akotowaa

[akotowaa]

A-Live at 27!

[akotowaa]

2024 Gratitude!

[akotowaa]

Jetsetter September Pt. 4: Flights, Fails, and a Tub of Shea Butter

It was just my luck that the country of perfect order would break into familiar inefficiency the moment I stepped foot in it.

I spent September 2023 between the UK and Europe. The primary reason was to attend the 2023 Milford SF Conference in Wales, for which I was awarded a bursary. The cheapest flights I could find were a month apart, and so I tried to make the most of some time away from my stressors back in Accra. The Jetsetter September series is a record of my adventures abroad. Enjoy! In my last post, I talked…

[akotowaa]

Frankenstein Only Needed a Visual Artist

Akotowaa's takeaway: If Victor Frankenstein's monster wasn't so repulsive to look at, there would essentially be no plot. It's hilarious.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is definitely a cautionary tale—not necessarily against man daring to play God—but rather, against doing so without first consulting an artist. All the pop culture I’ve been exposed to failed to explain to me that the only reason for most of the horrific elements of this horror classic is that Victor Frankenstein’s monster was ugly. That’s it, really. That’s the whole…

[akotowaa]

Jetsetter September Pt. 3: Two and a Half Days in German Switzerland

Spider Kid takes Switzerland: a capsule hotel, a spa day, and a whole lot of walking. Jetsetter September, Pt. 3: Two and a Half Days in German-Speaking Switzerland 🇨🇭

[akotowaa]

Ways I Am Being Grown

How I am growing into a person who struggles less with discontentment, financial anxiety, and the assertion of my agency.

2024 feels like the year of me being dragged into new levels of maturity with all the grace of a screaming child, mid-tantrum. Interestingly enough, the theme at my church this year is Growth, frighteningly appropriate. I feel a special urgency to document some of the major ways I notice myself growing this year, knowing that this process, like most kinds of learning, is non-linear, and I will…

[akotowaa]

Jetsetter September Pt. 2: Black Girl in Dragon Country

[akotowaa]

Jetsetter September Pt. 1: The Ordinary Wonders of Colonizer Country

I spent September 2023 between the UK and Europe. The Jetsetter September series is a record of my adventures abroad. Enjoy Part 1: London!

[akotowaa]

The Year of Return cover reveal!

Hello friends, fans, colleagues and readers! I have exciting news. My debut novella, The Year of Return, officially has a release date and a cover! Shout-out to all the people who have pestered me with variations of “When is your book coming out?!” The new answer is: May 21, 2024. And it is now officially available for preorder! This past week, Locus Magazine did the official cover reveal, a…

[akotowaa]

Physical Causes, Psychological Effects

After years of assuming that it's always my mental health affecting my physical health, it's a bit revolutionary to consider that it could also be the other way around.

TL; DR: Making me investigate my physical health was one of the most important things my therapist could have ever done for me. Hello, reader! First, take a deep breath, and then take a moment to stream my new song, Heroes! 💜 If you’ve read one of my most recent posts, “End of the Last Three Years Review,” you won’t be surprised to know that the last quarter of 2023 was particularly difficult…

[akotowaa]

My Thoughts: Azúcar

TL;DR: Azúcar was a beautifully written, quick and engaging read, which left me very satisfied. 5 stars! I’ve formed a certain idea of how many modern Ghanaian storytellers write prose in English, especially in comparison to our Nigerian neighbors, and my conclusion is that Ghanaians are a lot more straightforward, choosing to tell you exactly what happened in the story without obscuring or even…

[akotowaa]

End of the Last Three Years Review

Quick, before you do anything else, go listen to my new single, Heroes (ft. KiKie & Tommy WÁ). It’s my first solo release in 7 years, and I’ve struggled for those 7 years to just make it exist as a finished product, and it would mean so much to me, I promise you. Are you back? Okay, let’s begin. I noticed sometime in the later months of 2023 that for several weeks, or maybe months, or maybe…

[akotowaa]

"Heroes," my new single, drops on 16th November

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The Affirming Results of Shooting My Shots

Ironically, this blog post is more like a newsletter than just about any of my actual newsletter posts thus far. Here’s what’s been going on in the SpiderKidverse lately. In the moments when the self-doubt and anxiety subside enough for me to hear the affirmation I am surrounded with, I am beyond grateful. I entered 2023 with a different kind of vim, after a meltdown I had in late 2022. Back…

[akotowaa]

Talent Alone No Be Enough - Gems from M3NSA

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Keeping Me Waiting

New blog post, in which I talk about the stresses and maybe slightly weird insecurities I have around waiting, especially waiting for people. 😬🕸️

Waiting is one of my least favorite (in)activities. I can get very stressed when I’m forced to wait longer than I’ve anticipated. Two reasons for this are that I operate in time blocks, and I wait with my whole body and mind. Mentally, as well as in my physical planner, I schedule my activities within chunks of time, which makes it almost impossible for me to intersperse activities. When I know…

[akotowaa]

ICYMI: 2022 final quarter updates

A slightly overdue blog post on updates that those who are interested in the SpiderKidVerse may have missed. 🕸️