Author Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda tells stories about Africa in her books.
The Nigerian-Jamaican writer from Zambia, recently published her first novel, No Be From Hia, last month. The book was inspired by Natasha’s upbringing.
She told SunBuzz: “No Be From Hia was inspired by my diverse heritage and history. It’s a book about two young girls who travel from London to Lusaka and Lagos. Their families are torn apart because of a trauma that occurred in the 1960s.
“It’s also about a country seen through the eyes of the families.
“We meet cousins Maggie and Bupe and hold their hands through the 1990s to 2017, all the while trying to solve their families’ secrets and mysteries.”
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The rising writer said writing is a form of healing for her.
“I’ve always loved reading from as early as I can remember. I used books to transport me to places when I was going through trauma of family separation as a child. As a teenager, I was fortunate to have creative writing and literature as mandatory subjects in secondary school,” said Natasha.
“About four years ago, I began to pen short stories in my spare time, and the love for the craft just took over. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to feature in quite a few anthologies and journals and I’ve met fantastic people along the way.”