When we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.

Americans think African writers will write about the exotic, about wildlife, poverty, maybe AIDS. They come to Africa and African books with certain expectations.

That her relationship with him was like being content in a house but always sitting by the window and looking out

I think you travel to search and you come back home to find yourself there.

You can't write a script in your mind and then force yourself to follow it. You have to let yourself be.

If you start thinking about being likable you are not going to tell your story honestly.

Being defiant can be a good thing sometimes," Aunty Ifeoma said. "Defiance is like marijuana - it is not a bad thing when it is used right.