Mind on Fire Books

Exploring time, identity, and the emotional architecture of speculative fiction

In our latest Authors & Allies feature, we sit down with Nigerian journalist, singer-songwriter, and debut sci-fi author Nmesoma Okechukwu, whose novel Cybernetics Within Us bends genre and expectation with poetic precision. Her work is a study in contradictions: lyrical yet logical, intimate yet expansive, grounded in emotional truth while reaching for cosmic speculation.

What begins with a question—“What is my concept of time?”—unfolds into a narrative that spans continents, consciousness, and the fragile machinery of memory. We spoke with Nmesoma about her creative process, the emotional weight behind her protagonist Sophia Kingston, and the strange, beautiful ways music, science, and heartbreak shape her storytelling.

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🧠 Writing & Inspiration

What inspired you to write Cybernetics Within Us?

The concept of time. Everything else that came into and happened in the story originated from that one thought: “what is my concept of time?”

Can you share any personal experiences or influences that shaped the story?

It’s a funny story, really. I did a lot of research going into writing Cybernetics Within Us, because it’s my very first science fiction work. Before that, I dabbled in fantasy and romance, but fate twists meant that my debut book should be sci-fi—how did that happen?

I remember tearing through electronics engineering books, civil, math, astronomy—everything—to elevate my mind to the level I felt it needed to be for this character to truly come to life.

I said funny story, but it was pretty sad when it happened: I had a mental breakdown. The kind only geniuses who lock themselves up for weeks trying to explain the laws of the universe should have. I couldn’t function for days. I kept seeing stars and shapes randomly throughout the experience. Then I came out of it, and it inspired the biggest thing in the story.

I still don’t understand why I pushed this experience onto my character, but the story was more real and better for it. Jenny Nimmo, my favorite childhood author, read an early version and said the character engaged a lot of sympathies that way. I wasn’t going for that, but it was nice to know.

Cybernetics Within Us Book One Free Chapter

How did your background in journalism inform your approach to fiction writing?

I hadn’t started my work as a journalist at the time—I began writing Cybernetics Within Us when I was 19. I had so much free time to do the level of research I did. These days, I wouldn’t have had half the time to do a quarter of it.

Journalism has changed the way I write. For better or worse, I don’t know. People say they love my writing style in Cybernetics Within Us, and now I can’t write like that anymore.

Music by Nmesoma Okechukwu

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👤 Character Development

Sophia Kingston is a complex protagonist. How did you develop her character?

I wasn’t aiming for complexity—I just wanted her to be human. I based her on real-life girls. Two, maybe three if we’re counting me.

She has the appearance of a Nigerian albino I met in college. I thought she was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. Then there’s another girl from my secondary school years—the reason Sophia is both pretty and intelligent.

Her creation stemmed from an anger I felt at 13 or 14. I remember resuming school two weeks before exams and walking into a class where boys were obsessed with one girl. Many girls were jealous of her. Not me—I love to love people, like they’re characters in a story to be studied.

A teacher once said, “She got this score? Unbelievable. She doesn’t even look like her head could hold a pin.” That rage stayed with me. Sophia Kingston was created to break that stereotype.

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🔬 Science & Speculation

The book explores intricate scientific concepts. What kind of research did you do to ground the story?

I’m a science student with a hunger to know everything about the perceivable universe. It was more delightful than challenging. I live in my head most of the time, so creating unreal things is second nature.

Can you talk about the significance of the tablet discovered in Namibia?

Cybernetics Within Us started as a short story. Even when expanding it, no new locations were added. I’ve heard writers say they plan their endings from the start. To me, that sounded like hogwash—I love to be surprised.

I let my characters direct me. Since it was originally a short story, I had a blueprint. In the short version, it didn’t matter where the tablet was found. In the book… well, spoiler alert. Let’s just say it became central in ways I didn’t expect.

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🌍 Setting & Atmosphere

The story spans Namibia, London, and Silicon Valley. How did you choose these locations?

I originally wanted to set the bulk of the story in Nigeria, but I got scared. I like to stretch my imagination, and being stuck in a country I know too well wasn’t going to cut it.

So I went with “Nigeria, Nigeria, not Nigeria… Namibia.” Maybe my brain liked that both countries start and end with the same letters. If I’d researched properly, I might’ve picked a West African country whose climate I understand better. Oh well—I like to think I made Namibia work.

How do these diverse settings contribute to the emotional and thematic arc of the book?

I’d love to say the decision was profound, but really, it was lazy writing. I picked popular English-speaking countries and ran with it. It’s something I hope to rectify in Book 2.

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💥 Themes & Takeaways

Sophia’s internal struggles are a central theme. How did you approach writing her emotional journey?

I wanted to create someone strong—and then try to break her. What forces must come into play to break something already so strong?

Sophia coped with intense internal struggles. Reading the book now, I’m shocked by how strong she was. My younger self surprised me. Or maybe it was the character. I feel and respect her pain more now than I did when I created her.

What do you hope readers will take away from her experiences?

At the end of the day, Sophia believed that even if her journey ended, someone else would pick it up and go further. That’s the beauty of humanity—we’re not just individual lives that end in death. We’re an unbroken chain of ideas, innovation, and struggle. The past flows into the present, and the present feeds the future.

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If you’re ready to be seen, heard, and celebrated—this is your moment for an author spotlight.

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🎶 Creative Crossroads

You’re also a singer-songwriter. Do music and fiction ever intersect in your creative process?

I don’t think the musician in me and the author in me like each other. If I locked them in a room, wild things would happen—and not in a good way. I’m never both at the same time, try as I might.

The poet is chill and can work with either side. But the other two? Enemies.

On the whole, I’m mostly the author. But when the musician pokes out, people notice.

Does rhythm or lyricism influence how you write dialogue or structure scenes?

Music inspires my writing in ways I can’t explain. One evening, “Que Sera Sera” was playing while I wrote a scene, and the idea of unpredictable existence—whatever will be, will be—made its way into the story.

If the book had a theme song, it would be Alan Walker’s “Different World.”

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📝 Behind the Scenes

Can you share any interesting anecdotes or behind-the-scenes stories from the writing process?

I abandoned the book halfway through, like I do with most stories. Not because they don’t thrill me, but because I hit a wall I feel I can’t knock down. It becomes easier to start a new one.

A competition launched at the time drove me to finish it. After six months of abandonment, I completed it in a few weeks. Incredible how the mind works when it decides it wants to.

Were there any unexpected twists or turns during the creation of the book?

The biggest twist? That my first book is sci-fi. I don’t even read sci-fi. When people ask what other sci-fi books mine resembles, my brain melts. I throw out names like Sphere or Strangers, but I only read those after finishing my book.

I did read my dad’s old book Changeling Earth by Fred Saberhagen. And if there’s one book that inspired mine, it’s the nonfiction Cybernetics Within Us by Yelena Saparina. Brilliant stuff about how man and machine aren’t so different.

What was the most surprising thing you learned about yourself while writing Cybernetics Within Us?

Every time I work on a book, I discover how much I love to write. Especially when there are no rules or word limits. It’s like

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As we draw this conversation to a close, it’s clear that Cybernetics Within Us isn’t just a debut—it’s a portal. Nmesoma Okechukwu has invited us to interrogate our own notions of time, resilience, and the fragile circuitry of memory.

Through Sophia Kingston’s journey from heartbreak to cosmic revelation, we’re reminded that every personal struggle echoes across continents and centuries, tethering the intimate to the infinite.

Stay tuned for our next Authors & Allies feature, where we’ll journey into another writer’s world—this time exploring the verdant folklore of Appalachian myth, the craft of shadow puppetry, and a novel that bends reality in unexpected ways. Until then, may the chain of ideas that began in Nmesoma’s mind continue through yours—and onward into the undiscovered territories of your own imagination.