AfrikanGoddess Personality Spotlight - July Issue

Myne Whitman writes her way into romantic hearts.
N.Amma Twun-Baah

Every woman thinks of love in its most ideal form – pure, unconditional and true – regardless of culture and upbringing. Some of us dream it, some of us read it, some of us live and experience it, and some of us write it. But, not all of us get to do all four in our lifetime, except, of course, women who dare to push the boundaries of their intrigues and childhood dreams. After all, they do say ideal love is for dreamers. But, what we forget is that dreams also, sometimes, do come true. At least it did for Myne Whitman! And today, she has dreamed love, she has read love, she has lived and experienced love, and she has written love. She is AG’s feature to kick off our summer of fun, love and laughter for very good reason - AG loves everything about romance and loving hearts intertwined into a good and believable story.

Myne Whitman was a young girl living in Nigeria when she first started reading everything she says she could lay her hands on, romance novels included. The more she read, the more she was influenced by what she read. Born in Enugu, Nigeria, Myne Whitman had most of her education in Nigeria. She started at Ekulu Primary School before moving on to Queens School Enugu. She then attended the Special Science School in Agulu and went on to Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka. Myne Whitman seems to have done everything under the sun before finally heeding her calling to become a writer. She has been a teacher, an NGO consultant, a banker, a skate hire attendant, a researcher, and even a Scottish government worker. After receiving a post graduate degree in Edinburgh, Scotland, she joined her husband in the United States where she took on writing full-time.



When Myne Whitman set out to write a novel, she was not unsure of what she wanted to write about. She had read Mills and Boon romance novels as a young adult and found that she was influenced by the stories she read. This influence played well into the fact that she was already “intrigued by the principle of unconditional love,” it is no surprise then that she chose the romance genre as the classification under which she would bring her characters to life. And no wonder then that she writes a lot of articles around the topic of love and relationships.



Her self-published novel, “A Heart to Mend,” whose characters she says are “from contemporary people and issues that occur in normal everyday relationships,” has won her many admirers and fans from across the globe for the very reason that she appeals to the intrinsic love desires of women all over. With this being the first romance novel centered on Nigerian characters and life in Nigeria, many fans find that they can finally relate to the characters in the pages. The recognition and acclaim she has received since the book first hit book stores feels exciting, but Myne says she does not “want to get carried away” by all the fuss. She tries to remain grounded and focused on what’s important.

As in every career pursuit, there are up and down moments; and Myne Whitman has had her share of writer’s blocks and frustrating moments. She describes days when no words come to mind and days when words never fail her. She narrates one particular night when she couldn’t sleep and her main character, Edward, kept haunting her. As she puts it “he had things to say and wouldn’t let me go. I spent almost the whole night writing him and his reality into the book.” Talk of a writer’s nightmare of craziness and strong voices!

Except that Myne Whitman is far from crazy. She is beautiful, smart, sane and very creative. Most of her PR work is done through blogging and networking sites. She is the author of Myne Whitman Writes, an award-winning blog - winner of the Nigerian Blog Awards Blogger of the Year. She is passionate about what she does and she keeps her readers in mind at all times. Myne says her fans are “very supportive” of her work; they have been from the very start, right from the drafting stages of “A Heart to Mend.”

People in her home country Nigeria have been especially supportive of her, and for good reason. They have every reason to be proud of the literary women they have continuously produced over the years. The emails of encouragement and praise Myne Whitman says she receives constantly remind her of why she loves to write.

She does not believe that writing should be restricted to a limited few and encourages aspiring writers to live out their dreams. Her advice: “keep writing and polishing your craft – you’ll soon have your day” seems like a plausible way to achieve any dream. To encourage the writing spirit in others, she has set up a website at www.naijastories.com where aspiring writers can share their work and give and take feedback to and from other writers. Obviously Myne Whitman is a very busy and productive woman.

Being modest about her attributes, nowhere does she describe herself in glowing terms. She says of herself, though that she sometimes comes across as quiet and laid back, and can “do a really loud debate.” In three words, she describes herself as friendly, caring and fun-loving. Myne Whitman lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, a fellow Nigerian writer, whom she calls her “pillar of support, her primary editor, and her confidant.

To read more about Myne Whitman’s work, visit www.mynewhitmanwrites.com. Copies of “A Heart to Mend” can be purchased from the publishers at AuthorHouse or from all online book retailers including Amazon, and book stores in the United States, UK, Europe, and Nigeria.

SOURCE - Afrikan Goddess Online Magazine