Emem Uko, whose first name means “peace” in Annang, a dialect of Akwa Ibom, Nigeria was born the first of five children to Prof. and Mrs. Etim Uko. Emem developed a love for story books and writing at an early age and blames it on her parents’ decision to buy her books instead of candy. She soon began writing her own stories and poems and in High School, a poem of hers was published in the school paper. From then on, her enthusiasm grew and she never shied away from writing although never thinking she would one day have a book published. During her master’s program, Emem began a blog, Z and S, as a hobby. She continues to blog and covers a wide range of topics from fashion to TV series and book reviews. Façade, her first book, became a real project after she realized that she had formed a complex story in her head which needed to be penned down.