Harmony Ekundayo

Ena-Alese
Aug 21
5 min read

Updated: Aug 22

Pre-Interview:

Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my voice and story on this platform!

HAEtheprophet is one of the earth's vessels that operates somewhere between the pews and poetry slams. I am a prophet, preacher turned author who believes healing belongs as much in the trap as in the temple. To be honest, I AM for the trap more than I AM for the temple! My art lives in spoken word, fine arts, published books and the literary works that are yet to come! Who I AM is no longer about the title but about the work and service.

Author Interview:

1.What inspires you most to write?

Life inspires me. The messy, unfiltered, raw parts that most people are too afraid to talk about. Writing is where I process grief, laughter, heartbreak, faith, and even failure. I don’t write to escape life, I write to confront it.

2. What is your favorite genre?

As a writer, Nonfiction. The kind that feels like somebody cracked open their soul and dared you to read it. I like work that punches you in the chest but hugs you at the same time. As an avid reader, Black Sci-fi is a beast!

3. Who is one author you admire if any and why?

E. Lynn Harris. He gave voice to stories that people tried to keep in the dark. He blended vulnerability with glamour, heartbreak with resilience, and he proved that our lives, messy, complex, unapologetically Black, are worthy of being centered. He opened doors for writers like me to walk through without shrinking. One bad ass writer!

4. How do you overcome blank writing spells?

I don’t force it. I live. If I can’t write, I go experience something worth writing about. A blank page usually means I haven’t been listening closely enough to life. I have enough material to release eight books. I have 48 years worth of lived experiences to pull from.

5. What legal publishing advice can you give?

Own your work. Protect your intellectual property like you would your child. Register copyrights, control your ISBNs, and never sign a contract without reading the fine print twice. Freedom in publishing comes from ownership. Only trust your own research. Vultures do a really good job disguised as lovers, partners, and business associates.

6. How many books have you written, are any a bestseller yet?

I’ve written several, and while I don’t always measure success in bestseller lists, my books have been bestsellers in healing circles, late-night phone calls, and quiet living rooms where someone said, “This book saved me.” That’s a bestseller in my eyes. Several books that I have performed ghostwriting services for are doing well.

7. If you had the opportunity to rewrite one movie script which would it be, why?

“The Color Purple.” Not because it wasn’t powerful, but because I’d love to center the silenced voices even more. The women in the shadows who carried stories nobody wanted to hear desire “voice”. Who wouldn’t want to know Shug Avery’s back story? I can assure you, with all of my imaginations, something in her life caused the grit in her voice beyond her ugly daddy!

8. What are some difficulties you've experienced in your writing career; how do you handle book critiques/criticism?

The hardest part is vulnerability. People don’t always know how to handle honesty. Critiques sting, but I treat them like mirrors: some are distorted, but some show me what I need to adjust. My Madea used to say “eat the meat and throw away the bones!”

9. What are your best experiences in your writing career?

Hearing from readers who say, “You wrote my story, even though we’ve never met.” That connection across distance, time, and struggle, that’s the holy grail of writing. My only surviving aunt telling me that she was proud of me even though she was scared to read my books because I have a tendency to act like my mother who transitioned in 2020. I will say whatever come out my mouth. I’ve almost died a few times so she may be on to something!

10. Do you prefer to write in silence and or have some sort sound in the background?

Depends on the mood. Sometimes silence feels like prayer. Other times I need music; something gritty, soulful, or messy that helps me bleed onto the page. Donnie Hathaway and Jill Scott are my pockets. I Know What You Want, But an Ass Is All You Need was the hardest book I ever had to write. I listened to a lot of music that is tuned to the love frequency as I wrote about the darkest times of my life.

11. What are some encouraging words you'd give to another author/writer?

Stop waiting for permission. Write the book that scares you. The story you’re afraid to tell is the one people need most. I have adopted the mantra that my pen is my pulpit. If I help one person, that is a jewel in my crown!

12. How did you decide the pricing of your material; how did you go about promotion/advertising and distribution of your work?

I priced my work with two things in mind: value and accessibility. Promotion for me is about storytelling. When my time here is up, I want my legacy to be that of a prophetic scribe and great oracle. I don’t sell books, I share pieces of my journey. Distribution is strategy, but marketing is intimacy.

13. Why should anyone read your book?

Because I’m not giving you a fairy tale. I’m giving you survival notes. My books are mirrors, medicine, and sometimes a machete which cuts through the nonsense and makes space for healing. However, my drive is beyond healing. Some of us are perpetually healing. My assignment is to get us to the other side of healing called healed.

14. Did you have a book coach?

Although I am degreed and ordained, no coach. Life was my coach. Trauma, joy, heartbreak, and faith trained me better than any program could.

15. What was your favorite subject in school?

English, of course. Not because I loved rules, but because I loved breaking them. Three teachers that changed the trajectory of my life: Mrs. Ford (Jack Hayes Elementary) who determined I needed glasses, Mrs. Boatwright (Ouachita Parish Jr. High) who noticed something was wrong and reported it to CPS, and Ms. Chandra (Ouachita Parish High School) who introduced me to the art and finesse of language.

16. Are you self-published or have an established publishing contract elsewhere?

MOORE2U Enterprise and S. Moore Styling & Co. Self-published through my own companies. I believe in controlling my voice, my story, and my brand. Every word that hits the page belongs to me first.