‘We need new heroes in romance’

Bookshelf: Is Amina Thula your pen name?Amina Thula: Yes, Amina Thula is my pen name. Thula is pronounced; Two-Lah. Both syllables have a short sound. It means peace in isiXhosa but I did not choose it because of its meaning. I wanted my pen name to have some element of me so I used the […]

Bookshelf: Is Amina Thula your pen name?
Amina Thula: Yes, Amina Thula is my pen name. Thula is pronounced; Two-Lah. Both syllables have a short sound. It means peace in isiXhosa but I did not choose it because of its meaning. I wanted my pen name to have some element of me so I used the last part of my second name, Nokuthula, which means mother of peace.
Bookshelf: You are one of the six authors Ankara Press has flagged off with. How did this happen?
Thula: I saw a call-out Ankara Press had made. I followed their instructions and emailed them a synopsis plus the first three chapters of ‘The Elevator Kiss’. They were impressed with those chapters and asked for the rest of the manuscript and here we are.
Bookshelf: Why the title ‘The Elevator Kiss?’
Thula: Because Sindi and Edward’s kiss is the catalyst of their romance. That kiss also sets the tone of passion between them and the rest of the book.  
Bookshelf: What was your experience like, writing the novel?
Thula: Even though ‘The Elevator Kiss’ is my very first attempt, it surprisingly felt easy and very natural to write. All I had when I sat down and began writing was the opening scene. From there everything just flowed. The story unfolded itself to me as a movie in my head with the characters directing the story and all I did was listen to them and learn what they were feeling and why they were doing the things they were doing. At times I, myself, was surprised how everything seemed to work and tie itself up without me really planning it. When I began writing the novel it was for my personal enjoyment, so I felt free to write what I wanted because I didn’t intend on anyone reading it. I’m quite certain that the fact I didn’t write to impress anyone and that my only end goal was only to write what was in my head is what made it so easy.
Bookshelf: Why the choice of romance fiction?
Thula: Three reasons. I wanted to test my creativity. I chose romance because it’s both easy and difficult – easy because it has a set formula, difficult because the romance genre has been in existence since the beginning of time. From biblical tales such as Jacob falling in love with Rachel at first sight and slaving for 14 years just so he could marry her, to our modern day romances. After so many centuries, it’s all been said and done. Also, having to adhere to a formula is quite limiting and adds to the challenge. I thought taking a genre that has been beaten to death, turned inside-out and beaten some more would be a great way to test my creativity. The other challenge I liked is the fact that with romance, you know what’s going to happen even before you pick up the book. So a writer has to be entertaining enough to keep the reader engaged and interested even though they know what’s going to happen.
Also, I wanted to write a different kind of romance, one that is ‘Aminarised’. I have read a lot of romances and have always had tiny pet peeves that I wanted ‘to set right’ such as a heroine who is supposedly a smart woman, yet she can never dress herself and needs her best friend(s) to dress her or the notion that a smart woman does not care about fashion and beauty and that an independent woman is one that cuts off her femininity and is cut-throat. I also wanted to really reflect how we Africans experience romance. I wanted to do more than colour the characters. I wanted to showcase the challenges and dynamics we have now-a-days as well as the journeys we often find ourselves in as we try to deal with them.  
The third reason, and a very important one to me, is a goal I share with Ankara Press and it’s what ultimately made me choose them as my publishers. I suffer from insomnia and have spent many nights on the internet visiting blogs and forums. It struck me how many women are striving for unhealthy relationships – and I don’t blame them because we are encouraged in very subtle ways to lower our standards, to ask for less and give more. Books, music, soap operas and movies have romanticised unhealthy relationships and idealised men who do not deserve to be idealised. We need new heroes in romance. We need mature men of honour who respect women and partner them, not dominate, string along or lord over them. We need to idealise healthy relationships and men and women whose sense of self is balanced and healthy. No-one is perfect, we all have our vices and life happens and we go out of synch now and then, but the characters should bring out the best in each other and help control each other’s vices. Also, they should always find their balance again when they go out of synch, because that is what happens when one has a healthy esteem and is in a healthy relationship.  
Bookshelf: How has South Africa influenced your writing?
Thula: As a writer I’m influenced by my experiences and those of the people around me and as a person I’m influenced by my background, not South Africa as a country. I was born in the 80s during apartheid South Africa, but I did not know apartheid existed up until I was around 14 years old when I first heard the word from a schoolmate. I only learned about apartheid when I was in high school and by then it was over. Growing up I never experienced or witnessed racism. In fact, the first time I witnessed racism was in New York City when I was 16 years old. I had a nice, comfortable childhood and as an African, ubuntu is the crux of my world and it is the crux I was raised in. I went to a ‘white school’ and lived in the suburbs. So from a very early age, my world was diverse because I grew up in an African-Western environment. I had a tight and warm support system – from my family to my teachers and neighbours. The African adage, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, was truly alive and practised. I’m fortunate enough to have been able to be a child during my childhood and a teenager during my teen years. I grew up at a time when the world was safe – we didn’t have paedophiles and every adult was either your big sister or brother or they were your parent and were watching over you wherever you went. I grew up in a multi-racial-multi-cultural environment where everyone got along. We interacted with each other and accepted our differences and this was something that was encouraged by our parents and teachers. My biggest influence however, has been my family and my culture. The Xhosa culture is a beautiful culture where a woman is respected and revered. We are encouraged to be independent, speak up and be strong. In fact, our men require that of us. A Xhosa woman has say and her voice is heard. It is not uncommon for a Xhosa woman, for example, to declare to her man in front of his friends, he’s not going anywhere, he will sit at home and watch TV with her. The man will willingly oblige and respond with something along the lines of, “well gents, the lady of the house has spoken”. His friends may tease him but it’s no big deal, for tomorrow the same will happen to them. We are usually called disrespectful, difficult and bossy by other cultures but our men don’t mind us because they are man enough to handle us. This influence I believe is evident in the book. Sindi, Lulu and Duma are all Xhosa. Duma is in the background in the novel, but you do get a glimpse of him in his support role after Sindi discovers the newspaper article. In real life, a Xhosa couple always exchange roles. There are times when the woman takes the reins and times when she steps back. Both Sindi and Lulu know themselves and can stand up for themselves and not be apologetic about it.  
Bookshelf: Growing up, did you envision yourself becoming a writer?
Thula: Growing up, I never envisioned myself as a writer. It never even popped up as a career option. There were two things I hated about language classes; orals and creative writing. The paper two language exam was the worst. Imagine having two hours to come up with two stories! But in all honesty, I was just too lazy to think and be creative. I even used to write 60 per cent of my Afrikaans creative essays in English, which used to frustrate my teacher greatly (lol), all because I was too lazy to think or to use the dictionary. The talent was probably always there because even though I was lazy I still managed to pull good grades. Also, I probably had to go through life first and find something to talk about before I started writing. You can’t be a writer if you have nothing to say and back then I didn’t.
Bookshelf: How do you develop your characters?
Thula: The characters introduce themselves or are introduced by other characters to me. Normally they will come into a scene or subtly introduce themselves while I’m working on a scene. Sometimes I understand the character right away, other times I stop writing and allow them to tell me more about themselves. This is normally the time I take a break for a week or so from writing. It is during this time that I match up the personalities with people I know. This helps me understand the character better so that I can bring out the character’s feelings and motives better. I don’t sit and think about them. I go about my day-to-day activities and sometimes something will happen and a character will pop out and say: “That’s what I meant!” or “that is so me!” Other times they just pop out when they think I’m ready to listen and tell me what I need to know about them. My characters dictate who they are but I do gently guide them as well.  
Bookshelf: What do you avoid the most while writing?
Thula: Absolutely nothing, because I can get inspired by the simplest thing or by the most mundane task.
Bookshelf: What do you think of the romance genre in Nigeria?
Thula: Besides the Ankara Press authors, I’ve only read three Nigerian romance novelists and I enjoyed them as much as l enjoyed the former. One of them is Nana Marcia – she dropped her story as a daily/weekly series on the adventuresfrom.com blog. If the Ankara Press authors are a representative of the Nigerian romance genre then I say Nigeria is on to something.  
Bookshelf: What do you do aside writing?
Thula: Currently I’m in my last semester studying BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Bookshelf: If you are to have ten books on your shelf, what titles would you pick?
Thula: My bookcase is full of romance novels and James Hadley Chase books, but for sentimental and nostalgic reasons, I would add books such as: ‘The Snow Queen’ by Hans Christian Andersen; ‘One More River’ by Lynne Reid Banks; ‘Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret’ by Judy Blume; ‘Silent Honour’ by Danielle Steel and ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ by Maya Angelou.
Bookshelf: What are you writing at the moment?
Thula: I’ve started six new books. Two are near completion, but are still in drafts.