Conversations with Adrienne Ijioma

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrienne Ijioma.

Hi Adrienne, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Creative writing has been integral in my life from elementary school. If there was any significant moment that sparked my interest, it would be at eight years in 3rd grade when my class assignment was to write a poem. I had an affinity for rhymes and loved reading short stories, plays and poetry. My list of favorites is quite long. I remember so many interesting works: from Thoreau, Emerson, Frost, Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson and of course, I loved Shakespeare! Somehow, composing words and rhymes came natural. Yet, what I came up with for this particular assignment wasn’t the best, in my opinion. So after my teacher graded it, I threw it away. Little did I know, she retrieved it from the trash and entered me into a regional writing contest, of which I won the first of many writing competitions throughout my school years. From there, writing became both a passion and a need. I attribute poetry to helping me cope throughout all of the teen years.

I continued writing throughout the years but it was never more than a short story or a few poems here and there. In 2006, I made my first attempt to transition to writing as I prepared to move to Italy. I worked on the greeting cards and published my first collection of poems, but nothing came of it. A year later, in Italy, I finished my first novel. It was my intention to publish but along came marriage and then children. In 2010, I was back in the U.S., and so began another decade of working & survival.

But in 2018, after my last major contract in corporate America ended, I received unexpected inspiration from a women’s conference in Pennsylvania. Catching the replay on cable one night, I heard Michelle Obama speak about the place of women in society and the stereotypes we must contend with. She also spoke of how she was raised by a loving father who respected her voice and her thoughts. She mentioned a phrase that opened the floodgates of creativity in me once again. When speaking on women being considered ‘angry’ when they are being bold or voicing their opinions, she explained all the baggage that we carry and said: “Can’t you see these cuts on me?” That sparked the title to my most intense poetry collection to date: Cuts on Me. From there, I have not yet stopped writing.

Without such an outlet, my history may not have been so enriched and my outlook on life undoubtedly less hopeful. It has been 43 years of development, and I am ever thankful for the gift.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As many writers will attest, the pursuit of creative freedom and opportunity can be greatly hindered by the day-to-day obligations of life. Mortgage, rent, utilities, kids and debts all require consistent focus. Writers and authors fight for the time and space to work on our WIPs (works in progress) and of course, to be able to write full time as a means of living. But often, it becomes sidelined or a late-night pursuit while working a traditional job. My current published works were all penned somewhere between midnight and 6 a.m. – the only chance I can steal to focus on writing, editing and publication. The goal is to sustain my family full time by means of my books and performances. I am hoping my 32 (and counting) manuscripts can reach completion and publication. I have set a goal for September 2021 to release my first children’s book or general fiction novel – whichever comes first. I have been working on both simultaneously as time permits.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I write and perform spoken word poetry as well as creative flash fiction, fiction, nonfiction, short stories and soon-to-be novels. I tend to have a thing for expressing thoughts the way people feel but are unable to bring out. So, I often create my own greeting cards and I am looking for the opportunity to present a collection for mainstream adults and children. I specifically want to focus on greetings for children because I haven’t really seen that as a focus in the industry. Although we have been quarantined for the past year and a half, today’s youth still experience bullying and peer pressure, among other stresses. I have a nonfiction work and a line of greeting cards that I am working to bring forth that will address these issues and more.

A fun fact about me is that I used to freelance for Hallmark Cards as a teen. I sold greeting ideas to them when I was only sixteen years old, and when they discontinued accepting unsolicited material, they offered me the opportunity to apply for work at their Kansas City HQ but I had to let them know I was just a sophomore in high school and wouldn’t be able to relocated to Missouri any time soon. I have not sought to freelance in quite a while now, especially since I began working on my own line, but I have always considered it an honor that I had the writing talent they found intriguing enough to pay me for my ideas.

How do you define success?
I define success in several ways. When it comes to my writing, success for me is having a reader appreciate my work and take away something useful after having read it. With regard to life in general, success is a happy family with well-adjusted, calm members who are content with their places in life. Everything I write involves life lessons that I have either lived or learned from others’ experiences. The best way I can well utilize my time and space in life is to endeavor to help someone else. Giving of yourself to others is truly the most fulfilling aspect of life and a major step on the road to happiness.

Pricing:

• Cuts on Me – $7.99 paperback, $5.99 Kindle. Audio available also.
• Poems on Twitter – $11.93 color paperback, $4.99 Kindle
• A Cafe Rendezvous – $7.99 paperback, $5.99 Kindle
• Countenance – $6.99 paperback, $4.99 Kindle

Contact Info:

• Email: jessvaughnwrites@gmail.com
• Website: www.jessvaughnwrites.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/jessvaughnwrites
• Facebook: facebook.com/jessvaughnwrites
• Twitter: twitter.com/@itspersonal411 (Jess Vaughn Writes)
• Youtube: Jess Vaughn’s Jewels / Jess Vaughn Writes
• Other: anchor.fm/jess-vaughn-writes

Image Credits
Coffee mug, mobile phone, other still shots courtesy of AllAuthor.com