Author of ‘Love and War’, Salem Afangideh, grew up on romance novels and has lately been gravitating towards wholesome texts about womanhood: ‘The world feels so thick with grief and uncertainty right now; so, escaping into worlds where women who look and feel like me are loved well and are guaranteed happy endings is comforting and nourishing.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books about love/relationships did you read growing up?
I got all my coming-of-age stories about love and relationships from romance novels. My mom and her sisters enjoy the art form of a good romance novel and so we always had them in abundance in my home. Technically, I was not supposed to be reading romance novels at a young age but once I discovered them I had to have more. I would sneak through my mom’s stack as often as I could because I found love to be magical and the process of watching strangers become indispensable to each other felt intriguing to me as a kid.
If you could rewrite a classic book/text, which would it be and why?
I would love to rewrite Buchi Emecheta’s books with happily ever afters for all her woman characters who never got them. Specifically...
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