Bio:
JB Favour is a ghostwriter, Voiceover Artist, Editor and Poet from Nigeria. She is the founder of the book promotion platform Bookterviews – Meet An Author Show, an interview platform for authors to share the behind story of their writing journey and challenges, inspirations and growth as authors on her YouTube channel and website.
JB is a book addict who loves to read. She has a book club “Bookish Vibe with JB” where book lovers read and review works from authors featured on the Bookterviews show. She’s interested in music and loves to sing and dance when she’s not working.
JB is an avid believer in dreams and passion. One of her favorite quotes is from the South Korean boy band BTS member Jungkook, “I’ll rather die than live without passion.” A quote she lives by.
She strongly believes she can rise above the stereotypes limiting the black female child, especially in African society. Fueled by creativity and a knack for following her passions, she chose to redirect her life into Freelance instead of her Medical Laboratory field, which she originally majored in.
This led to the establishment of her own freelance brand, Faves_Pen, where she offers ghost-writing, copywriting, editing and voiceover services to various clients all over the world. She has achieved several success stories while working with brands and companies in the US as their content creator. She has also helped ghost-write several works of fiction and memoirs, all doing well on Amazon’s bestsellers list.
Her breakthrough in the US freelance world has never been easy. Faced with stereotypical attacks and the pressures of building her own brand with no extensive network in an environment where the girl child has to constantly fight to have a voice, JB Favour has managed to build something out of nothing in just one year.
Her dive into the world of freelance was borne out of desperation and a bid to survive the Covid-19 Lockdown and the subsequent meltdown of the economy after losing all of her jobs.
Her story is proof that even from chaos, something beautiful can still be created. She hopes her story gives a voice to the female black child struggling to rise above the cycle created for them by their environment. This is seen prominently in her poems as she struggles to convey the emotions and challenges of her art.
She just released her Anthology of Poems “Once Upon a Virus” an anthology dedicated to all the emotions people have experienced during the Covid-19 lockdown.
TNR: What was the inspiration behind your new release?
JB Favour: The coronavirus pandemic and the struggles that the lockdown brought to humanity. I have always found writing to be my way of healing. So I combined all the emotions I felt and viola, a book was born.
TNR: Which writers inspired you on your writing journey?
JB Favour: It definitely has to be John Grisham. I absolutely love John. When I was barely 14, I read my first Grisham novel and since then, I told myself I was going to write a thriller someday. I haven’t yet, but I’m on the path. It’s getting clearer now. I also love Mary Higgins Clark as well.
TNR: Was writing something you always wanted to do? Do you have recollections of when your writing journey began?
JB Favour: I have always been a creative. Back in primary school, I was given the duty of making poems for our school recitals. Till today, my poems are being recited by students in my school. And as for writing, it was my best way of expressing myself. I battled several issues with regard to depression growing up, so I found therapy in writing from an early age. I have small notes, poems, journals from as early as 12 or 13. But I never took writing as a career until Covid came. I just knew I loved to write and read so much.
TNR: Were there any emotions when you started writing this book considering we are still in the middle of this pandemic?
JB Favour: A lot of emotions. Sometimes I think 30 poems aren’t enough to express them. My book contains bits of me I wish to hide, my fears, anxieties and scars. It is almost like standing naked. But I think this is a step towards healing. The emotions I felt during the pandemic were valid, and I know I’m not alone. Even though the idea was to simply write poems in my journal to express myself, I decided to share it with the world because I wanted to give comfort to people and to evoke a feeling of comradeship in this struggle to stay sane.
TNR: Apart from poetry, what other genres do you write?
JB Favour: Oh, I love thrillers. I think my next work should be just that. I’m a ghostwriter and I’ve written so many autobiographies and fictions for authors. My debut work is an Anthology. My next should be a suspense thriller followed by a YA fiction. I might try romance too. I’m an absolute lover of romance too.
TNR: Which book(s) did you read this year that left you wowed?
JB Favour: Has to be “One of us is Lying” by Karen McManus. Best read for the year. Next up should be my Anthology – “Once Upon A Virus”
TNR: What has been the highlight of the year 2021 for you?
JB Favour: I got three International Magazine requests and two have already being published. It’s a big deal for a black African girl like me to be featured in such magazines with big names. It’s a sign that somehow my efforts were getting recognized.
I was also able to successfully run my show- Bookterviews: Meet An Author Show up until the end of the year, where I interviewed authors from all over the world
As for my Ghostwriting journey, I was able to Ghostwrite two memoirs as well as finish and release my debut project – Once Upon A Virus.
These are big wins for me.
TNR: As a book promoter who uses her platform “Bookterviews” to promote authors what are the necessary ingredients for a successful book release?
JB Favour: I think drive is everything. This thing about being an author is that nothing is guaranteed. And it can get exhausting after a few tries you don’t get what you want. You could have an absolutely amazing book, but if you don’t get the right publicity, it goes buried.
So I think having an inexhaustible drive or a don’t give up mindset is primary. Once that is in place, you have got to brainstorm. Be willing to be daring and, most importantly, promote yourself and your book months before its release.
TNR: What was the inspiration behind ‘Bookterviews’?
JB Favour: It came from my love for books. I wanted a distinct name formed with cliche words, so I thought, books + interviews. And that was it.
I have a very imaginative mind, so from a young age, when I read a book or watch a good movie, I often have questions burning in my head. I want to ask the producers or the writers, what inspired this plot? What’s the behind story for this? How did you create this?
That was it. So I thought, authors don’t get asked the behind-the-scenes story most times, so why not do it.
And so, I created Bookterviews.
TNR: Apart from being the founder of the Bookterviews, you’re also a ghostwriter, editor and voice-over artist, how do you manage your talents and what advice would you give someone who is talented like you but is struggling to keep them together?
JB Favour: I don’t know if I’m in any position to advise anyone because, frankly, I’m still struggling to keep myself together.
I find it hard to manage my time and schedules and oftentimes I burn out due to exhaustion. Other times it’s me and self-doubts or the never ending saga of anxiety.
But here’s one thing. Your passion should not burn you out. Once it does, it loses the thrill of passion and becomes a chore. So, I’d say, try to create a balance. So, you don’t die of your passion. You have got to realize that you make a better creative when your headspace is stable.
So, while doing so much on the creativity side, find time to live, not merely exist. Live, go outside, take a walk, go see a movie, concerts, eat, travel….
And find time to talk to God, too. There’s a peace he gives. There’s a kind of love only he gives.