Mara's Classics; 1 Year and Counting 🌟💙

"Pass through the school, and let the school pass through you."

These were the words that started me off on a long, really long journey in my writing career. You see, I've been writing before, since I picked up a notebook as a little girl and scrawled, "Adanna the stubborn girl."

Time flew by and I was already writing factious history on African colonization. Then... I got admission to study in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. At first, I thought, this is the end of my writing career, but I was inspired by my Muse Giver to "write, write, write!" Here I am, one year later, writing.
It's been a beautiful journey. It began on Feb 16, with...!

TWELVE DAYS TO VALENTINE

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It was Valentine. My sis wanted us to celebrate so she dragged me (literally) to a Valentine Music Special. It was what I needed to breathe life to my Muse.
Twelve Days to Valentine was inspired by the university culture which I was still new to. I loved the environment and kept thinking, this would make a good setting for a movie. It turned out to be the setting of my first series.
After writing, I did something crazy. I started a book club (link to join the Classic Book Club) and shared the series to people other than my family. It wasn't a big hit. Honestly, just a heart emoji could get me reeling with joy.
The breakthrough began when my beloved roomie Perpetua revealed to me, that my female protagonist was exactly like her course mate. I was surprised because I had intended them to be alike only in name. I had stolen the name because I thought it would be perfect for my protagonist. Chenka, Chenka! Isn't the name pretty?
Well, my roomie pushed me to share it with Chenka, the vice president of my department at the time. I did, and Twelve Days to Valentine was written in the stars.

I'll pick this over and over as my fave romance because it was funny, heart warming and romantic, not in an erotic way. I'm passionate about romance tales that don't rely on  intense bedroom scenes to make readers feel the beauty of love. I can proudly say that Twelve Days to Valentine did just that.

ADULTERESS

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A little way into writing Twelve Days to Valentine, another muse knocked on my door. I caught it on paper because I thought it would make a nice read. I didn't start writing it at once. I was busy writing short stories for my bookclub. A month later, I wrote Adulteress.

Adulteress is one of my two series based outside UNN. It was a breath of fresh air for me. I loved the mature look of it and the sudden turn of events. Reading it again, I would say that I did my best. At a point, I quit and stuck to book reviews and essays. Time passed and I almost wanted to drop it completely, but every story that has a beginning deserves an ending. Adulteress was a dream come true, not for Amara though.

NONO GRIFFIN

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What is it about? I think you mean, who is it about?

Nono Griffin is a spin-off of Twelve Days to Valentine. So, I was having a conversation with my darling friend, Nono when she inspired me to write a sequel for Twelve Days to Valentine. I named the series after her; Nono.
It was a fun experience. For the theme, I used the constant and puzzling conflict between mass communication and history departments. I was hoping for answers. Like, why do they always fight?

CHOCOLATE & MILK 🍫🥛

Reviews filled my days before this baby was born. From Titanic to my fabulous (and stressful) review-a-thon. Then, I got busy with this second romance.

Proudly inspired by my class representatives, Jubilate and Dunamis, and the entire 025 mass com set. In this series, I wanted to draw attention to my classroom experience. You bet anonymous night is part of it.
The basic theme of the story is the hardship of leadership. The romance was based on speculations that my dear Jubilate and Dunamis were dating. The story is basically fiction but the people who inspired it know as well as I do where to find the elements of reality.
Chocolate and milk is one of my most cherished series. I'm so happy it turned out well considering the fact that I was still deciding the point of view to use three days before its release. It was a yummy experience and I'm grateful for it.

DEAR ME: A FIRST YEAR WORTH REMEMBERING

God is awesome. Why do I say so? What's a better way to celebrate a full academic year in the den than having your 1000th read?

Dear me was written to celebrate Mara's Classics 1000th view. I was really elated. I love this short piece because of how unique the plot is. It's an epistle (before you say boring, check it out.) It is also my gift to university freshers who are nervous about beginning a new journey in a new environment. As grace would have it, it became my most popular post.

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6:51

After months of putting it off, I finally published 6:51. Only 4 chapters, the series was intended to "thrill and tense" until the very end. Like Adulteress, it was based outside the den.
It's wasn't very popular. Despite the low views, I love the inspiration behind it. You see, I was staring at a solar lamp post which turned on at 6:51 on the dot. You might not get the thrill, but boy! This series is a gem. I hope you think so too.

DEAR ME: TRIBUTE TO A JACKSONITE 💙🖤

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I wanted to mourn the death of a student in my department, Favour. I also wanted to create an awareness on the importance of self care. When I wrote this, I was under a lot of academic stress. Life as a student felt impossibly hard. I wanted to lay an encouraging hand on every shoulder that was under this pressure. I hope I did just that.

DIARY OF A JACKSONITE
STASIA

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Personality is one of God's most precious gifts to humanity. It's so unique to everyone I can't help getting curious. Who is the person behind the face?
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you investigative journalism at a whole new level!

That's Stasia, my very first personality for this segmented series. I really enjoyed documenting a bit of her life and I appreciate her for confiding in me. Dear Stasia, I'm so glad you loved it, and... I look forward to poking my nose into the lives of many more Jacksonites. (Wink.)

NEVER LET THE HAIR DOWN

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Before I go on, let me cry a little. I love this story! It's the flower in my collection. It's a step out of Nigeria to the beautiful country of Thailand. It's a glimpse of the mountains of Chiang Mai. The best part, it's based in UNN.

It all started with a conversation I had with Holy, my Thaigerian classmate. Something she said formed the right combination, and Never Let The Hair Down was the treasure in the safe. It was difficult finding the voice of a girl who's been segregated her whole life because of her skin colour. It was worth it.
Special thanks to Holy for helping me out with my first series of the year, 2024.

🌸❤️🌸❤️🌸❤️🌸❤️🌸❤️🌸❤️🌸❤️

Okay, folks. Thanks for reading this far. Before I hit the creme de la creme, the icing on the cake, the jackpot! I would like to appreciate my awesome Muse Giver for my collection of short stories;
1.  Just a start
2. Natura
3. The lily Bush
4. Success is a cloud (my masterpiece!)

Let's not forget my reviews;
1.  Anastasia
2. Squid game (I put the game in that one)
3. Sound of Music
4. Coco
5. Bridgerton
6. Frozen; 1, 2, Review! (A review of Frozen 1 and 2)
7. Titanic (a classic like no other.)

Then there's my review-a-thon on The Disney Princesses. I didn't review all of them! Just a few that my dear readers voted.
After reading the review options, I know what you're thinking. Yep, I'm a Disney freak.

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BATTLE OF AUTHORS

FIRST NIGHT OF FOREVER ❤️❤️❤️

As early as Oct 25, 2023, I was inspired to write First Night Of Forever; a beautiful but short romance. After deliberating, I decided to share my Muse and host a writing competition instead. Here's the lead...

*FIRST NIGHT OF FOREVER*

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The long awaited day finally arrives...

Christina, dressed in all her beauty, walks to the altar to be wed to John.

It is a beautiful day; the first of forever.

The wedding night is one of sacred beauty and  limitless joy!

Just when the marriage is consumated, Christina learns a dreadful secret...

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*BATTLE OF AUTHORS*

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*Prize for first place:*

3,000 Nigerian Dollars 🎖️

Title, Classic Author of the year and Face of the Mara's Classics Blog 💃🏽

It almost came to nothing because where was I going to find the prize money?
After a bit of a struggle, I decided to go on with the competition. Feb 16 of another year had clocked and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate one year of "den-penmanship" than, Battle of Authors.
To my surprise, bold and talented writers stepped on the challenge even after I made it clear that I was celebrating one year of writing without receiving a Kobo. It's something I'll always appreciate.

Here, I want to thank my dear sponsors who helped fund the cash prize. Eesuola Damilare and another who wishes to remain anonymous; thank you for a dream come true.

Hosting the competition was the funnest decision of the year. This I owe to my team of contestants; Ebube, Evergreen, Maestro, Nonibooks and Winifred. I'll leave them to say how their experience was.

MAESTRO

Read his dazzling poem here

Participating in the 'Battle of authors' definitely exposed me to talent stacked humans and I'm grateful for that.
It sure also exposed me to healthy rivalry which the best kind of incentive to be a good writer.

'Battle of authors' was a massive success and I honestly hope to be  exposed to this kind of graceful platform in the nearest future.

Lastly, a massive thanks to Miss Mara for being the life of the party and for assembling the avengers😏 May your ink never run dry, ma.

WINIFRED

Read her bone chilling piece Here

It was an entirely new experience for me and it was also engaging.
Getting to meet new writings was certainly not exhausting like I thought, show casing my work was embarrassing but amazing, working on a new story inspiration (even though short) was good, since it was my first time writing horror.
I'd love to do this again some other time.

EBUBE

Read her thrilling poem Here

My time in Battle of Authors I would say was a period of learning new style of writing, meeting new people, getting new inspiration and expanding my horizons

It was fun 😊

EVERGREEN

Read his super awesome thriller here

My experience in the Battle of Authors competition was that of growth, self-confidence, and networking.

Being a part of this competition allowed me to see beyond myself, and believe in myself, and I was able to meet other prolific writers who have made it pretty good in their different genres. 

A million thank you can never be enough to appreciate the host, Miss Maramma. 

Overall, "locate things that motivate you and surround yourself with people that inspire you”

― Sunday Adelaja.

*Battle of Authors* wasn't just a competition but an arena of like minds.

NONIBOOKS (Winner 🏆)

Read her masterpiece here
I would say the experience was enlightening. Being among so many talented writers helped me to challenge myself to become better. Overall I would say that I enjoyed myself thoroughly and I also enjoyed being able to compete against so many talented and wonderful people.
I cannot wait for another competition ❤️❤️❤️

And then there's me, Mara, stepping on my own challenge and giving Christina her first night of forever.  I'm so happy the Spirit picked me to birth this Muse. I'm also glad I shared it. It's beautiful to see how many different ways a story can be written. It's also wonderful to compete with fellow writers. Not only does it sharpen your talent, it also introduces you to a whole new bunch of cool friends.

Well, that ends a beautiful year. Even though this is coming late, I couldn't give up the chance to look back at how far I've come. I am truly grateful to God and I can't wait to see what next He has for me to write. Okay, I just saw it and I think my plate is really full 😂

All in all, thank you beloved reader. It is for you that I write. I appreciate you deeply. A bientot. Till I write again.

PS. The world is so full of talents! What's yours? Don't hide it.

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