also has two books published in the Italian language.