1--What is the title of your latest release?
PRIDE AND JOY
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A birthday celebration on Good Friday may turn into a funeral—if it doesn’t turn into a resurrection first.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I base all my stories in and around the Toronto area because that’s where I’m from! I love writing about home.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I would hang out with Joy, but I have a feeling I’d quickly get tired of her. We’re alike in many ways, but the ways in which we’re not alike would send me into a spiral.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Loyal, resourceful, diligent
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
That family, culture, and faith coexist in so many interesting ways, and that to try and streamline that into one neatly packaged box simply can’t work. There’s so much nuance!
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Nowadays I wait til I’m completely done, but before my very first book came out, I used to edit as I drafted.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Cake. Always.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I’m really fortunate now to have a dedicated work space after years of just writing wherever I felt comfortable. I have a second monitor, which is nice because I no longer have to squint to draft or edit on my laptop screen, as well as a shelf with all my books (and some of my favourite authors’ books too)!
10--Who is an author you admire?
I genuinely don’t have any one author that sticks out to me. I do tend to admire authors who choose to tell stories that really speak to the hidden parts of themselves.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I’ve always loved ‘Clockwork’ by Philip Pullman. I read it when I was a kid and have always been in awe of how he tells a story within a story.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
It was very surreal because Pride And Joy is my first adult book and it’s a story I wrote purely because I wanted to. So to find editors who connected with it as quickly and as passionately as they did felt very, very cool. It was a bit of an out-of-body experience!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love contemporary and will usually try anything that falls under that, from drama to romance.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
It’s a toss-up between Juice and The Sound of Music.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
These days, I tend to want to do things that are relaxing. I like being surrounded by good people, but above all, I don’t want to feel as if I’m spending all my time planning leading up to it.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Reservation Dogs! Excellent TV. Literally one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Nigerian, Korean, West Indian
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Listen to music and daydream. Or sing!
20--What can readers expect from you next?
If you’re into graphic novels (which, in my opinion, everyone should be!), I have a really fun one coming out in 2026 called REVENGE ARC. I’m really proud of how that one’s shaping out. If you’re not into graphic novels, stay tuned!
Joy Okafor is overwhelmed. Recently divorced, a life coach whose phone won’t stop ringing, and ever the dutiful Nigerian daughter, Joy has planned every aspect of her mother’s seventieth birthday weekend on her own.
As the Okafors slowly begin to arrive, Mama Mary goes to take a nap. But when the grandkids go to wake her, they find that she isn’t sleeping after all. Refusing to believe that her sister is gone-gone, Auntie Nancy declares that she has had a premonition that Mama Mary will rise again like Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.
Desperate to believe that they’re about to witness a miracle, the family overhauls their birthday plans to welcome the Nigerian Canadian community, effectively spreading the word that Mama Mary is coming back. But skeptical Joy is struggling with the loss of her mother and not allowing herself to mourn just yet while going through the motions of planning a funeral that her aunt refuses to allow.
Filled with humor and flawed, deeply relatable characters that leap off the page, Pride and Joy will draw you in as the Okafors prepare for a miracle while coming apart at the seams, praying that they haven’t actually lost Mama Mary for good, and grappling with what losing her truly means for each of them.
Women's Fiction | Multicultural African-American [Atria Books, On Sale: March 12, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781668012819 / eISBN: 9781668012833]
Louisa Onomé is a Nigerian Canadian writer of books for teens and adults, including Like Home, Twice as Perfect, and Pride and Joy. She holds a BA in professional writing and a MA in counselling psychology. When she is not writing, she works as a narrative designer in games. She currently resides in the Toronto area.
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