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Olamide Babatunde
She is better known with the pseudonym, DollyP#TheThirdeyegirl. Adedolapo Ebadan is a writer and a professional book editor par excellence. She works with brands and authors to birth masterpieces. She is passionate about using the art of storytelling to change society by restoring values and improving character. With simple, yet compelling style of writing, no level of education is usually left out of gaining insight from her stories.
The co-founder of Print Doctor Africa, a pioneer print-on-demand book publishing firm in sub-Saharan Africa, is the author of Karma’s Fury and Hurtful Pride. Karma’s Fury has been selected for the Lagos Book House party along others for the February book festival. She speaks with Olamide Babatunde, telling how she channelled supposedly blank situation to becoming a viable originator.
What led you to the writing path?
Writing has always been a part of me. As a child, I loved to write, and this passion was borne out of my love for reading. Growing up, I read so much and admired different authors’ styles of writing. That love left a desire in me to become a published author someday, too. Well, life happened and several years sped past until I resuscitated the love again during my service year in 2010. I was appointed the editor-in-chief of Kano Kopa’s Voice, a monthly publication of corps members serving in Kano State. Soon after service, I forgot about writing, and paramount on my mind was getting a white collar job. The search of a job was in futility, and, after five years, I knew it was best I fanned my passion to flame again. Thank God for social media, I started writing and posting my stories on my Facebook timeline, and, before long, I had a sizeable number of followers who looked forward to my stories.
How did this book come into existence?
I received inspiration to write Karma’s Fury just like I did for other stories I have written. It took me a number of weeks to complete the story, but, when I did, I knew it would be a hit any day. Karma’s Fury and Other Life Transforming Stories is an anthology of my short stories. As I mentioned earlier, the name DollyP #Thethirdeyedgirl had come to be known as a storyteller, and I spared no time in writing many intriguing yet transforming stories. My next inclination was to publish some of the stories as an anthology so the book can reach the ends of the world and impact readers.
Have you been mentored or got some form of training?
Growth is a characteristic of any living thing, and, if one must scale any career, then training is non-negotiable. There are many writers I admire greatly, and it is no gainsaying how much time I devote to reading their works. I run with the clear understanding that I need to hone my writing skill if I truly desire to achieve so much with it, and that is exactly what I do. I respect Chimamanda Adichie a lot, and
several other amazing writers across the globe. I have invested time and resources into several trainings offline and online. Some spanned weeks; others ran into months; and some I am still undergoing even at the moment. Learning never ends, you know.
Who or what inspired you through the transitioning to writing?
I would say intentionality inspired me through my transitioning to writing. I had wasted five years after my wedding in search of media jobs that were not forthcoming. The cycle of fruitless search had drained me of all the enthusiasm I had about practising journalism and depression had pitched its tenth safely with me. The turning point actually came in 2017 when I became intentional about my life. I concluded it was utterly unwise of me to let the situation of job scarcity rob me of recognising I had an innate gift waiting for expression within me. I started writing stories to address different ills prevalent in the society and what we have today is the success story.
What are you working on next?
I am working on a number of projects. I have a fiction, another anthology and children’s book in the works. Tell us about Karma’s Fury is the lead story in the anthology. It is the story of a young man, Tolu Brown, who, after his valedictory service, took his destiny in his hands by succumbing to his friends’ pressure of dating a girl. His naivety got the better part of him, leaving him trapped in a web that threatened his sanity.
The trajectory of his life makes one wonder what could possibly make a man beg to die rather than live. Karma’s nest had been stirred, and it was set to unleash its beastly venom on Tolu Brown. The short stories in the anthology would help readers reflect on life and make positive adjustments where necessary. The stories would challenge readers to be the best they could ever be.
What kind of stories should readers expect from you in the future?
The future is here! Readers should expect nothing short of blockbusters from me. If the stories are not, intriguing, compelling and educating then they are not from DollyP #Thethirdeyedgirl.
