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Author Archives: kweiquartey
DYING FOR A SWIM
THE BACKGROUND TO THE E-NOVELLA, DEATH AT THE VOYAGER HOTEL The Voyager Hotel in Accra is located in the busy central Tudu district. It’s a hub of trade and business, and also where hundreds of homeless adults and children sleep along the sidewalks … Continue reading
DEATH AT THE VOYAGER HOTEL – THE E-NOVELLA
Death at the Voyager Hotel, my new e-novella, is scheduled to hit online bookstores in July 2013. It will be available on several devices including your computer, cell phone, and e-reader, e.g. the Kindle and Nook. In Ghana‘s cosmopolitan capital of Accra, the Voyager Hotel is … Continue reading
BEN AFFLECK, THE CONGO, YOU, AND YOUR iPHONE
What do you…. your beloved smartphone…. Ben Affleck, and…. the Democratic Republic of the Congo have to do with each other? Maybe you used your iPhone to look up Argo, the Oscar-winning film directed by and starring Ben Affleck… … Continue reading
QUARTEY GOES TO SOHO
DEALS Publishers Marketplace – February 21, 2013 – Kwei Quartey’s MURDER AT CAPE THREE POINTS, a detective Darko mystery to Juliet Grames at Soho Press in a two book deal by agent Marly Rusoff at Marly Rusoff & Associates (world … Continue reading
WILL THE NEXT POPE BE AFRICAN?
The startling resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is the first since 1415, when Pope Gregory XII stepped down to help resolve a schism in the Catholic Church. Well, the papacy must go on, so the question is, who’s next? Who will fill the vacancy? Several candidates are … Continue reading
FROM HERE TO TIMBUKTU…AND BEYOND
Expressions like “from here to Timbuktu” or “in the middle of Timbuktu” call to mind a long journey to a mythical or remote place. In fact, Timbuktu is a real city with an ancient history. As early as the eleventh … Continue reading
WHY AFRICA IS TURNING TO CHINA
China and Africa are now trading with each other to the tune of billions of dollars. Read about it in the Huffington Post or FPIF.
Tags Africa, China, FPIF, Huffington Post, trade
THE CULTURAL TIGHTROPE
It can be tricky to set a story in a foreign country. The author has to reasonably represent the customs of the place without losing his or her readers. In the Darko Dawson detective series, I have to make decisions … Continue reading
PEOPLE, MACHINES, AND AN ELECTION
What country has had an end-of-year election and has been concerned about election fraud? The U.S., you say, which is the correct answer, but not the only one. Read all about it here.
Tags ELECTION FRAUD, Ghana
LESSONS OF HURRICANE SANDY
Here’s a slightly different take on Sandy, as appeared in my latest post at FPIF.org
AIDS IN AFRICA – correction & congratulations
A sharp-eyed reader pointed out an error in my latest column post. The current number of HIV infected in South Africa is over 5 million, not over 23 million as I had indicated. Small wonder the reader caught it … Continue reading
AIDS IN AFRICA AND BLACK AMERICA
If Washington, D.C. were a country, it would have the 16th worst AIDS epidemic in the world. HIV infection in the nation’s capital stands at 3 percent, higher than many African countries. As the HIV/AIDS infection rate has fallen in … Continue reading
Tags Africa, AIDS, HIV, WASHINGTON D.C.
Update: Murder at Cape Three Points
I completed a second revision of Murder at Cape Three Points on Monday July 23. It came in at 387 pages (about 90,000 words), trimmed down from 460 pages. Included on the cutting room floor were two action scenes that just didn’t … Continue reading
WEST AFRICA’S ROLE IN WWII
There is a not widely known twist in the story of the Second World War. When the Mediterranean became blocked off by Germany and Italy, Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill chose a route from Takoradi in the Gold Coast, now … Continue reading
NOVEL ADVENTURERS
This week I did a guest post called “Murder in Paradise” at Novel Adventurers, a website in which seven writers blog about their zeal for culture, travel and storytelling. Supriya Savkoor, one of the seven, is a mystery writer and author of Breathing in … Continue reading
LESS THAN ONE PERCENT
I did an article for the Huffington Post about other aspects of Ghana’s oil industry that I found out on my March 2012 visit to the country. Much of the information in that article is not included in my blogs … Continue reading
Tags Ghana, Huffington Post, oil industry
TAKORADI – THE OIL CITY / Part 2
Part 1 looked at Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana’s Western Region and how the oil industry is transforming the twin city as new hotels spring up. But that’s not the only sector of real estate that is changing. There is also an explosion in … Continue reading
TAKORADI – THE OIL CITY / Part 1
Substantial oil deposits were discovered off the Western Region (WR) coast of Ghana in 2007 and production began in 2010. As a result, Takoradi, the capital of the WR and setting for my next Darko Dawson novel Murder at Cape … Continue reading
AFTER THE FACT: GHANA
There are more photos like this here. Some of you may have already seen them in a previous email I sent, but they may be well worth looking at again. About 6 km east of Cape Three Points is Ezile … Continue reading
Upcoming visit to GH
I will be blogging from Ghana March 4 to March 27, during which time I will be visiting the cities of Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi. I will blog as often as time and Internet access allow. The purpose of the visit … Continue reading
OCCUPY NIGERIA
Occupy Wall Street spawned scores of other occupy movements. One that you might not have heard of is Occupy Nigeria, which came to life at the beginning of 2012. Nigeria is a major oil exporter to the US. Read about it … Continue reading
THE GIRL WHOSE MOVIE HASN’T DONE SO WELL (SO FAR)
A friend of mine told me she had read all the books in the massively successful international hit Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy and that she had read some good reviews on the new movie, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, based … Continue reading
WW1 AND THE SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENT CREATURES
Spoiler alert: this contains a review of the movie “War Horse” and has some references to the story line. War is a senseless exercise usually started and maintained by men, some of them crazy, megalomaniacal idiots. In war, women and … Continue reading
Human Rights in Africa
Many African countries have signed the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, but as Hillary Clinton has said, “one group whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today.” In sub-Saharan Africa, there is something of … Continue reading
Tags Africa, Hillary Clinton, human rights
Huffington Post posts article on cocoa and chocolate
Founded in 2005 by Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer, the Huffington Post receives a large amount of traffic: 15.6 million views per weekday, according to Quantcast. It publishes about 100 original pieces every day in its politics section alone and is considered one … Continue reading
FPIF (not to be confused with TGIF)
I’m honored to have been invited to be a regular columnist for the online publication Foreign Policy in Focus (FPIF), which is a think tank for those who believe a more humane foreign policy is both possible and necessary. My first two articles on FPIF, … Continue reading
THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Many thanks to all for the terrific response to my blog Title for Book 3 in search of a new title for the 3rd Darko Dawson mystery. Apart from nominating the choices offered on the blog, some of you suggested your own … Continue reading
THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Many thanks to all for the terrific response to my blog Title for Book 3 in search of a new title for the 3rd Darko Dawson mystery. Apart from nominating the choices offered on the blog, some of you suggested your … Continue reading
Ghana Scores Another Top
After being cited by Economy Watch as the fastest growing GDP country in the world in the first half of 2011, Ghana made it onto another list, coming in at number 6 on Frommer’s Top Destinations 2012.
TITLE FOR BOOK 3
I’ve been thinking of a new working title for the 3rd Darko Dawson novel. This is all preliminary, of course. Working titles often end up being changed by the publisher, but I need a new way to refer to the … Continue reading
Tags Cape Three Points, Ghana, oil, Tullow Oil
E-BOOKS AND THE BLUDGEONING OF PUBLISHING
It’s been just over a year since I wrote about electronic books and the perils of publishing. Since then, developments have been hurtling us even faster into a future that’s already here. It’s affecting the entire book world and its components: … Continue reading
Tags Amazon, Borders, Darko Dawson mystery, e-books, Ghana, Kindle, Kobo, Nook, publishing, Random House
Oil in Ghana
A commentary by Kwei Quartey on Foreign Policy in Focus called Dismantling Elmina Castle.
Technology in Ghana: blessing or curse?
An interview I did on mongabay.com has spun off a number of other articles, the latest being E-week Europe’s Technology in Ghana: A Blessing Or a Curse? by Sophie Curtis. In a nutshell, Ghana is forging forward with the goal … Continue reading
Tags eweekeurope, Mongabay.com, Sophie Curtis, WEEE
Education Nation
During the week of September 25, 2011, NBC News held an Education Nation Summit. Along with Tavis Smiley’s TV program “Too Important to Fail”, it got my brainwheels turning and I wrote my own piece with some personal reflections.
WEST HOLLYWOOD BOOK FAIR
This weekend, the West Hollywood Book Fair will be held on Sunday October 2. If you’re in LA this weekend, please plan to come and spend a couple hours at the fair. I’ll be on a panel at 1130 AM … Continue reading
West Hollywood Book Fair
The 10th annual West Hollywood Book Fair is coming up Sunday October 2nd, 2011. This is one of the largest and most lively book fairs I’ve attended over the years. This year, I’ll be on a panel discussion called … Continue reading
Hardware Scavengers
Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at The Atlantic and author of Powering the Dream has written an article called The Hardware Scavengers of Ghana about the dangerous world of TV and computer recycling in Accra’s Agbogbloshie slum. It features some of … Continue reading
Electronic waste in Ghana: a mountainous problem
Ever wonder where your electronic waste (e-waste) – computers, TVs, and the like – ends up? When we go to those hazardous materials depots in different cities, most of us imagine that all this stuff goes to a special “hazmat” … Continue reading
Fighting corrupt government
Did you know there was a Voice of Russia (VOR) like Voice of America (VOA)? Neither did I until I found myself doing an interview with them that they called Children of the Street: Fighting corrupt government.
Tags Voice of Russia
Africa’s crime writers are coming to the fore
Cary Darling, McClatchy Newspapers, has written an interesting article about Africa’s crime writers:
Diaspora Authors Shed Light on Africa
Nico Colombant writes about two authors in the African diaspora.
Watch, listen
Radio interview with KPFA’s Walter Turner, Africa Today (the discussion is preceded by a couple of announcements – bear with it or push the time marker forward a little to 02:25). TV interview with Connie Martinson, Connie Martinson Talks Books. You’ll … Continue reading
The Pasadena Book Club & Writing
I spent some time with the Pasadena Book Club on Sunday Aug 14. Jackie, one of the members had been at my Vroman’s book signing and the group were kind enough to invite me to their book club meeting. It’s … Continue reading
On the Hill & Dale show
Great interview on Wednesday August 3rd with Lucie Hill and Sharon Dale of LA Talk Radio. Scroll down the Hill & Dale page to catch me on their program, as well as all the other shows they’ve done. Sharon and Lucie often … Continue reading
A perceptive book review
In a review of CHILDREN OF THE STREET on her blog Murder by Type, Beth Crowley demonstrates a deep understanding of the worldwide social problem of homeless children.
E-buying options
I encourage readers who like paper to keep on buying the traditional book, but this being 2011, many have indicated that they would prefer to have the e-version of CHILDREN OF THE STREET (COTS). If so, there are so many options. … Continue reading
Tags Amazon, Android, iBookstore, iPad, Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader
Eso Won Books – discussion and signing
Wonderful crowd at Eso Won on a balmy evening of July 19 2011. We had a great discussion on Ghana, the world, and Darko Dawson, a lively Q & A and some good laughs. A small world when a childhood … Continue reading
The weekend, book-signing, & sundry
Spent a very quiet weekend at home working on the third novel MEN OF THE RIG – quiet mostly because I was nursing a nasty cough I’ve had for the past few days. Yes, I know – physician heal thyself. … Continue reading
VROMAN’S BOOK SIGNING
Good times at Vroman’s Bookstore Pasadena last night July 14, 2011, where I talked about Ghana, writing and CHILDREN OF THE STREET, and then, the best part, signed copies for the audience members. Many thanks to my delightful host Connie … Continue reading
A blog about a blog
For a second time, I’ve been honored with an invitation from Michael Sears, one half of the writing pair Michael Stanley, to do a guest blog on the internationally renowned Murder is Everywhere website. Many thanks to Michael for the … Continue reading
Discussion and Signing
You are cordially invited to my discussion and signing of CHILDREN OF THE STREET at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena this evening at 7pm. The location is 695 E. Colorado Blvd Pasadena, CA 91101, and you can get directions here. There’ll be a surprise … Continue reading
COTS RELEASE DAY!
Today, July 12, 2011, CHILDREN OF THE STREET, an Inspector Darko Dawson mystery, officially goes on sale. A few lucky prize winners from contests held last year received a signed copy from me before today, but for the rest of us, this … Continue reading
COTS EVENTS SCHEDULE UPDATE
CHILDREN OF THE STREET/An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery Events schedule 1)Release date: Tuesday July 12, 2011. Available from brick-and-mortar bookstores, or on Amazon.com, Google e-books, Kindle, iPad, or Nook. Pre-order to have the novel delivered on release date. 2) Vroman’s … Continue reading
Broad Horizons and an Open Future
Like elsewhere in the world, Ghana’s Generation X, Y, and Z will steer their country over the next 40-60 years as baby boomers retire and fade away. There have been some recent astounding Ghanaian GDP growth rates quoted, and I’m not the only … Continue reading
The Mysterious Affair at Planter’s
One of the effects of the oil boom is that more people need more places to stay. Hotels in Takoradi are popping up like mushrooms in a moist rainforest undergrowth. Preexistent accommodations are either refurbishing, rebuilding or adding on. Unconfirmed, … Continue reading
The Second Coming
Around 1471, Portuguese explorers arriving at the West African coast found so much gold between the Ankobra and Volta Rivers, they called the area La Mina, The Mine. La Mina was later corrupted to the grammatically impossible “Elmina”, as in … Continue reading
Tags Anadarko, Baker Hughes, British, Chevron, Cirrus Oil, Dutch, Elmina, Eni, gold, Gold Coast, Hess, Jubilee Field, Kosmos, LUKoil, Maersk, oil exploration, Portuguese, Second Coming, Tullow, Vanco
Welcome to “Taadi”
(This blog was amended on June 16, 2011 to reflect a correction regarding “New Takoradi.”) Takoradi, otherwise fondly known as Taadi (Tah-DEE), forms one half of the twin city Sekondi-Takoradi. On the coast 137 road miles east of Accra, it’s … Continue reading
Trafficking in Accra
Yesterday, I passed through a large section of Accra called Nima, an area known for its Moslem migrants, particularly from northern Ghana. The religious imprint in Nima is obvious from dress styles, mosques, calls to prayer and so on. That’s … Continue reading
Tags Accra, CHILDREN OF THE STREET, drugs, Nima, traffic
Accra Academy: a love story
I was 13 when I first stepped on the campus of my secondary school, Accra Academy. It was love at first sight of the low-slung classroom blocks roofed with orange tiles. It’s always awkward to change schools, but I was immediately … Continue reading
A CRIME TOUR OF ACCRA
In CHILDREN OF THE STREET, murder leads Inspector Darko Dawson to many different settings in Ghana’s capital, Accra. The geography is as correct as I could get it and the names of all the streets in the novel are real. … Continue reading
The Consumption Paradox
Car rentals here in Accra come with or without a driver. Somewhere in the course of making a choice of vehicle, I turned down a flashy, powerful Land Cruiser in favor of a Toyota Corolla and a pair of eyebrows … Continue reading
Ghana – Day 1
Got into Accra around 8 in the morning Tuesday May 25, it wasn’t as hot as I’d expected even that early in the morning. My accommodations contact Alfred met me at the airport as promised and we went to Polo … Continue reading
GOG-Day 2 and Author Awards Banquet
Before I say anything else: But I’m jumping ahead of myself. Saturday May 21 morning began with breakfast – big meetings like this always make one hungry for some reason and anyway sistas are not going to meet and talk … Continue reading
GOG-DAY 1
That Go On Girl! Book Club has flourished over the preceding 20 years and continues to bloom brings joy to a writer’s heart. It is a huge group of avid readers with over 30 chapters in 13 states and it … Continue reading
And…he’s off!
Several hours before my flight tonight to Washington DC, I seem miraculously to be all packed. This is the beast: Why does it remind me of the Leaning Tower of Pisa? It was a fight to the death getting everything … Continue reading
Scene of the Crime, with Cathy Cole
Read Cathy’s interview with me on her terrific blog.
Tags Cathy Cole
Literature, Medicine and Mystery: The Doctor-Writer Connection
What do famous authors Anton Chekhov, Michael Crichton, Robin Cook, Khaled Hosseini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have in common? Answer: all had another profession apart from their writing: the practice of medicine. As some of my readers know, I have … Continue reading
Reviews of COTS
This list will be updated as needed: Michael Connelly “Kwei Quartey does what all the best storytellers do. He takes you to a world you have never seen and makes it as real to you as your own backyard. In … Continue reading
LAT Bookfest – 2
I was at the Book Festival from 10AM to about 12:30PM and it was a perfect day for it. I signed a few copies of WOTG at the Sisters-in-Crime (SinC) booth. I got the feeling there weren’t as many people … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK FESTIVAL
The LA Times Festival of Books is held every year generally in April. This year it hits today and tomorrow, April 30 and May 1. The change is that it will now be on the USC campus, not UCLA as … Continue reading
Oops
Apologies for the wonky link on my email for the previous post, Yay! There was a small error in the email template that automatically sends out the blog as soon as it has been posted. My brilliant webmaster Ricky Foyle … Continue reading
Tags Ricky Foyle, Yay!
Yay!
Finally! Today I completed the synopsis for my third novel MEN OF THE RIG, and emailed it to my agent Marly Rusoff for her feedback. Now it’s on to the research phase when I go to Ghana for 6 weeks, May … Continue reading
Mr. Quartey goes to Washington
Not trying to aspire to the similarly named film classic (which I’ve never seen in total BTW), I will be off to Washington DC May 20th, 2011. The G.O.G. National Book Club has honored me with their award for Best … Continue reading
CHILDREN OF THE STREET: The story behind the book
My agent Marly Rusoff has a tradition of her authors writing the background to their upcoming novels. Go to her site to read CHILDREN OF THE STREET: The story behind the book.
Quick Book Review
From time to time I’ll post a book review: The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was an enjoyable read, with a lot of action. No wonder this is a popular series on … Continue reading
Bankrupt Borders
Here’s an interesting, informative article by author Karen Dionne about the ripple effect of Borders Books’ bankruptcy and how it can especially affect mid-list authors.
Truth in fiction
Have you ever closed the covers of a novel after reading the final paragraph and wondered how much of it could be true, or have you come away from a movie wondering if the events could have really taken place? … Continue reading
A Mystery Bookstore Murdered: Your feedback
In response to my post, here are your responses and observations so far (1) This is a thoughtful post. Mystery Bookstores are indeed struggling, as are all bookstores, but I think the thing you pointed out that had the most … Continue reading
The MLK-Ghana-Egypt Connection
Some of you might have noticed that on the occasion of the historic resignation today of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, President Obama made a curious reference to Martin Luther King hailing Ghana’s independence from Britain on March 6, 1957. Quite … Continue reading
A Mystery Bookstore Murdered: Who done it?
On Jan 31, 2011, The Mystery Bookstore closed its doors after 23 years with a final goodbye to its faithful customers and readers alike. The huge soiree was hosted by Linda Brown, Bobby McCue and other staff in what must … Continue reading
Website revamp
Coming up in the next several weeks, there’ll be a revamp of the website kweiquartey.com. It will be streamlined, simpler and more logical to navigate, and will feature easily accessible sections devoted to the separate Darko Dawson mysteries, Wife of … Continue reading
Welcome to the Oil Club, Ghana
In the third Darko Dawson novel, working title MEN OF THE RIG, we get introduced to Ghana’s brave new world of petroleum. On December 15, 2010, the country officially began pumping light sweet crude from an area in the
Advance Praise for COTS
Every once in a while something takes place that makes you really very happy. I won’t argue the definition of “happiness,” but I’m talking about that feeling that makes your heart seem to jump with a thrill and a skip … Continue reading
Jacket design of CHILDREN OF THE STREET released
The jacket for CHILDREN OF THE STREET is now visible on Amazon.com and on Random House website.
NEW PHOTOS
I dread hearing this at my book-signings: “You don’t look anything like your pictures.” My last photos were in 2009, so here from December 4, 2010 is an updated set. I’ll eventually get them posted in the gallery section.
MY FAVORITE PLACES (PART 2), AND E-READERS
In Part 1, I talked about Book’em Mysteries, Eso Won and The Mystery Bookstore. Another bookstore that’s close to home in Pasadena is the venerable Vroman’s Bookstore. It’s Southern California’s oldest and largest indie bookstore, attached to which is the … Continue reading
My favorite places – Part 1
More correctly, my favorite indie bookstores in the Los Angeles area. I’ll start with one closest to my home, Book’em Mysteries, in South Pasadena. A fixture of S. Pasadena for some 20 years, they are what their name says: specifically … Continue reading
The Amazing Race, Bangladesh and Darko Dawson
This weekend, the remaining teams on The Amazing Race went to Dhaka, Bangladesh. This wouldn’t otherwise be commented on in this blog except for the fact that compared to Dhaka, Accra (Ghana) looked like Shangri-La. There are obviously degrees of … Continue reading
Tags Accra, Bangladesh, Darko Dawson, Dhaka, Ghana
QUARTEY CROWNED IN LITERARY DEATH MATCH (LDM) #35
Up early on Friday Nov 12 to head up to San Francisco for Literary Death Match. The day didn’t start off very promisingly when Virgin America announced that the flight would be delayed for an unspecified time, which is never … Continue reading
Literary Death Match
In the left corner we have the Menacing Masked Clevenger. In the right corner is the Deadly Dark Prince of West African Mystery, Kwei Quartey. They are up against each other in a fight to the finish, the Literary Death … Continue reading