Why Every Writer Should Embrace Their Unique Voice and Story with Enewerome

Nigerian Christian romance author Enewerome shares her journey from childhood stories to publishing her debut novel "Ready to be Loved by You" while navigating international publishing challenges. Her passion, persistence, and faith-based approach to storytelling demonstrate how indie authors can overcome obstacles through consistency and confidence in their unique vision.

• Started writing at age 15 with a YA novella shared among classmates before taking breaks to focus on education and career
• Returned to writing after feeling divinely led to tell this specific romance story
• Emphasizes that marketing is "a marathon not a sprint" requiring patience and persistence
• Found success through an attractive book cover that independently draws readers to her work

Author bio:

Besides being a nonfiction ghostwriter and book editor, Enewerome strives to make her life count by doing the one thing she was put on this earth to do—write books that glorify Jesus Christ and spread the message of salvation one story at a time. Ready to Be Loved By You is her debut contemporary Christian romance novel and she hopes to release her first standalone Christian romance series in 2025. Enewerome lives in Nigeria, with her husband and toddler.

Book blurb:

Haunted by the wounds from her past, Vivienne Adetokunbo, a fiercely independent professional bridesmaid and video content creator, wants nothing to do with God, love, or marriage. Levi Edegware, despite being saddled with the weight of a past mistake, is a devout Christian and hopeless romantic events coordinator who desires a happy family with a woman who shares the same faith and values about marriage as him. When a wedding mishap throws them together, their first encounter is far from a fairytale. However, things take a turn when Vivienne and Levi become colleagues, which forces them to confront their fears, beliefs, and desires.  As Levi shows Vivienne kindness she's never known, an undeniable connection grows between them. But will Vivienne let go of her fears to embrace God's love and a future with Levi, or will her walls remain unbroken? Will Levi forsake all he has ever known to be with the woman he sees a future with? 

Tropes: 

• Slow burn 
• Contemporary Christian romance 
• Enemies to lovers 
• Workplace romance 
• Forced proximity
• Dual POV

Links:

Amazon
Threads
Instagram
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@enewerome_author

About Victoria:

Hey there, I’m Victoria! As a writer and developmental editor, I specialize in helping busy writers bring their publishing dreams to life without the overwhelm. Editing doesn’t have to feel like pulling teeth—it's the magic that transforms your story from “meh” to masterpiece!

Here’s how I can help:
📖 FREE Manuscript Prep Workbook: Take the stress out of editing with simple steps to organize your revisions.
Grab it HERE

📝 Developmental Editing: Get expert feedback that elevates your manuscript, strengthens your story, and polishes your characters.
✍️ 1:1 writing support : Revitalize your creativity, map out your novel, and unleash your authentic voice.

Your story deserves to shine, and I’m here to make it happen. Let’s turn your writing dreams into a reality!

📱 IG: @editsbyvictoria
🌐 Website: https://www.victoriajaneeditorial.com/links

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Bookshop Chats
• 1:16 Meet Enewe Rume: Nigerian Christian Romance Author
• 4:37 A Writer's Origin Story
• 7:53 Finding Your Genre and Voice
• 10:42 Marketing Challenges for Indie Authors
• 17:02 Advice for New Writers
• 24:04 Where to Find Enewe's Work

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Oh hey, it's Victoria from Victoria Jane Editorial and your host of Bookshop Chats. This podcast is all about authors, writing and the magic that goes into storytelling. We cover all of the things that go into writing a book, from the creative process, from taking your idea to a first draft, creating and cultivating community within the author space, marketing all of the fun things. If you are a reader, a wannabe writer or an author, you will find tips and tricks that suit whatever level you are at. So I hope that you enjoy and you are unfortunately, or fortunately, going to find many more books to add to your tbr, so I will invite you to sit back and listen to the episode. Welcome back to bookshop chats. In today's episode, I am chatting with enno ronay. I, I really tried very hard. Um, I hope that it was close. Uh, if not, you can correct me with the proper pronunciation.

Speaker 2: 1:10

Okay, hi everyone, and thank you so much, victoria, for having me on your podcast. I'm really happy to be here and honored to be here. So I'm Enewe Rume and I'm a Nigerian Christian fiction author and I'm currently writing the romance genre. I'm hoping to dive into other genres, but for now I'm just trying to focus on romance genre, because everybody loves love. I hope so, and I think it's a really cool genre to write. So thank you again for having me here.

Speaker 1: 1:41

I love that. I am all about the romance, so I would love to hear a little bit more about your book. So, yes, please, please, tell me all of the juicy details, without obviously giving it away. Right, we want to tease them.

Speaker 2: 1:56

Okay. So my, it's a debut novel, it's the first like novel I'm writing and publishing, and it's titled Ready to be Loved by you. So it's a Christian contemporary romance novel about a hopeless, romantic Christian guy who is also an events coordinator. All he has ever wanted is to find the love of his life, get married, start a family, but he has never met anyone that really clicked for him. And so he meets this girl who is fiercely independent, she just wants to make money, she doesn't want to have anything to do with love or God because of her past experience. And so she meets this guy at a wedding. And it's not a meet-cute, it's a nasty meet-hate.

Speaker 2: 2:44

They exchanged words, it wasn't pleasant at all and so eventually, as all romance novels would have it, these people ended up working together again. So it's a false proximity trope. It has false proximity trope because they had to share an office. They actually had to share his office, and so he became her supervisor at work.

Speaker 2: 3:07

And, you know, a friendship started after much effort from him to get her to forgive him because he didn't say nice things to her when they met, and from there friendship blossomed and they started having feelings for each other. I mean, it was easy for him because that's what he has always wanted, like to find the love of his life and get married and study family. But for her it was a new feeling because she never wanted to fall in love with anybody. And you know, he's a christian, she's not a christian, and so that's the bone of contention. How does he convince her that love is good, that god is good? Um, how would a relationship start with both of them if they're not on the same page? And so we see a whole lot of drama and eventually they have the happily ever after.

Speaker 2: 3:53

And I think, like thinking about the happy ever after always makes me smile, because I don't know if I I don't think I can say I'm a romantic person in person. I love love, I love the idea of love, I love expressing the world. I'm not just so expressive when it comes to, you know, feelings and talking about it, and so when I read the happily ever after, I'm like, did I really write this? Like is this real? And so it's, it's always nice. Like when I read that part, I'm like, okay, I guess I have it in me, just that I find it hard to sort of express it. So that's what ready to be loved by you is.

Speaker 1: 4:33

I love that. I, yeah, romance is my jam. Obviously, you know force proximity is always a great one. Um, and then, yeah, that's sort of like enemies to lovers. Yeah, that that hits so. So well, I love, love that. I would love to hear a little bit more about, like, where your love for writing started.

Speaker 2: 4:57

Okay. So it started when I was a kid. My dad would buy me fairy tale storybooks. I would read them as fast as I could. I remember the first set he got for me I was six years old then and so I would read those books. I didn't know that I loved reading until my dad bought those books for me, and so, as I got older, I started reading books that were my age. The older I got, I looked for books that were age appropriate for me, and that love just blossomed into reading novels.

Speaker 2: 5:29

And I remember, um, getting into high school I was 15 then um, it was high school musicals hannah montana, those you know ya tv shows where you rave then and I was like, oh, this people have such cool lives because I have african parents and african parents can be so strict, and I was wondering what would life be like for me if I could just live like these people, like they're so free, like you know it was. It just took my imagination wide and I was like, okay, why don't I try to write something? So I wrote my first YA. I think I would call it a novella because I never typed it out, it was in a notebook and my classmates. Then they would borrow it, read, pass it on and I think that was like the first time I ever wrote anything.

Speaker 2: 6:16

I was 15 then. I remember clearly, but the manuscript is missing. I can't find it. I really can't even remember the storyline, but I can't find it. I, I really can't even remember the storyline, but I remember clearly that it was YA and my friends loved it, then I love that.

Speaker 1: 6:30

I I think that there's something so fun about like just writing yeah, especially when you're in your teenage years right, like there's something it's nice to escape, um, because it's it's not a fun time. It's nice. I love that. I love that. I love that. I would love to learn a little bit more about again, like, what was that kind of what drew you to writing romance? Or was it something else, that kind of like you know, piqued your interest, or a particular thing that kind of like made the story come to life for you?

Speaker 2: 7:06

Okay. So I would say that after writing that book at 15, I took a long break because I lost my dad two years after that, and so writing was not just top of my list. I wanted to just go to school, you know, graduate, start a career, make money and, you know, just start my life basically. But in my final year at university university I was still reading novels. Then, too, I just had this strong feeling to write a book of my own, and so that was my first christian romance novel, because I was really into reading lots of romance novels then. So I felt like maybe those novels I had been reading then is me to write. But for Ready to be Loved by you particularly, it was. I think it's.

Speaker 2: 7:55

I would call it a reinitiation into writing, because after writing in 2017, I took another long break and, you know, god kept reminding me you have to go back into writing, this is something you have to go back into writing, this is something you have to do, and so obviously I prayed about it and God specifically led me to write this story. So it's not like I had any story in mind. I didn't even know it was going to be romance, like my debut novel. The first thing I would write, the first serious thing I would write, would be a romance novel. So I feel like God was specifically leading me to write romance and I'm glad I wrote the book and I'm glad I obeyed, because I've gotten lots of reviews that are really heartwarming and people are thankful that I wrote the book because it really tackled, um, a serious subject that many people have overlooked, and you know I've gotten into a lot of trouble because of it. I'm I'm glad I lived there.

Speaker 1: 8:51

Yeah, I feel like that's a great thing that, you know, self-publishing really allows for is to get these books that maybe wouldn't otherwise get into the hands of readers, like out into the world, and I think that's such a great thing because it's missing, like if you wrote it. Clearly somebody wanted to read it. So I think that's a really great, a great thing and, yeah, it just kind of shakes up the the fiction world. I think a bit of, like, this is what readers want, um, and that is it's. Yeah, I'm super grateful that we kind of live in this time where we have that ability, um, to create such amazing art and be able to tell these stories.

Speaker 2: 9:33

Yeah, me too. And thank you for the freedom, actually, because I feel like with traditional publishing there is I don't know if to call it so much restriction, but like there are so many guidelines, rules, criteria, like you have to follow specific guidelines and sometimes they might not really be what you want to write, like you might not really have the freedom to express yourself as much as you would. So I'm really grateful for indie publishing, honestly, because then, like you're writing for yourself and for people who like to read the kind of books you're writing. So I'm glad that we are actually in a time like this where we have the freedom, we have platforms and opportunities to put our art out there and you know people who love those kind of stuff appreciate that.

Speaker 1: 10:21

Yeah, definitely. I think having that freedom to just really stay true to your story and make sure that it kind of like honors the journey that you know you want the characters to go on and all of that stuff, is a really like that's a huge plus for, um, self-publishing is that you, you have full creative control, and I feel like that's kind of daunting too in some ways. Yes, because you're in charge of all of it, so it can feel a little bit overwhelming. So I would love to hear a little bit more about that side of things. Obviously, like you've written the book and now it's out in the world, how did you find that transition? I know a lot of authors really struggle with that, like, oh, like I have to share it with, like I want people to read it, but also that's really scary okay, um, so normally I think I'm kind of a person who I don't know, like I'm not, I'm not afraid to, to try something new.

Speaker 2: 11:20

I mean, what's the worst that could happen? People tell me no, or I don't like your stuff, and I move on and, you know, find other people who like it. So I don't think it was much of a challenge for me to write a book and put it out there for people to read. I think what was more daunting for me was figuring out how do I even find the people that would like this book, and so coming up with, um, content ideas, how to push this book out. And I knew I had it in me to create content and, you know, push out my book. But I just needed someone to tell me, hey, you're doing the right thing, you're on the right path. And so I had to hire a marketing strategist and for like two months we were having consistent meetings back to back.

Speaker 2: 12:05

It really stretched to me because I had to create content a minimum of twice a day and post on my social media platforms just to get my account growing. And, you know, in front of so many people and, honestly, it has paid off, even though, yes, I'm not where I want to be, but my account is not where it used to be when I started my writing journey and I can see so many people are getting interested, even in my current work in progress, and it's really giving me hope that the marketing aspect is not a sprint, it's a marathon and it's not something you just rush into hoping to. You know, build your email list overnight and getting all the following, getting all the pre-orders yes, it can happen for for you, but I mean it's like one in a thousand. And who's to say that you're going to be that one in a thousand? So I feel like, with marketing, authors need to give themselves grace. Give yourself time to learn what works for you. Um, give yourself grace to appreciate the hard work you're putting in your platform and appreciate the people you've already gotten, people who like your work, hoping that as you continue your effort, you know you're trying new things, you're trying to figure out what works for you. Your book is going to get out there, like your platform is going to get out there, because people who go viral most of them don't even know that they would go viral.

Speaker 2: 13:28

Like it just happens. It's luck, and so you just have to keep on trying, like cast your bread upon many waters and, who knows, the one that takes off takes off. So it's something I've actually learned that it's not a sprint, it's a marathon, and it doesn't end like it keeps on going. The more books you write, the harder you have to market your book. Although some books can end up, you know marketing other books for you, like when you add them at the back of your book but it still doesn't mean that you continue marketing. It's a never-ending journey, but I'm learning to give myself grace and just take it slow and steady because, like I said, it never ends. So it's something you have to keep on doing and if you don't want to do it yourself, then you should have the money. You should have the marketing budget to run ads or get someone to create content for you and just do all the hard work for you.

Speaker 1: 14:18

Yes, that's such a great point.

Speaker 1: 14:20

Like that really is um remembering, like that you're playing the long game when it comes to this, uh, this world, especially if, if you really want to like, like, make a full-time thing right, like you really do need to put that time and kind of play the game. Really, social media, that's really the best way to advertise now, I feel like for a lot of people, and I mean it's accessible and all that kind of stuff. So I think that's such a great point. It's just like kind of challenging yourself to go outside of your comfort zone and do things that maybe you wouldn't otherwise have done, and it does pay off right, like it's slow and steady and you bring up a great point of like celebrating all of the little wins and the connections and stuff that you make with people, because you never know when that's going to again come full circle.

Speaker 1: 15:08

Or that stuff that you make with people because you never know when that's gonna again come, come full circle. Or that person that you met, like in the beginning you end up meeting them five years later and they're like I know so and so who would be like a really great fit for whatever, like your, your book, your something right. So I think that's such a great reminder for authors, because I feel like they can get kind of down, as that's a common thing that I see on some like on threads of like a lot of authors complaining about, like, the, the algorithm, nobody sees their stuff, all that kind of stuff like that I'm sucks, but um, you just have to keep going right like that's really what it is, even on the days when you're like I don't want to yeah, and I also feel like it's not, like people are not seeing.

Speaker 2: 15:55

There are people who see your post, your comment, and they just choose not to react, like they don't see anything. They don't like it, they just move on. But they've noticed you, like they know you. They might not say anything and when it's time for them to buy like it was so humbling for me when I printed a few copies of my book in my home country, nigeria, and I was like nobody knows me, like this is my first book, like there are so many authors that people keep buying their books and keep shouting about their books on social media, so who knows when he's going to buy my book. And it was so humbling and so encouraging for me at the same time when people who just came across my content for the first time reached out to me and they're like I want your book, I want to buy your book. And so it just made me realize you know what, even if you get zero likes, it doesn't mean that nobody's seen your work as long as I would say you have, um, a great book cover, because, honestly, that's something that's actually working for me.

Speaker 2: 16:54

My cover is really attractive and making people want to buy my book. I have people who have reached out to me and just, you know what it's, it's the cover, like I don't really care what your book is about, but I want. I want to get it because the cover is really pretty and I think if you have a good cover and then you, you know how to use key points or I don't know how to like, apart from tropes, like there are certain things in your book, you know how to push the no force advertising, because I feel like people tend to do that a lot. If a particular um trope or maybe genre is trending and they know that their book is not in that genre or does not have that trope, then they try to force it.

Speaker 2: 17:32

I feel like you're only going to report people at the end of the day. So just stay true to your stuff, market, to your audience, to the people you've written for. Try your best, um, get a great cover as much as possible, get someone to edit your work for you and just consistently put yourself out there and you never can tell. And don't be afraid to ask people to repost your content or leave reviews. What's the worst that can happen? They'll just tell you no and that's it definitely that's such a great.

Speaker 1: 18:03

Yeah, it's. It really is like I feel like I know that they say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all do it right, we all do it and I think that's something that really, especially now, just with the volume of um books that are going out I think I read somewhere that there's like anywhere from 2.2 to 4 million books published each year. So you need to stand out right. So that's a really like all of those things are really important and I know that that can feel really daunting when you're just starting out the writing kind of like journey, but it's okay Like there's no rush to.

Speaker 1: 18:40

I think that's something that you touched on. Is that like it's? It's okay to like take your time and really make sure that your book kind of like has all of the elements before you kind of put it out into the world, like publish it officially, like you can tease it and you can build that audience. But, yeah, there's nothing wrong with like taking your time and really putting all that you can into the book. Yes, I'm very, very, yeah, I love this stuff. It gets me so excited seeing all of these amazing stories that that get to be shared. I would love to hear what would be, maybe, a piece of advice that you would have for somebody who is just starting out their writing journey okay.

Speaker 2: 19:22

So, um, before I forget, I also want to appreciate you for the work you have been for indie authors, because I feel like it's so encouraging when you come online and you see someone saying hey, I have a podcast or I have a blog. If an indie author reach out to me, let's do this. I feel like it's really encouraging and so I really want to thank you so much, and to other people who have platforms like this and are helping indie authors like you have no idea how much life is doing to indie authors, because it's not.

Speaker 2: 19:53

It's not really so many indie authors don't know how to reach is into indie authors because it's not. It's not. So many indie authors don't know how to reach out to people like because obviously they're scared. I feel like there's this crazy stereotype out there that makes indie authors feel like, oh, because I'm not traditionally published, maybe my work is not good enough, so do I really need to reach out to this person? So when we come online and we see people like you who are out there, like putting your own self out there and telling indie authors, hey, come to me. Like I have space for you, it's really, really amazing. And so this brings me to um answering the question you just asked, and I feel like my best advice would be go for it. If you have an idea, I feel like it's worth telling um. You can ask advice from others who have written books before and, you know, just maybe run your ideas by them. But then you have to realize that when you got the idea, it was just you alone, like nobody was there with you when the idea came. So the fact that someone doesn't think your idea is marketable or that people will like it doesn't mean you shouldn't write it. I mean, what's the worst that can happen again. Like you write it, people don't like it this year. People don't like it next year. Who knows, maybe in five years time, in 10 years time, that book becomes a hit. I feel like. I feel like people shouldn't be discouraged when they tell them no, just keep trying. Because let me just go into the whole Christian aspect Because if God laid an idea on your heart to write a story, it was you. God told he didn't tell a group of people, and so it's okay if they don't understand the kind of story God has asked you to write. So just go ahead, write it, even if you're not Christian. You have an idea, write it. Like I said, what's the worst that can happen? People don't like it this year, write another one. They don't like that one, write another one.

Speaker 2: 21:40

Yes, it can be very hard, can be difficult, but I feel like being persistent also pays off. There's something my pastor says. He says that he has found that there's people who don't give up. Life eventually gives up, like just you know, let them have their way. And I think that's probably true. If you don't give up, you keep on doing what you do and you strongly believe in yourself.

Speaker 2: 22:02

And I think something else that has helped me sell my book, apart from the cover, is the confidence I have in marketing the book. If you believe in your story so much, you believe it deserves to be heard, there's no reason why you shouldn't be confident talking about your book or confident reaching out to people and saying, hey, I have this book. Um, can you invite me on your platform or do you have space for me? Like, just talk about it. There's so many people looking for your book and they don't even know you exist because they're not talking about your book. So I think that's the advice I would give just go for it, start writing your book, start sorting your ideas for your cover design, start reaching out to people. Just put yourself out there. Do what that can happen is new, and then you find another set of people that may like to tell you yes, so that's my advice.

Speaker 1: 22:50

I love it. I feel like that's such a such an important reminder and I'm always saying that right, like if a story is coming to you, there's a reason for it, right, and I think that you can sometimes be like, oh well, there's a million whatever stories like this or there's. You know, this is so different, or I think that it's your unique perspective and and all of that stuff that that matters and that's, um. I was talking to another author and she said that, like each book, that like every book that is put out is a piece of history. So you not putting it out is robbing the world of that history. I'm like, oh my gosh, I love that. That's such a great like motivator. So I think that you yeah, you really hit that right there of just you know trust that you can tell the story, and it takes time to build that confidence, but, just like, slow and steady wins the race and if you keep showing up, you can make it happen. So I definitely, I love that.

Speaker 2: 23:45

Thank you.

Speaker 1: 23:47

Amazing, awesome. Well, finally, I would love for you to share where people can get in touch with you and find your book and kind of like follow along in your author journey. Obviously, I feel like you're you're writing more books too, so they're going to want to stick around and see, kind of like, what else you have to release. So, yeah, please, please, share all of the details.

Speaker 2: 24:08

Okay, so ready to be loved by you is on Amazon and it's also on Kindle Unlimited. You can find it there. That's the only platform I have my book because, again, I'm in Nigeria and so many platforms are not open to us. We are very restricted when it comes to platforms, so it's just Amazon now, so you can just search for Ready to be Loved by you. It's there. And you can find me on social media at Nwerie underscore. Author. It's the same handle on instagram, tiktok and threads. I just like like to use the same handle so I'm very easy to find. So basically that's it. I think it will be in the description some year. The links would be there, but that's so amazing.

Speaker 1: 24:52

Awesome, yeah, I yeah, I love it. That's all. Like I said, everything will be super easy for people to click through and find you all linked Um Amazon, I mean Kindle unlimited is a great thing. Great Like it's. It's it's amazing that it's, you know, worldwide and we have access to it. So I think that's that's awesome. Well, I'm very excited that we got to chat today. Um, I love, yeah, I loved hearing about your, your writing journey. It was super interesting and I'm very excited about your book. Thank you so much.

Speaker 1: 25:20

Victoria thanks so much for listening to today's episode. I would love if you would leave a review and also if you loved the author that we chatted with, go find them on social media and hype them up, comment on their stuff, share, share their work, even if you can't buy the book. These kind of things are great ways of supporting indie authors and getting their book in front of new readers. And if you are a writer or author in need of a developmental editor, please reach out. I would love to chat. Everything is linked in the show notes and it would be an absolute honor to be able to get eyes on your novel. So thanks again and listen to the next episode.