One day in Lagos, holed up in Isolo without Internet, temporarily without electricity, and without anything to read, I started to write what became the first of a mystery series, Green Snake in Green Grass. I like writing in first person, but decided here to alternate the voices of my two sleuths, a 28-year-old would-be Benin chief and his 14s-year-old sister. Reluctantly drawn into solving a murder by the hero’s distant relation, one of the ruler’s wives, they discover a mutual respect while chasing down clues and navigating complex households. The fictional investigators live in tense times, against the real background of Oba Ozolua’s sons vying for the future throne. As one of the sons, the future Oba Esigie, is the subject of my upcoming academic book, my sympathies are clear!

I was able to draw from my art historical and historical research, as well as my lengthy stays in a chiefly household in Benin City and my access to his book-loving niece, Margaret Michaels, who continues to relay questions home regarding which names are solely male, or what are some individual family’s mourning habits. The late Chief Obasogie of Benin Kingdom gave my lead character, Ohio (should have diacritic dots under both “o’s”) his nickname, saying it suited a prideful character.

While a powerful chief is murdered in the first novel, I’m currently working on The Chalk White Belly, which reunites the half-siblings to decipher the death of the Ekpate, a titled woman whose witchly skills have been suborned for the monarch’s benefit. It’s well underway, and includes new characters as well as revisiting some from the earlier book. Ohio is still walking a tightrope on his route to a title, and his half-sister Orhue is drawing closer to marriage.

I have plans for many more novels in this series, as the conflict between the royal princes develops. Whom will Orhue marry—or how many times will she marry? Will Ohio’s alliances cost him his chieftaincy? Will Orhue’s favorite sister-in-law ever receive the esteem she deserves? For these personal stories continue and impact the detecting process.