I'm writing a book

If anything is clear since I wrote the last article about the machine firing me, it's that most people wanted to read more. They cruised my blog, trying to find more to read but I seldom tell stories. Instead I talk about JavaScript, CDNs, and PHP. Things that are more practical then interesting. It seems accidental that I even wrote a story this time, but it's not. I have been working on story like format with more failures than successes.

Here are a few story-like post that I wrote:

• Why we are hiring Angular Experts
• In pursuit of happiness: Job Security
• Failing spectacularly
• My Trip to TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield 2017

The titles are not as SEO friendly as technical articles, so they don't get as much love. But with the large burst of traffic that came recently, it gave me the confidence to continue writing them. After all, I am an avid believer in the number one rule of good writing, Show, Don't tell.

This time, I want to take a different route. I want to not just write more blog posts in story form, but write an actual book. When I started this blog, my main goal was to improve my writing. I never took a moment to appreciate how much and how subtly my writing has improved over the course of five years. I wouldn't say I am a great writer now, but I am far from where I started.

In my spare time, I have written short stories that only live on my hard drive. I tried sharing it with friends and family but they never see any point in it. But then again friends and family never see the point in anything that I do until it is successful. I will write my book and if it takes too long dear reader, I will publish the short stories to keep you distracted.

I have never published a book before so I will reserve the publication date for the future. For now I have written a few chapters to flesh out the main idea of the book.

The story will be familiar, but with a twist. I have worked in tech for over ten years now and have been exposed to many aspects of technology that goes through rigorous PR before being exposed to the public. The story about the machine may have been the most dramatic, but there was a long journey full of drama that preceded. And right after the sacking, I fully immersed myself into the startup world which came with its own set of problems.

We often hear about the life in tech and in Silicon Valley. What we tend to ignore is the fact that it is mostly a white male perspective. Having being immersed in technology all my life, reading about successful entrepreneurs, and emulating them, I never realized that when my turn comes it will be different. Different because I am African.

When I open my mouth and speak, the first thing that is noticed is my accent. I often get silly questions, innocent but irrelevant questions like "What kind of computer do you use in Africa?" To which I always answer "Ubuntu" to end the conversation.

When I was given the microphone at TechCrunch to answer the judges, I talked nonsense for two minutes. The reason for it was simple, I did not prepare. I personally prepped our CEO for all sorts of questions to the point that I made him sweat. But I never prepared to be the one answering questions. So I panicked.

First, I said that I had no microphone, but they quickly fixed that. Then I turned to my co-founder to have him answer, but all eyes were fixated on me. So, I made sounds with my mouth that filled a gap in time until I could think of an answer. When I looked at the judges, I saw they all had their mouth opened in awe. What I had to say was irrelevant. They had an African man on stage and he was talking with what was later referred to "An exotic accent."

This is the story I want to tell. A different perspective on life as a developer and tech entrepreneur.

The untitled book will be a collection of stories, each independent, yet paints a larger picture of life in technology on the coast of Los Angeles, now referred to as Silicon Beach.

I am excited to tell my story because I haven't seen anyone else talk about it. I am scared to tell my story because I don't know what response I will get. Sign up to get the latest news about the book. In the coming months, I will share an extract to give you a taste.

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