Sifa Gowon: Exploring a passion for books

Sifa Asani Gowon seems to have everything working out for her. The author, baker and mother of two has successfully combined all her passion into one place; Cakelaration Pastries! With soft music playing in the background, a corner shelve where books by some of Nigeria’s scintillating authors are displayed, Sifa has created the most tranquil […]

Sifa Asani Gowon seems to have everything working out for her. The author, baker and mother of two has successfully combined all her passion into one place; Cakelaration Pastries! With soft music playing in the background, a corner shelve where books by some of Nigeria’s scintillating authors are displayed, Sifa has created the most tranquil place to enjoy not just reading but also writing. Her love for Ankara is visible in the way she displays touches of the fabric on her throw pillows, the bar and even her outfit. She says some of the furniture in Cakelaration and everything else is familiar to her, “some of the furniture are decades old but they have been refurbished, I decorated this place to my taste, this is just the way I would decorate my home,” she said.
The over 30 years old author of ‘Playing by Her Rules’ and recently released romance novel, ‘A Taste of Love’ says she has always thought of how she could combine being an author and a baker for years. A task she finally accomplished and to add a touch to it, she transferred her artistry for drawing into cake decoration. Part of her inspiration for the cafe comes from Salamander café in Abuja. “I love the atmosphere, the little book shop and the chill, to me it is a place I love, I love the eclectic thing, there is this chandelier with bottles and I just love the little touches that are personal, you can enter and feel Salamatu, the owner’s personality. In 2014, I had an event there called ‘Love and cupcakes’ and she graciously allowed me to use the café, that was when I published my first book and I had a reading there,” she said
Following her love for Salamander, she knew she needed to create a similar atmosphere in Jos, where people could visit to read, discuss and have a drink and bite to eat. “I will start a book club as soon as I settle myself, I pray my Jos people will cooperate with me,” she said with a smile.
“The way this whole place came about is nothing but the grace of God. All of this happened within three or four months just like that, everything sort of fell into place. I wanted a place that was cosy, chill, where people can come and have an experience, I didn’t just want come and get your cake I want people to stick around, flip through a magazine, buy a book, listen to good music but no TV, just talk to each other and have an experience.”    
There is no doubt about her love for music, unlike some people who say music is distracting, for Sifa, it is the opposite. She loves all kinds of music except for Country and says music helps her write. “my inspiration when I  write comes from the stories in my head,  but when I do write, I listen to a lot of music. For the first book I published, I even had a collection of songs I used to listen to and sometimes the songs inspire scenes in my mind,” she said.
For a woman who describes herself as a late bloomer, Sifa has done well for herself in the field of writing, with two romance novels and short stories to her name. Raised by a Congolese father and a Georgian mother in Bauchi State, she said she didn’t always want to be a writer.  “I was 27 when I discovered my talent in writing. My son had just turned two and there was a story that came in to my head and I thought I should write. Also, where I worked I had a small laptop so after work I would just take the laptop home and write. I have always written essays for school but then I would write short stories and put them up on my facebook page.”
Recalling how she self published her first book, ‘Playing by Her Rules,’ Sifa’s advice to upcoming writers is to keep writing as the stories come, “if nobody will publish you, publish yourself. I am a firm believer of that, it may not be easy but keep trying, you will get rejected, so be prepared for your ego to be bruised a little bit because we writers sometimes think our work is great and when you give it to an editor, he’s like ‘…oh well, you may have to work on it. Then, you are indignant at first but submit yourself to some humbling, especially from people who know better than you, ask opinions not from your friends, except if you have friends that are brutally honest. Before you self publish, edit, edit and edit, there is too much stuff out there that is not good quality simply because people did not edit, it might cost you something but edit,” she advised.
Her first book a work of independence seems to have captured her heart out of all the stories she has written.  “it is my baby, it was my first foray into writing,” she says. She admits that she wrote ‘A Taste of Love’ before the self published book but while it was going through some editing by ANKARA press, she released ‘Playing by Her Rules’ “So it is actually the second one I have written but the first one I published. It is my best probably because it was what brought me out as a writer.”
Gradually making a name for herself, especially in the romance genre, It won’t be out of place to assume that a woman who writes great love stories is a hopeless romantic. But Sifa will only laugh at that insinuation, “Probably not now” she said with a chuckle. “I wrote ‘A Taste of Love’ when I was like 30, and I wrote it from the comfort of my home. I have always been a dreamer, loved all the Disney cartoons; I think I do have a very big romantic streak in me, but perhaps not quite as idealistic as I used to be,” she said.