That's me at about ten-years-old drinking coconut water on my uncle's lawn in Uyo, Nigeria. Those were my favorite pair of glasses, blue and pink plastic hexagons, that I picked every two years, religiously, when my mom took me to the eye doctor.

There are far stranger stories from my childhood, all of which led me to start penning a memoir, Alligator Legs. It's a nickname my big sisters gave me as a kid when I scratched my legs so much that they grew bumpy from childhood eczema. I was sickly, in and out of the hospital with asthma attacks, and generally uncomfortable in my own skin.

Today, I am a Stanford University biology graduate completing MFA studies at NYU graduate film. I am a professional writer and editor, most recently awarded a 2009 Hedgebrook Writers Residency.

First conceived in 2003, Alligator Legs is a novel based upon my experiences growing up the youngest of four daughters of Nigerian immigrants living in that difficult space between Africa and America.

The protagonist of Alligator Legs is a little girl from a working class immigrant family trying to fit in somewhere that will never be home -- negotiating what it means to be a girl or boy, pretty or ugly, rich or poor, in often hostile territory.

I plan to finish a draft of Alligator Legs by May 2009 and begin working on a screenplay adaptation of the novel. This blog is a place to share my thoughts and explore ideas emerging from my writing and filmmaking. I also hope to gain insight from other writer/filmmakers engaged in similar endeavors.

Drop me a line and say hello or post a comment. I love hearing from my blog readers especially while killing time at work. ;)