My name is Truphena Njiru and I have had the delight of growing and thriving in the publishing space as an editor, a writer and an author. It has been an interesting journey getting to where I currently am.
As a young girl, I was exposed to books at an early age by my parents and I discovered a world that thrilled and fascinated me in those pages. I was always delighted to travel wherever the books carried me and I found myself asking over and over to be furnished with more story books once I was done with the last one. I must have exhausted my parents with my numerous requests for more books! The effects of reading were evident in my subjects, particularly in the languages as I excelled and did exceptionally in my compositions and inshas. I loved to tell a good story! I was naturally a shy girl so I was not particularly vocal, but the well within me was full of words, and expressing myself in writing became the early stirrings for my passion – though it was unknown to me then.
Getting into the publishing world
After school, I was not sure what I wanted to pursue a specific career and I did intermittent contracts until my path led to a publishing house. Working on raw manuscripts for the three-month contractual assignment as an editorial assistant lit, not just a spark, but a whole ball of fire within me. All we were required to do was read the manuscripts from cover-to-cover, ensuring there were no errors then release it for publishing. My excitement could not be contained, and I thoroughly enjoyed working on my tasks. The flame that had been lit was fanned further when I joined a different publishing firm for five years, and it was here that my editorial and writing skills were honed and refined. My greatest delight, in addition to the joy of seeing every manuscript become a published book, was the fact that I was being paid daily for coming to work and doing what I thoroughly enjoyed – reading and writing! There can be no Monday blues for such a great deal in life. I would not have asked for anything better.
Nascent steps into authorship
Upon leaving employment, I continued as a freelance editor and with time discovered that the well of words within me were seeking an outlet. I had nursed an interesting desire from my campus years, where I strongly felt that there were numerous books within me waiting to be released. Part of that desire was fulfilled by being in employment where I was privileged to facilitate numerous authors in their quest to publish their books. So many other books were waiting to get published going forward and I was determined to start from where I was.
I decided to put my thoughts down on what had been on my mind for a long time. The world around me had become a marvel, and it still is. I was fascinated at a God who put together mysteries in creation that numerous generations of humanity have not yet fully unraveled. I was intrigued by a God who was so vast and matchless in all He had done, in a way that kept my thoughts glued on the wonder that creation is. Each piece in creation was merely a word, and solely sustained by His Word, yet it spoke mysteries without the need for a language. No one, for instance requires words to understand the beauty of a sunset. In fact, the vastness of a world humans have not yet explored in the universe, simply takes away the words, in awe of such majesty and extravagance. No words can aptly describe the indescribable God.
The overflow of my meditations as I marveled at God became the first book I penned down – Echoes of Life. It is a three-part book that attempts to go behind the scenes as the creation of the world took place; walking with God though the six days, and watching Him set the principles we are still discovering as He lay the foundations of the earth. The three different titles; Creation, Adamville and And then there was Eve were each published separately as e-books then compiled under one title in 2019 as Echoes of Life.
Next, I co-authored a children’s book, ‘Where did the world come from. This book narrates the creation story to children in a fun, activity-filled and engaging way. The highlight for the book is the creation project at the end, where children are guided to ‘create’ their own Garden of Eden using locally available materials. We believe that everyone is creative, just like our God, and nurturing these creative abilities early in life is critical and vital. Lighting this spark at a young age allows the children to have a head start in life with regard to their natural skills and abilities, it’s a win for everyone – the child, the parents and the society. It is the goal we wanted to achieve with the children’s book.
In addition, given the joy I derive in documenting stories for posterity, I currently work with authors as an editor and a writer, guiding them in the writing of the memoirs, biographies and autobiographies. And so the journey continues.
These books can be found at https://fanisicreations.mzizi.com/ or The Writers Guild-Kenya bookshop at Hazina Towers Ground Floor Suite 2A for the hard copy, and https://booksformysoul.com/authors/truphie-njiru/ for the Echoes of Life e-book version.
