When I found out WOW! Women on Writing was hosting a blog tour for Sola Olu, the author of The Summer Called Angel, I knew I wanted to be a part. One reason is because this blog is about children’s books AND about books and people who help women and children around the world–after all women hold up HALF THE SKY! But the other reason is because the subject of preemies and NICUs are close to my heart after I had my daughter at 33 weeks, and she spent a month in the NICU.
Sola’s book is excellent. You will be captivated by her story of how she had her daughter, Angel, at 28 weeks due to a severe case of preeclampsia. Angel was a very sick, baby girl, who had to have multiple surgeries and procedures, who spent time in two different NICUs, and who didn’t get to come home until the seventh month of her life. Sola shares the story of she and her husband and their little daughter fighting for her life with honesty and grace. She does not sugarcoat the bad times–the times when she thought she was going to lose her daughter, the times when she didn’t want to go to the NICU any more, the times when she and her husband had a difference of opinion.
My daughter, 33 weeks, 5 lbs. 2 ozs, A few hours old, holding my hand
In the back of the book, Sola shares some resources for pregnant women or for women who have a baby in the NICU. This is a great resource. She loves to hear your story if you had a baby in the NICU or if you are pregnant and on bed rest or anything really–she loves to help and listen. ANYONE who leaves a comment on this post will be entered to win either a print copy or e-copy of The Summer Called Angel. You can leave a question or a story or a well wish by Sunday, February 3 8:00 pm CST to be entered into the contest.
I was also lucky enough to interview Sola, and I asked her a few questions that may help high school/college writing teachers as well as writers wanting to write their own difficult stories–whatever those may be!
Margo: Welcome, Sola, thank you for taking the time to answer a few of my questions. Your story is so gripping and honest. How did it help you to write about this difficult time in your life?
Sola: It helped to heal. I love to write, and I’ve always been better at expressing my feelings by writing rather than speaking. I started writing at the hospital, even though it didn’t start out as a memoir. I guess it was therapeutic in some way.
Margo: That’s why your memoir is so honest and gripping–you were writing while you were living it! How did you deal with the emotions that had to arise while you were reliving these events (through your writing) with your preemie daughter?
Sola: Everything took time. Initially, I couldn’t talk about the details without
Sola Olu
shedding tears, but gradually the pain lessened, and it was more wonder–how did we live through this? It didn’t help that I cry easily anyway. At the same time though because we stayed at the hospital for so long (two hospitals), I saw cases worse than mine, so I would always have that at the back of my mind to just be grateful it wasn’t worse, and that our outcome was good. Also because I stopped and started the book many times, I had my son as well; and by the time you have two kids, you’re too busy to mope. It was very difficult initially I won’t lie…even with the birth of my son. But with time, there’s healing.
Margo: I agree with the time factor. I have a terrible time writing about things that have just happened. It was even hard for me to write the Facebook updates while our daughter was in the NICU. Do you recommend women writing about hard times in their lives? Why or why not?
Sola: I would–it helps, at least it helped me; but for me, writing has always been my go-to remedy. It’s always been therapeutic. I remember as a teenager I would write to my parents when I had something difficult to discuss.
Margo: What are some good resources you can recommend for teenagers on up to adults for writing about their own lives and difficult events?
Sola: I belong to the National Association of Memoir Writers, and I love the resources they have to offer including webinars; but of course, there are more out there. There are a lot more resources out there on the Internet. My advice to myself for my next book is research, research, research, and more research.. .I think I can pass that along.
Margo: I’ve heard great things about NAMW, too. Thank you, Sola, for your honesty and sharing your story with families!
Don’t forget you could win a copy of this book by leaving a comment or question! Also, you can check out Sola’s book on Amazon.
& giveaway contest!How long could you have faith? Believe in the impossible? Rely on the strength of the smallest person you have ever met? In the memoir
The Summer Called Angel, Sola Olu tells of her family’s refusal to accept the possibility that their premature daughter would not defeat the odds.
The Summer Called Angel is a memoir about survival: survival of a premature baby, survival of a brand new family, survival of love, and survival of faith. This memoir is both frightening and inspiring. You’ll find yourself cheering on this family fighting for the life they dreamed of and wondering where they find their strength. This book also includes a few welcome additions such as poems and resources for other families of premature infants.
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Create Space (November 7, 2012)
ISBN-10: 1460932676
ISBN-13: 978-1460932674
Twitter hashtag: #SummerCalledAngel
The Summer Called Angel: A Story of Hope on the Journey through Prematurity, is available as a print and e-book at
Amazon.com, as well as your local independent bookstore.
Book Giveaway Contest: To win a copy of
The Summer Called Angel, please enter using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post. The giveaway contest
closes this Friday, January 25 at 12:00 AM EST. We will announce the winner the same day in the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!
About the Author:
Sola Olu was born and raised in Nigeria. As a child, she loved making up stories and as soon as she could write she started putting them down on paper. She holds degrees in English and Information Systems, Sola works in the retail industry and volunteers as a counselor to mothers of premature babies. Her writings include essays, poetry and children's stories. She loves to cook, travel and attend the theater. She lives in Illinois with her husband and two children.
Find out more about the author by visiting her online:
Sola's author website:
http://www.solaolu.com/ Sola's blog:
http://www.solaolu.com/Blog.htmlFacebook:
http://www.facebook.com/TheSummerCalledAngel------Interview by Jodi WebbWOW: What type of writing had you done before you began work on The Summer Called Angel?Sola: Just a lot of half projects on my computer, essays, unpublished romance manuscripts, children's stories, and a blog that I abandoned but have this year restarted:
http://solamusings.blogspot.com/.
The Summer Called Angel took me eight years to write because I was working, had two kids and took time to take care of myself.
WOW: It's good you took time to take care of yourself! It's something all of us need to do. So, do you have any memoir writers you enjoy?Sola: I like Sue Silverman and enjoyed her guide to memoir writing,
Fearless Confessions: A Writer's Guide to Memoir, as I edited mine.
WOW: We love Sue William Silverman! She actually did a blog tour with WOW for Fearless Confessions. It's such a great guide, and I'm so glad you used it for your book! How did The Summer Called Angel come into being? Did it begin as something written during your experience of dealing with your daughter's premature birth as a personal exercise . . . a journal, letters, a blog? Or was it something you wrote after the fact, looking back on your experiences?Sola: A little bit of both. It began as a journal. During my daughter's hospital stay, it began as a "mummy was here today . . ." kind of journal entry, just to have something to remember that time; but as her hospital stay became longer, it became more difficult and I actually stopped for a long time until she came home. Of course, with her home and with all then therapies, I again stopped for a while, then wrote from recollection; and then I had my second child, and I'm like now the story takes a different turn. Eventually, I requested her medical notes to ensure that I had the right sequence of events and to add to how I felt as well as validate the medical issues we had to deal with.
WOW: I found your book incredibly emotional, as it brought back some of my own experiences with premature labor. Was it difficult reliving your family's experiences? Sola: Oh sorry to hear about that. It was difficult. And it's funny you bring that up because I had a family member tell me to "move on." For a long time I was very emotional, even though she was fine; I would remember some painful episodes and tear up, but writing helped me through. I guess that was why there were so many stops—you have to be ready to write about what you went through, and then the healing comes with that. Ultimately, the story ends well. I decided to put everything out there because when I was going through those emotions of dealing with a sick child, I wondered if those feelings were valid or maybe I was just weak. But in speaking to other parents through the volunteer program I joined after my daughter came home, I realized other parents have those feelings too; and by putting it out there, I'm saying, "It's OK to cry. It's OK to heal in your own way."
And I also say I am in no way diminishing the fact that there are so many stories out there that don't have a happy ending and I can't imagine how people cope when they have to deal with that.
WOW: What made you decide to publish your experiences as a book?Sola: It's funny—I have always dreamt of being an author. I wrote two young adult romance novels when I was a teenager. When my premature birth happened, I didn't think,
Oh here's a book . . ., even though I started journaling. The first time I thought about it becoming a book was when we were coming home from hospital one day and I told my husband that we had missed summer—we didn't have a summer—and he replied that yes we did, we had a summer called Angel. My inner writer had flipped up and I thought,
Hmmm that sounds like the title of a book, but at that time I didn't know what the ending would be.
So my dream of becoming an author came through with my memoir, and that has now given me the inspiration to dig up my old manuscripts and revamp.
WOW: That's a great story about your title. Can you tell us a bit about your path to publication? Did you look for an agent or traditional publisher or did you feel that self-publishing was the best choice for you?Sola: I went for a writers conference in 2010 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It was my first, and I plan to go again this year. While there, I learned so many things about the publishing industry and writing in general. Even though I "pitched" to agents and they seemed interested, I guess I felt overwhelmed by the whole traditional publishing route, and just came back, looked around, and selected self-publishing. I just felt I had written for 6 years at that point and I was ready. It would take another 2 years from that point though—to eventually revise, edit, and get the memoir published.
Would I choose that route again? I'm not sure—I hope not. I hope I'm able to find a publisher for my next work.
WOW: From your experience, what are the advantages (or disadvantages) of self-publishing?Sola: The advantages of self-publishing are that you're in control of your own pace, you set your time frame and commit to it; you have editorial control of what goes in your publication; and if you have a more flexible contract, you can publish almost anywhere, especially the e-book format.
The disadvantages—especially if you're a novice like me—are that you sometimes don't have a clue what you're getting into. I learned the hard lesson that salesmen are all the same, and will sell to you to make a commission, so choose your packages very carefully. Almost every correction I made, I had to pay a fee, and it took 7-10 business days.
You also do all your own marketing. Most book stores will not carry print on demand, so you ultimately have to get your own ISBN if you want your book in stores.
WOW: What are you working on now?Sola: A children's book for now and then back to my young adult manuscripts. I am very excited. Thank you.
WOW: Thank you, Sola, for chatting with us today! I admire you for putting yourself out there with The Summer Called Angel, and I look forward to your future projects.----------Blog Tour DatesMonday, January 21 @ The MuffinStop by for an interview and book giveaway!
http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/Tuesday, January 22 @ The Book CastHave you ever wondered what determination sounds like? Listen to an audio interview with Sola Olu, author of
The Summer Called Angel and you'll hear it in her voice.
http://www.thebookcast.com Wednesday, January 23 @ Thoughts in ProgressSola Olu, author of
The Summer Called Angel, stops by today with some thoughts about premature birth.
http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com Thursday, January 24 @ CMash Loves to ReadStop by for an introduction to Sola Olu, memoirist, about her family's struggle and triumph over prematurity.
http://www.cmashlovestoread.com Monday, January 28 @ Read These Books and Use Them!New mom Margo reviews
The Summer Called Angel, a memoir about the challenges a new mom faced.
http://margodill.com/blogThursday, January 31 @ Joanna CelesteCheck out a review of a heartwarming memoir:
The Summer Called Angel.
http://www.joannaceleste.com Monday, February 4@ GEO LibrarianStop by for a visit with Sola Olu, author of the memoir
The Summer Called Angel.
http://geolibrarian.blogspot.com Wednesday, February 6 @ Words by WebbDon't miss a review of a touching memoir of the survival of a brand new family:
The Summer Called Angel.
http://jodiwebb.com Friday, February 8 @ Capability MomDon't miss a guest post by Sola Olu on the healing power of writing.
http://capabilitymom.com Monday, February 11 @ Tiffany Talks BooksHave you been thinking about love lately? Learn what true love is when you read the review of
The Summer Called Angel by Sola Olu. Last chance to win a copy on the tour!
http://tiffanytalksbooks.com Thursday, February 14 @ Read it Here FirstDon't miss today's interview with Sola Olu, the author of the memoir
The Summer Called Angel.
http://fromtheauthors.wordpress.com To view all our touring authors, check out our
Events Calendar. Keep up with blog stops and giveaways in real time by following us on Twitter
@WOWBlogTour.
Get Involved!If you have a website or blog and would like to host one of our touring authors or schedule a tour of your own, please email us at
[email protected].
Book Giveaway Contest: Enter to win a copy of
The Summer Called Angel! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. We will announce the winner in the Rafflecopter widget this Friday, December 14.
a Rafflecopter giveawayGood luck!
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I had my daughter when I was 41 years old. My original ob/gyn wanted me to go to a "high-risk" ob/gyn as well. My daughter was born at 32 weeks. We were told to expect her to be in the NICU until her original due date, but she got to come home at 22 days. She was so tiny people thought she was a doll. She turns 10 on 2/2 and wants to be a paleontologist. :O)
I am so excited about this book. From the moment I started it (still reading it!) I have been captivated. If you have ever had a preemie, you will see yourself in the pages of her book. But if you have ever been a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a father, a grandfather (etc, etc), you will be touched. My daughter was born at 33.5 weeks after a hard pregnancy and a hard time getting pregnant. I was 39. She was big for this stage: 5 lbs. 2 ozs. But that didn't matter because she had a hard time digesting. She just wasn't ready to be here. After one month in the NICU with the most wonderful nurses and doctors ever at Children's Hospital in St. Louis, she got to come home--Thanksgiving Day 2010. She has never stopped thriving since. She is now a feisty 2 year old and off the charts with her height--maybe due to the fact her dad and I are both over 6 ft tall. I applaud you, Sola, you managed to write about and PUBLISH! one of the hardest experiences ever to write about. I have hardly been able to do it still--except for one essay. I wish you and your family well--good luck with your next writing projects, too!
I have twins born at 25 weeks who are now 24 years old. My one twin has severe cerebral palsy, the Nicu's were not as advanced as they are now.
jofo120 at yahoo dot com
I'm so grateful you didn't listen to the fool who told you not to dwell. Although we can't be stuck in the past it does shape us and it seems as if your experiences made you a beautiful woman and wonderful writer.
Being able to use writing to recover is a therapy that costs little and raises awareness and healing in others.
Thanks for writing and reading, best of luck to the winner of this contest,
Sarah Butland author of Arm Farm, Sending You Sammy and Brain Tales - Volume One
this looks like a good book
My son was premature so I am excited to relate to your story. thanks for the giveaway.
I am a RN and worked in OB for a short time. Would really enjoy reading the book of many trials and happiness of a premature child!!
Thank you so much for all the kind comments and interest in the book. I am so grateful and happy to hear all the survivor tales even from this promo alone. It is my hope that all preemie parents can heal and insoire those still in the hospital and that other parents can appreciate their beautiful babies even more.
Thank you,
Sola Olu