Nana Prah: Bringing African Romance to Readers Everywhere
No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, the longing for romantic love is universal and why this genre has such a broad appeal and committed passionate following. Nana Prah fell in love with romance because she loves a happy ending. She weaves Ghanaian and South African roots into the pages of her My Destiny Africa Series, delivering happily ever afters full African passion and soul–while touching on a disturbing, sensitive topic that impacts too many women globally. Nana spent some time sharing her journey and work with Diverse Romance and providing some enlightening perspectives on a tough subject.
My journey started about seven years ago when I wrote my first romance. That book still sits somewhere on my computer untouched after only having been read by my beta readers. I figured it would take less energy to write a new book than it would to fix that one, so I started my second book, Love Through Time. I got it published by Black Opal Books.
I was really intrigued by your Destiny series. I've read books by Caribbean authors but never one set in Africa. What sparked the idea for your romance series?
I was propelled to write the first book of the Destiny Africa Series as part of an African romance writing competition. Midwife to Destiny won third place. When it got published, I couldn't have been happier. My romance novel represented a true Africa (Ghana and touristy South Africa), a place where people work, converse, have adventures, and fall in love. Destiny Awakened is not my latest (released a month earlier than A Perfect Caress), but it's one of my most controversial. The book deals with the heroine, Gloria, having experienced female genital mutilation when she was younger and how it has affected her life. The hero, Kamal, has his own issues to contend with so between both of their dramatic lives, the pressure of planning a wedding, and their unexpected chemistry, the reader will keep the pages turning.
My Destiny Africa Series consists of four books published by Decadent Publishing. My latest release, A Perfect Caress, was published by Harlequin Kimani and I'm excited to announce that book two in that series, Path to Passion, will be released in July 2018.
Sounds amazing! Give us five words that best describe this book. What message do you hope readers get?
Friendship and love overcome shame.
The book is not preachy by any means, which is what my publisher loved about it, but it does bring awareness to the existence of female genital mutilation and how it is still going on in the world (and needs to be stopped – okay, so that part was preachy).
All writers seem to have a line or two in their books that they feel nail the characters and their stories. Give us one or two of your favorite lines.
His touch did more to spark her nether regions than experimenting on her own body had. All ideas that it was wrong to give herself pleasure disappeared. She couldn't wait to try again.
His gaze bore into hers. "I'm going to court you, Gloria Anokye. By the time I'm through, you'll be comfortable enough to seduce me."
Courting. I love that. It's one of the reasons I love romance and can't wait to read this series. What's one of your favorite reviews/comments you've ever received about your writing? Who did it come from and how did it impact you?
One of my favorite reviews of all time came from Sharonda Isadora from Brazen Babes Reviews. She got so in depth when reviewing Love Undercover that I read the whole thing with a huge smile. She even called it humorous which meant a lot to me, because I can be funny in real life, but to make it come out in a story is quite the feat.
It's those favorite reviews and comments that get us through struggles. What's your biggest struggle as a writer? And how do you handle it?
Marketing. If all I had to do was write, that would be the life. Unfortunately, without marketing, no one would know about all of my lovely books. One of those necessary evils, um, nope I did mean evils of being a writer.
When I handed over a copy of A Perfect Caress to my aunt, her eyes went wide, and she said, "You're really a writer."
Any and all rejections, from reviewers to publishers, get me down. I eat some chocolate, put on a new coat of toughness, and then try again.
Give us the name of a diverse author you've read that you would highly recommend to readers.
The list is impossibly long. Dorothy Koomson, Nana Malone, Kiru Taye, Delaney Diamond, Suzette D. Harrison, Reese Ryan, Farrah Rochon, Empi Baryeh, Christina C. Jones, Brenda Jackson, Pearl Cleage, Elle Wright, Beverly Jenkins, Candace Shaw… Now, look what you've started. I'm nowhere close to being done.
That's an incredible list of authors, most of whom are featured on this website (hint to readers). What's next on your writing journey?
I'm excited to announce that my book, Path to Passion, is being released in July 2018 (now on preorder at Amazon). In a few months Destiny Awakened will be available in audio, just like the first three books in the Destiny Africa Series.
I'm also researching the possibility of stepping way out of my comfort zone and self-publishing (I'm trembling just thinking about it). And, of course, writing and reading as much as I can would make me a very happy woman.
You can find Nana Prah online at:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nana-Prah/e/B00E9ILIPA/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1517833825&sr=8-1
Blog : www.nanaprah.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NanaPrah
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NanaPrah.Author
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7202262.Nana_Prah
Please check out and pick up a copy of Nana Prah's latest and upcoming releases right here on Diverse Romance in both the African and African American sections!