An Interview with Oluwatosin Ajayi, author of Windshield

Oluwatosin Ajayi is a prolific content writer with immense creativity. With 5+ years’ experience ghost writing, she has helped up to twenty clients craft converting blog content.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

The world is full of chaotic and interesting moments that affect our lives and relationships. In most cases, these moments are uncontrollable as they are not light switches we can turn on and off.

Through my observation, I discovered that human relationships and lives don’t always pan out as planned due to betrayal, setback, heartbreaks, lies, and lack of attention, to mention a few.

So, I decided to write a piece that can capture these issues. In other words, I wanted to write about how the unexpected and uncontrollable life events negatively affects people’s lives (especially adults) and picturing the possibility of scaling through.

Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Getting my book’s title came easy. I knew what I wanted to write about and I chose a word that would capture the book idea: Windshield. I do plan to change the title, though, as I need something more attractive.

I chose the title because I wanted to write a contemporary novel about adults who experienced difficulties at different life’s stages—career, love, family, etc.—and still scaled through without damage.

Describe your dream book cover.

A young lady in a car sitting calmly at the sight of a log of wood hitting her windscreen but that couldn’t break the glass or hit her.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

“Thunder Fire You” by Rick Hassani

“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston

“Great One” by Jessie Reyez

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I’ve been a writer for the most part of my life. Even when I worked as a digital marketer, I enjoyed the writing aspect more (blog posts, ad copies, presentations, etc.). Writing seems to be the blood in my veins. We’re inseparable.

I worked at a barbershop for a while. I loved to attend to the bald guys and carve their beards. I still do.

I have also worked as a news reporter.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

When it comes to writing, I’m a natural. I’ve been writing fiction since my first year in high school. They weren’t perfect though. I just wrote fiction and sometimes illustrated.

I stopped after high school and never went back. As I read other people’s work, especially Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, I was learning, building my creativity, and writing.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Yes, I do. Even though I may not write long pieces every day, I jot the titles or introductory paragraphs of something interesting I’d like to develop later.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

Windshield readers would be able to reflect and mirror themselves with the characters. Even though it’s fiction, the plot reveals real-life scenarios that people can relate to. In summary, I want my readers to know they’re not alone, regardless of the tough situations they face.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.