I'm always working on something new and while I'm working, I'm absorbed with my characters, their conflicts,my language and settings. I'm in another place and it is a shock to come out and consider my previous works.

As a student in England, I studied French and English literature. I read L'Etranger and the rhythm of the novel felt familiar to me - very African.

I had stopped writing plays set in villages because they were not relevant to my experiences and I knew my English classmates wouldn't appreciate them.

I always begin [a novel] with outlines, but they change and so do my endings and beginnings.

I never wanted to be a writer; I just had stories I wanted to share so I learnt how to write and kept going. If I could sing or paint, I would.

I'm addicted to writing.

I can't say L'Etranger influenced me to write, but for the first time I considered the possibility of telling a story that resembled my own experiences in my own voice.