About me...

Hey Lovely!

Thanks for checking out my page. I'm Xyvah (pronounced Zee-vah), a lover of books and writer of stories. Mainly epic fantasy stories with high stakes, immersive worlds, and realistic characters you'll love rooting for.

A UK-based mixed Nigerian, I grew up in Nigeria and spent 6 years in a boarding school in the middle of nowhere (it was literally in the middle of a forest) and experienced a lot of fantastical things in that time. Some of these experiences do find their way into my stories—like cursed trees, levitating people, spirit spouses and many other things that go bump in the night. Africa is wild, my friend.

But it isn't all spooky, though, so worry not.

I also have an MA in Creative Writing and Publishing, have written and published books in other genres, including instructional books on the writing craft, and I work as a freelance editor, writing coach and digital illustrator alongside my storytelling.

A bit about my background...

As a child, I wished to be many things—a lawyer, a psychiatrist, a professor, a wealthy pastor's housewife (the "wealthy" part was very important). Becoming a writer was something I never thought I could be. This was partly because I'm dyslexic and struggled terribly with reading, writing and spelling when I was young, and partly because, in Nigeria at the time, you were either a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, or unemployed. And woe betide me if I chose unemployment after all the school fees my parents had paid to educate me.

So, as any responsible child would do, I wrote my stories and poems in secret while studying to follow a more accomplished career path. Back then, we weren't allowed access to computers, so I wrote all my stories and poems in notebooks. Eventually, someone got a hold of one of my storybooks and read it. *Gasp*. And funny enough, they actually liked it.

The girl who liked the book passed it to her friend, who passed it to her friend, and in a short while, I had a growing list of people waiting to read this story. (P.S. it was a terrible story that would probably never see the light of day again.)

I can't be too critical about the stories though, because they were the seeds from which my Age of the Anathema series sprouted.

Anyway, so these books got passed around and soon enough, my sister got hold of them. Now, I have no idea how or why she had so much faith in me, but she read those stories and decided I was going to be a published author. She sought me out (we were in different houses and grades) to tell me, "I think you should publish this."

This happened well over half a decade before I even knew self-publishing was a thing. Plus, as I said earlier, I'm dyslexic and Nigerian—unemployment was not my portion.

Well, realising I wasn't going to listen to her, my sister did the only thing she knew to do: when we went home during the holidays, she told our mum.

I expected to get in trouble for writing stories while I was meant to be studying, so imagine my surprise when our mum actually agreed with her.

Honestly, I didn't take either of them seriously, though it got me thinking. . .

I FIGURED, "IF THEY BELIEVE IN ME, THEN MAYBE I CAN ACTUALLY DO IT."

Thankfully, they were right.

Based on their belief in me, I decided to look into and work on telling my stories. It took may years, a lot of tears and more hard work than I thought, but in the end, I was able to carve out a path to share these books and tales with you.

In 2013, I published my first book. It was a small poetry collection titled Events to Emotions: Life Through Impassioned Eyes. A year later, I released my first non-fiction book—a Christian pamphlet, as my mother called it.

Seven years after that, my fantasy debut, Tainted: Age of the Anathema Book 1 released. Since then, the series has grown, the worlds have unfurled and the lore, myths, and legends have come to life in more ways than I ever imagined.

And it's only going to get better!

My storytelling philosophy...

I believe fiction is more than just an escape so I hope every one of my stories leaves you feeling something at the end of them. My stories often revolve around gods, monsters, and damaged people who petition them, but sometimes, we have a field day watching the average Joe (or Joanne) make bad decisions and dealing with the consequences of their actions.

While I believe in consequences, I also believe in hope, so that is the message I try to spread through my writing. Which is why I write dark fantasy stories with a thread of hope. Stories about broken people braving the darkness and fighting to conquer it.

My books and stories...

  • Age of the Anathema Series

    An epic tale of love, sacrifice, and man's hostility towards the unknown.

  • Goleah's Lore

    Told as a series of short stories and journal entries, Goleah's Lore is perfect for lovers of sweeping epics with literary prose and Tolkienesque world-building.

  • The Felsai Morgaron

    Centuries before the Age of the Anathema, an ancient and forgotten manuscript was uncovered. It contained secrets of the beginning. It contained a prophecy of the end. . .
Browse my full catalogue

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