Kwei Quartey's Blog, page 6

AFRICAN SAFARI–Part 1

My first African safari was when I was a kid. I went to one of the national wildlife parks in Kenya with my mother and brother. We saw a lot of warthogs and not much else. I can assure you, see one warthog, you’ve seen them all. West Africa does not have quite the reputation for its animal parks that East and Southern Africa do, but there’s one in northern Ghana that has a lot to offer, Mole National Park. Established in 1958, Mole is the largest wildlife refuge in Ghana. Before that, it had been a game reserve.

Mole NP is in the Northern Region, the largest region in Ghana

An introduction to the park should include the mostly government-run Mole Motel, which has been around for a while, and a relatively new, 1.5-year-old Zaina Lodge, which is a high-end hotel with sustainability and community support as bedrocks of its existence.

I don’t blog about a hotel unless it has a unique or distinctive character that makes it worth visiting in and of itself. Zaina satisfies that criterion.

Entrance to Zaina Lodge

Looking from inside toward the entrance

Polished, packed earth forms the materials from which the lodge’s walls are constructed. The design takes inspiration from the nearby Larabanga Mosque, Ghana’s oldest mosque dating from the seventeenth century according to some sources, although the local population date it to 1421 or so.

The entrance to the lodge struck me as rather “bare” due to the lack of one item: the name of the Lodge. My suggestion to management was/is to place a bold sign above or to one side of the entrance with Zaina’s distinctive logo:

 

 

 

 

This is a unique logo (copyrighted, I hope), and if lit up at night, it will provide a striking addition to the already spectacular nocturnal appearance of the Lodge.

Front entrance at night

Open and airy lobby patio

The lobby and dining area have an open design. During January through May, the dry season when temperatures can soar to 45C (113F), it can get a little warm on the patio. There’s a solution to that, though:

Daytime plunge

Or cool off at night

 

The view from the deck is panoramic and majestic:

Rich and green during the wet season

The waterhole in the foreground is where elephants come to frolic and cool down, especially in the dry season when the landscape transforms dramatically from green to mostly brown. Below is the view from the waterhole up toward the Lodge.

Looking up at the Lodge from the waterhole

Construction of the chalets follows the same pattern as the main building with vaulted thatch roofs.

Some of the several chalets on the property

Solar heating units produce the hot water in all the chalets–and the water is really hot.

Water-heating solar panels

Inside the chalets, the bedroom walls and ceilings are made of a strong fabric that creates an uber-tent motif.

Unique and well-appointed rooms

Zaina has assembled an extraordinary team of owners, managers, baristas, waiters, drivers and park rangers, all of whom appear to have a single purpose: providing comfort and individualized attention to their guests. It’s often difficult to maintain that level of enthusiasm and hospitality among every single employee, but Zaina has apparently managed to do that. Often at a lodging or hotel, something falls flat: the food might be good, but the room sucks. Or the room is okay but the staff is rude. None of that pertains to Zaina. I kept thinking, there’s got to be a hitch somewhere, but I never found one.

Standing with Prasanta “PK” Sarma, Operations Manager, next to Schiffer’s elephant

In the lobby is a statue of a baby elephant, which, as the sign beside it indicates, model Claudia Schiffer designed as part of “The Elephant Parade,” an Intu art project to raise both money and consciousness surrounding the plight of elephants. Although the project targeted the Asian elephant in particular, the species probably originated in Sub-Saharan Africa in any case.

Prepare for Zaina to wine and dine you into comatose bliss. The food is exceptional with impeccable presentation.

Breakfast At Zaina’s

In the tradition of some of the best international restaurants, there are no ugly printed menus. A choice–usually a local Ghanaian dish or a “foreign” one–is provided for lunch and dinner. Both begin with soup, move onto the main course and end with dessert. Ever heard of date mousse? It is to die for, and I’m a guy not that big on desserts. Breakfast is a gorgeous spread. The yogurt is freshly made on site and drizzled with locally sourced honey that is sweeter and more flavorful than any honey I’ve ever tasted. Tropical fruit in Ghana like papaya and pineapple have a richer taste than what’s commonly available in the US.

The splendid Zaina Lodge was one portion of a truly memorable experience in totality for me. The other segment was the safari explorations of the park, and I’ll talk about those in Part 2.

I’ll also be reviewing Zaina on TripAdvisor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

KALAHARI

The Ohio Library Council held their 2016 annual event at the Kalahari Resort at Sandusky in Ohio. Of course, the real Kalahari is a desert in southern Africa.



I had an author spotlight session at the Kalahari (the Ohio one) on Sept 28 titled International Mystery Writing: West African Intrigue.

Strong pachyderm theme at Kalahari

By the way, Ivory Coast (or more officially, Cote d’Ivoire) on Africa’s west coast, is nowhere near the Kalahari. Just saying.




A number of African masks and other works of art adorn the hallways on the way to the convention halls. Although one might assume it’s the usual resort kitsch, some of the pieces are authentic, for instance, a collection from Ghana shown with attribution. Unfortunately, most of the pieces are without attribution, so the origins are unknown. That’s something the Kalahari Resort might consider.







   





















All the following artwork is by Emmanuel and Gloria Yeboah of Ghana:

SUNSHINE NOIR

You all know about Nordic Noir, right? It’s a tradition of realistic crime fiction written in a cold, often gray, snowy setting. A group of writers including me has come up with Sunshine Noir, the principle being quality noir crime can take place in the hot countries as well. The brighter the sun, the darker the shadows. As Timothy Hallinan, acclaimed author of King Maybe, says, “Move over, mysteries set in Nordic places. The bright, warm, lush world is a greenhouse for evil.”

Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip (aka Michael Stanley) and Annamaria Alfieri are the editors (and contributors as well) of this collection of seventeen short stories, which range from the brutal, dry heat of the Sonoran Desert, to the Dominican Republic, to turmoil-torn Ethiopia. In addition to Stanley and Alfieri, the authors are Leye Adenle, Colin Cotterill, Susan Froetschel, Jason Goodwin, Paul Hardisty, Greg Herren, Tamar Myers, Barbara Nadel, Richie Narvaez, Jeffrey Siger, Nick Sweet, Timothy Williams, Robert Wilson, Ovidia Yu, and me.

Although we clear our throats and nudge our Nordic counterparts with good humor, there is a serious side of the issue of “cold and gray versus hot and bright,” and that is the perception in reading and publisher circles that Euro- and Nordocentric fiction is inherently superior. This cannot possibly be the case. There is much crime fiction for example out of Africa, but you almost wouldn’t know it. The website Murder Is Everywhere  is dedicated to the concept that crime fiction can spring from anywhere, and the wide variety of the authors named above with their rich and varied tales is testament.

So give Sunshine Noir a read and be pleasantly surprised. It’s available as an e-book and paperback. The short story format is perfect for air travel because one can finish a story during a short flight or several for longer hops. Be kind enough to leave a review of one, two or several stories–or even better, the whole book. Reviews and reactions are of great value.

DESTINATION MYSTERY

Laura Brennan interviewed me a couple of weeks ago for her podcast series, Destination Mystery. Laura features a new author regularly every week, exploring an extraordinary variety of mystery settings–from my Ghana gold to Tammy Kaehler’s world of motorsports and much more. The extraordinary perceptiveness she demonstrates in her conversations with authors could spring, at least in part, from her broad working background, which includes news and current affairs for PBS. Nevertheless, she is quick to emphasize that she comes to the table mostly as a fan.

Laura co-produced a web series, Faux Baby, about a couple so afraid of having children that they decide to practice first… on a doll. She has had short stories published (mystery and horror) and a horror film she wrote, “Most Likely to Die,” debuted in May 2016.

Big thank you to Laura for having me on her show. Here are all the links with which you can access our conversation.

Destination Mystery 

iTunes

Player FM

GHANA GOLD

Watch this video by Afua Hirsch, formerly of The Guardian, UK. It gives insight into the new Inspector Darko Dawson novel, GOLD OF THE FATHERS.

 

Also, check out my conversation with Ed Lin, my fellow mystery writer at Soho Press.

WINNERS OF THE RIDDLE CONTEST

The riddle contest proved very difficult and although we had several good guesses, only two people were able to come up with the correct answer. Here was the riddle:

Don’t feel befuddled                                                                                                                       

My name is muddled

I have a story

Of past glory

Rising to the rim

To win

 

Who am I? 

 

Here’s the solution:

My name is muddled = the name of the person is in the form of an anagram.

Story of past glory = a great era that has come to its conclusion.

Rising to the rim to win = victorious in basketball

As I mentioned, you have to read GOLD OF OUR FATHERS to figure out who this person is. The name of one of the characters in the novel is “Beko Tanbry.” Rearrange the letters and you get Kobe Bryant, the incredible, now-retired shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Fittingly, Beko Tanbry in the novel is also a retired basketball player.

(All my novels since Wife Of The Gods have a name anagram in them.)

The two lucky winners, Dave W. and Elizabeth B., will receive the world famous “GOOF”–Gold Of Our Fathers–coffee mug (coffee tastes much better in it, I promise) and delectable Divine chocolates, which are sourced from Ghana cocoa beans.

DIVINE CHOCOLATE

 

I’M A VRO MAN

Okay, that’s a bad pun just to draw attention to my book launch party at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, CA last Saturday, May 28. Watch the fun slideshow below capturing some of the party highlights–and there’s a bonus: You can win a signed (by me) poster of the jacket design of GOLD OF OUR FATHERS if you can identify a “blooper” slide that somehow doesn’t fit in with the others. If you’ve won something from me in the last 30 days, please give others a chance.

Send your answer to info@kweiquartey.com. First person to get the answer to me wins.

Good luck.

MEM DAY WEEKEND

If you’re in SoCal, do drop by at Vroman’s Bookstore for a Mem Day Weekend Party, raffle and book signing.  Food will be by the famous Camille and there’ll be music and wine and cheese and lots of goodies.

And here are the raffle prizes:

3rd Prize: A set of assorted-flavor Divine Chocolate made from cocoa beans from Ghana, the world’s second-largest producer after Cote d’Ivoire.

2nd Prize: A GOLD coffee mug and assorted Divine chocolates

1st Prize: A mask from the Ashanti Region of Ghana, where GOLD OF OUR FATHERS is set, and assorted chocolates

Come by! It’s going to be fun and a great way to start off your summer.

 

Great Bookstores, Wine & Cheese

On Saturday, May 14, I had a book signing and discussion at Marcus Books in Oakland. This venerable bookstore has been around for more than half a century.

Packed with books, the store also sells exceptional glass works

With Blanche Richardson

 

Blanche Richardson, daughter of the late Julian Richardson, who founded the store along with his wife Raye, runs the store with her daughter Cherysse. Blanche’s sister, Karen, runs the San Francisco outlet. Marcus Books (named after black activist Marcus Garvey) isn’t just a proudly family-owned business. Blanche points out that the stores have long acted as a community resource and have been very much a part of the civil rights movement.

With Blanche and a superb group of readers, I had a terrific discussion and signing, which was so absorbing I didn’t realize how late it was getting.

Speaking of great bookstores, I will be signing GOLD OF OUR FATHERS at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena on May 28, 2016. Vroman’s is not far from where I live, and it’s my de facto local bookstore. I don’t order books from Amazon. I always order/buy from Vroman’s.

This invitation personalized with Smilebox

I realize May 28 will be Memorial Day weekend, so if you had previous plans, cancel them immediately. That was a joke, but seriously–if you’re around and/or you have no other plans, come by to meet me while you enjoy wine and cheese and other delectable morsels from the wonderful Camille Renk.

Better than long lines at LAX

Why battle all those airport crowds and crazy drivers, anyway? And everyone, and I mean everyone, who buys a copy of GOLD at the party will receive the world-famous “GOOF” coffee mug as a gift.

THE WORLD-FAMOUS “GOOF” MUG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other signings coming up:

Tuesday, May 17, drop-in signing @ The Mysterious Bookshop, 58 Warren St., New York City. Come by and say hello!

Check out other signing dates here.

BRAND NEW CONTEST

Hello, readers!

For this contest, you need to read GOLD OF OUR FATHERS and carefully too. So, purchase, borrow or steal–okay, don’t steal–a copy and give it a read.

Publishers Weekly gave the novel a starred review: “Exceptional . . . A window into another culture.”

DIVINE CHOCOLATE

Second prize is a box of Divine Chocolates, a fair trade company that sources its cocoa from Ghana and awards cocoa farmers shares in the profits.

First prize is a box of Divine Chocolates PLUS the now world-famous GOLD OF OUR FATHERS coffee mug.

THE WORLD-FAMOUS “GOOF” MUG

 

 

 

 

 

In awarding the Divine Chocolates, I’m recognizing cocoa farmers whose livelihoods have been destroyed by illegal gold miners, the backdrop of the novel.

 

Akosua Boadu harvesting cocoa pods on her farm in village of Amankwaatia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now on to the contest:

Don’t feel befuddled                                                                                                                      

My name is muddled

I have a story

Of past glory

Rising to the rim

To win

 

Who am I? 

 

Email your answer to kweiquartey@gmail.com

Winning entries awarded by order of arrival in my inbox.