It took Sope Martins a quarter of a lifetime to realise that she could be a published writer. Popularly known for her work with Smooth FM, she is proof that anyone can reinvent themselves at any point in time. In little time, she has transitioned from a popular radio presenter to a respected author of children’s stories.
This edition of eelive.ng’s Book People spotlights the broadcaster and author’s professional career and how her words create magical worlds for young minds.
Home is where Family is
One could describe young Sope Martins as a nomad who found home in the comfort of the books she read. Born in Lagos and raised in London, she told eelive.ng about her idyllic childhood. “From the age of six, I led a pretty nomadic lifestyle, moving between countries and through a variety of schools. But I never felt adrift because my home was where my family was.”
Shuffling between two continents exposed Martins to different cultures and experiences; and this, she explained, influenced her perception of life. She said: “I grew up with my nose in books. At boarding school, I was surrounded by diverse nationalities; so, my appreciation for other languages and cultures never wanes. [It] shaped me into the bibliophile and linguaphile I am today.”
It was also at the boarding school in the United Kingdom that Martins first proved her mettle as a budding storyteller. There, Martins said she had an “Enid Blyton experience, but as a black child. It was very strange, but it gave me a rare luxury. I got to tell them stories. I’d make up the best stories, and they would buy it. Someone would ask what happened, and I’d say I got scratched by a tiger.”
Falling in love with books
That was a backdrop to the encouragement right from home by her book-loving mother. Martins told eelive that her mother, as a child, often hid under the sheets in the laundry room, reading a book while others did chores. Her mother never stopped her, and that encouraged the young lady to adopt reading as a way of life. Reading turned into writing, and the letters seven-year-old Sope Martins wrote to her parents were intelligently worded.
There is one other way her mother facilitated her love for books. At a time in London, she would have to wait for her mother for two hours after school; and her mother found a library where her little princess could pass time. Here, the author discovered children’s books and became utterly enchanted by them. For two years, she visited the library after school every day. The experience broadened her imagination and opened her mind to a magical, non-restrictive world. “I finished all of the books in the children’s section. That cemented my love of reading,” she said.
Decades later, the young explorer would bring that world and her love for books to other wide-eyed children.
This was after she had studied Italian and Linguistics, completed her youth service in Abuja, and gotten an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. She had hoped to forge a career in civil service, upon graduation; but a few setbacks derailed her from the intended career path.
Even beyond the setback to the career she hoped for, finding a job was an entirely big deal following the hard economic climate of the time. This inspired Martins’ move to Nigeria where she regrouped with family. And then, one day, as if from some divine prompting, her brother-in-law made a note of the outstanding quality of her voice and encouraged her to apply to a radio company. The first one she tried loved what they heard; that marked the start of a five-year experience with Smooth FM, Lagos.
Smooth Sailing
At Smooth FM, Sope Martins co-anchored the Breakfast Show, which was a fine blend of inspiration, business, news analysis, entertainment and sports. She also anchored the Book Review Show, featuring books of different genres on the weekends. The Afrocentric show interviewed authors and publishers to deepen listeners’ insight into the literary industry. Smooth FM was a huge blessing and revelation, according to her and she told eelive.ng why.
Having spent her childhood travelling, staying in a place for that long was different for the nomad. Her experience at Smooth FM was an out-of-shell one. The job required constant interactions with various people. At the end of it: “The person I was when I first came to Nigeria is not the person that left Smooth FM. I was one of those awkward conversationalists. I had to learn to push past that social anxiety and awkwardness that I used to feel around new people,” the author confessed.
After five years at Smooth FM, the “accidental” broadcaster decided to take a step back from the airwaves. She dabbled into other things to stir up her creative juices, including “doing a bit of writing for television and film”.
Becoming a Writer
If anyone had told a younger Sope Martins that she’d ever become a published author, she may have called their bluff. Although she had always been a committed writer, she clarified, “It’s one thing to write for leisure, but doing it professionally is a “completely different kettle of fish”.
She focused on her writing and not long after, she published her first book, a children’s book called The Greatest Animal in the Jungle. Martins has decided to remain a full time writer until some other inspiration strikes, and she has been successful at that. With determination and the incidence of the novel coronavirus pandemic that kept us all out home for months last year, two books are already in the offing.
On how sustainable it is for people to live on writing in Nigeria, Martins believes that is tricky and depends on the scale of writing the individual is engaged in. In her own case, she had prepared for contingencies before setting out: “I stocked up on my savings, put money into investments and got rent for a number of years. I had a goal, and I planned for it.”
Possibilities for other writers
The author also mentioned the various possibilities for aspiring writers, which include ghostwriting and freelance writing. “There are different types of writing. A lot of people go the freelance route. You can do concept writing for businesses. You can ghost write because a lot of people are looking to have their stories told by people who are capable with words. There’s political writing; there’s blogging. There are different ways to make your mark or your living as a writer.”
Speaking about how much her Nigerian and European experiences influence her writing, Sope Martins said it could be a two-edged sword, which sometimes makes her feel like an imposter. According to her, she often felt she wasn’t authentic enough to write about either culture. “But the whole point of writing is that it’s your voice and it’s your experience. Your point of view will still be different from another person’s. I’m just writing my experience and hoping people would connect to it.”
Through the Eyes of a Child
When asked why the choice to write for children, she answered: “Although there are tons of books I’ve read as an adult that have lodged their words in my soul, my favourite books are from when I was a child.”
“People read so they can learn how to navigate the world. I know what reading did for me. As a child who didn’t talk to so many people, reading opened up so many worlds. It helped me enter new worlds and get into different people’s mindsets.”
Being a children’s author bringst two things she absolutely loves together: her love for books and her affinity for children and their unfiltered opinions. “If I’m in a crowded room of 100 people, and 99 are adults, you will find me in the corner with the child. And we will be having a great time.”
“The Greatest Animal in the Jungle“
Many people believe the lion is the king of the jungle, but Sope Martins sees things much differently. To her, any animal can be king, even a tiny mouse. Her first published book, The Greatest Animal in the Jungle, tells the story of a loveable mouse named Afuwe who, terrified after nearly being eaten by an owl, ultimately wishes to be the greatest animal in the jungle so he can be all-powerful.
In a world that constantly pushes people to compare themselves with others, this picture book encourages everyone to be happy and the best they can be. That, to the author, is true greatness. “I wanted readers to see through the protagonist, a mouse, and learn that you are only limited by what you believe.”
“The question, at the end of the day, is not who is the greatest animal in the jungle, but who is making the most of what they have. My book is about learning to appreciate the things about yourself that great.”
Real People Write Books
Finally, eelive.ng asked the writer for a couple of nuggets for budding writers. The first she offered was that anyone with writing skills can become a better writer. To do this, writers need to read extensively and “just write”. “Write. There’s a zero percent chance of you getting a contract or a publishing deal if you haven’t written anything,” she said.
And then advice for the children. Her offer was: “Whatever you want to be, whether a superstar, a spy, a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher or the president of the world, you can be anything you want to be. All you need to do is pick up a book. If you do, you get transported into different worlds. Then you get to pick and choose what and who you want to be. So, pick up a book today and go live a different life.”
Written by Chidirim Ndeche