Popular Lagos Bookclub, Mainland Book Cafe, hosted Omolara T. Kareem at the event of their monthly group meeting on the 30th of January, 2022.
The event's highlight was the book discussion of Love is Beautiful When in Bloom (LiBWiB), a collection of short romance stories authored by Omolara T. Kareem.
The host, Ijeoma, directed proceedings with an intense, engaging, and deeply interactive Q&A session with the author, Omolara.
Garbed in a blue gown whose shade closely matched the cover of her book, the author answered several questions relating to LiBWiB, as she was posed incisive and sometimes hilarious questions by the host, and the audience, the bulk of which was drawn from the book's themes of queer love- a controversial topic in this part of the world.
Indeed, the author made clear her stance on queer love, showing her support for the LGBTQ+ community, stating that "queer love should be in books so that people can see themselves in books."
Another hotly discussed topic was the theme of marriage and proposals, particularly the reversed roles of men and women in marriage proposals. The author opined that she did not subscribe to the Nigerian culture of marriage proposals compulsorily being the duty of the man, stating that "proposals are not a gender thing."
When quizzed on her biggest motivation for completing books, Omolara replied that her close followership of friends, beta readers, and bookish enthusiasts supplied the required stimulus, with their encouragements and constructive criticism helping to steer her over the finish line.
While her shyness was obvious, Omolara Kareem nonetheless cut a composed figure, smilingly giving replies to the questions posed her, with her confidence in her own ability highlighted as she recommended her book, LiBWiB, as a "good place to start" as regards African Romance.
At the end of the session, the author signed copies of her books for attendees who'd purchased them at the event (with discounts and a courtesy artsy piece) and prior, from other booksellers. In her calligraphic writing, she penned personalized messages in the books, much to the delight of all.
Love is Beautiful When in Bloom is published by Basenji Books and is available for sale on Amazon, BookPeddlerNG, PageBookStore, and RovingHeights.
