{"id":46002,"date":"2023-04-04T10:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T09:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suffolkcommunitylibraries.co.uk\/?p=46002"},"modified":"2025-10-10T10:37:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T09:37:54","slug":"meet-the-author-amen-alonge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suffolkcommunitylibraries.co.uk\/pl\/meet-the-author-amen-alonge\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Author: Amen Alonge"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”19px” text_line_height=”1.3em” global_colors_info=”{}”]4 April 2023<\/strong><\/em>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”19px” text_line_height=”1.3em” link_font_size=”19px” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Amen Alonge was born in Lagos and moved to London as a teenager. He took a Master\u2019s Degree at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, then worked as an engineer. He went on to take a screenwriting course at London Film Academy and, for a while, ran the family business, a sports media company that owned the global licensing rights for the Nigerian Football League.<\/p>\n

More recently he is currently training to be a solicitor. Amen’s first Pretty Boy thriller A Good Day to Die<\/em><\/a> was published in 2022 and the second in the series, A Good Night to Kill<\/em><\/a> is published by Quercus on 27 April and is available to borrow on the Suffolk Community Libraries catalogue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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When did you first discover the world of books and writing? Who were your literary heroes as you were growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was raised in a very Christian home, so the bible and daily devotionals were my first introduction to books. Then Enid Blyton\u2019s famous five books. But growing up as a teenager, the only fiction books available to me were the Christian \u201cLeft Behind\u201d novel series, so, sadly, I didn\u2019t have a literary hero growing up.<\/p>\n

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Your background is as a lawyer. How did you get into the writing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writing was my first love, even before the law. However, my initial ambition was to write for the screen. I went to film school to study screenwriting and enjoyed a budding career as a screenwriter. But when I decided to pursue law, I chose to give my first love one more shot and wrote my first book\u2026 the rest is history.<\/p>\n

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Your latest book is A Good Night to Kill<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. Can you tell us a little about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Good Night To Kill<\/em> is the second in the Pretty Boy series. It is a propulsive gangland thriller set in London in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympics. Family is at the heart of the book because the action is driven by a clash of the extent people with means will go to avenge their family, protect their family, and do harm to that same family when wronged by them. A nameless protagonist, known only as Pretty Boy to some, will be our guide through all of it\u2026 for as long as he survives.<\/p>\n

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You are two books into the story now. Do you have a grand plan for Pretty Boy’s universe all mapped out somewhere?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely! In notes on my phone and my head.<\/p>\n

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A Good Day to Die<\/strong><\/em><\/a> seemed to be very authentic. How did you research the book, and did you discover anything interesting when you were researching?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A mixture of in-person conversations with people that live the life I depict in the book every day, visiting many of the locations, and lots of Google searches. My search history is a sight to behold. So much that I occasionally enter \u201cI am an author, and this is research\u201d into the search box!<\/p>\n

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What’s next for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The third and (maybe) final book in the Pretty Boy series. Then I have two ideas I\u2019m working on, which I\u2019m excited to write.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is on your ‘to read’ pile at the moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n