As a young man, Nigel Lewis was advised by both teachers and mentors that his grasp of language arts and creative writing was a gift that he should pursue as a career. Over the years, as an avid fan of all genres of film and literature, he developed an interest in how some of his favorite movies and books were written and produced, leading to his participation in several independent film shoots as a crew member, and expanding into minor acting roles. By 2006, his first script, a horror entitled “Blackâ€, was written and he was in talks with an Atlanta-based production company to pursue its sale, when he rededicated his life to Christ. The script was abandoned and all writing stopped.
Amid a dulling case of writer’s block, Nigel awoke in the middle of the night in the summer of 2010 with the memory of a vivid dream. He states “God gave me an entire story-line from start to finish for my next script, told me I would write it for Him, and then assigned me to tithe it to my church! It was the most beautiful but frustrating thing I’ve ever had to happen to me.†Nigel completed the script (titled “REVâ€) and the assignment in 2012, and immediately received four other story-lines which he began to research and develop. In between writing projects, he has spent time serving as a youth ministry leader and served as an armor bearer for the teacher, motivational speaker and nationally syndicated radio personality Willie Moore Jr. In 2017, he worked as a ghostwriter on Moore’s first book, “Happily After All, Relationships 101†which became an Amazon bestseller. Then in 2018, he began to draft his own first novel, “BAE, Southchester Part One†as the introduction to a faith-based series of thrillers and dramas. The book was published in 2019 and also developed into an audiobook and screenplay for film production. As the Creative Director of Illustrious Media, LLC and head writer of the “ILLFAM†he is dedicated to developing several books, film, and television projects for interfaith audiences worldwide. Learn more about the HolyGhostWriter below.
Fancy: How would you describe your swagger? What makes Nigel, Nigel?
Nigel: My swag is my family. My foundation. I grew up with love and discipline from every side, so whether it was the ones living in the projects in the city, way out in the country, or in the five-bedroom home in the suburbs, I carry that pedigree with me, even on the other level which are the street families and church families that I was adopted into. I have to be able to answer to all those people on any given day, so I carry myself according to that always.
Fancy: What type of pieces or topics did you write on when younger? Did you journal?
Nigel: I tried a little bit of everything. Poetry, raps, journals… I wrote a three-act play and performed it in elementary school. I was just learning to express myself.
Fancy: Can you clarify what you meant by you were instructed to tithe your book to the church? What became of it?
Nigel: The first time I wrote a script that had any type of faith-based message, it came in the middle of the night. I woke up from sleeping with the entire story mapped out from beginning to end. That just doesn’t happen. So, I knew it was God-given. Six months later I was done writing and the same thing happened, but this time it was just an instruction. “It’s not for you…Give it to the church.†I made an appointment with my pastor the next day, and when the time came I tithed the script. Assignment done and on to the next. I don’t think they used it though.
Fancy: I’m curious to know if you later understood the purpose for doing so, and if so, what was that purpose?
Nigel: I did get purpose from that experience. It doesn’t even matter if they ever use it or not, because it taught me to be attached to the process, not the product that I end up with. Ultimately, I’m not the source of my talent or success, I’m just the middleman that supplies it to people. As long as the source is there providing inspiration and motivation, I’ll never get writer’s block and I’ll never run out of stories, so I don’t frustrate myself about one writing project. I think it keeps me humble.
Fancy: What’s the best advice you’ve received and heeded pertaining to manhood?
Nigel: Accountability. Having other men to hold you to a standard is important. You need to have that small circle of brothers that will call you on your mess, tell you the truth about you when you can’t see it, and vice versa. Hanging out for fun has its place, but in the end, I need to know I’m connected to men of vision and purpose.
Fancy: How was it working with Willie Moore Jr.?
Nigel: Writing for Willie was cool. It didn’t feel like work, because Willie is one of those dudes I was just talking about. The guy you hear on the radio and see on television? That’s really him. I actually served under him in youth ministry years ago, so I had an opportunity to learn his voice. He knew what he and his wife wanted to do with his book and the opportunity it would provide to help couples improve their relationships and families. He trusted me to help execute that plan, and it turned out great.
Fancy: You released your first solo project “BAE, Southchester Part One†in May. Can you share a little about it and what inspired the plot?
Nigel: A lot of times I think we forget what it was like to be a young man and trying to figure things out. When you’re in your late teens and twenties older adults act like they never made mistakes or bad decisions when they were that age. BAE is rooted in that. Here you have these two people, Profit and Marcel, both raised without their fathers. They meet in high school and have a baby, which changes their lives in good and bad ways. Then as they get into their twenties, they’re trying to do what’s right, but bad decisions and other people get in the way. It’s a mix of suspense and drama, but the story is really about how hard men have to go to build successful families.
Fancy: Does the name Southchester hold any significance? It stood out to me, but I didn’t see it as a neighborhood or anything online.
Nigel: The name is a mix of Southern and Winchester. I’m originally from New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester factory and Southern Connecticut State University sit right in the middle of where I grew up. It’s my way of shouting out the hometown, and I’m creating an entire series based in the town.
Fancy: Who or what is it that keeps you motivated and on track?
Nigel: I think of each story like a seed I’m planting. It may be years before anything grows out of it, but as long as I keep dropping seeds I’m doing my job. Right now, I have nine stories for books and about a dozen television and film scripts that all came the same way that the first one did. That’s a lot of seeds to plant. I’m always writing, always on to the next thing.
Fancy: Do you have any other upcoming events or projects that you care to share?
Nigel: I’ve started the second book in the “Southchester†series of course, and the audiobook for “BAE†is on the schedule for this summer. The book was actually written as a feature film screenplay first, so I’m working to produce that in 2020. In the meantime, I have plans to launch a program for inmates to receive my books and submit their own for publication when my readers purchase special packages that we’ll be offering online and via social media. I’ll always create characters and outlets that reflect the incarcerated because there are so many men and women behind bars with enormous potential and creativity. I want to encourage them to read my stories and hopefully tell their own…to plant their own seeds.
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