Enter the lengendary world of Kenya

I read that you grew up in Kenya and moved back after some time in the US. Do you think experiencing different cultures impacts on your writing & the stories you want to tell? Absolutely! I think having a more global perspective helps me write characters that are relatable for a wider variety of children.

I imagine that Africa is incredibly rich in myth & story. How did you know where to even start & which myth or legend to choose for your story? There are so many legendary characters to choose from! I made a conscious decision to start with East African history, and then, picked those heroes that stood out to me. I’m a huge fan of fantasy, so the stories from the past with the most mystery and magic were easy faves.

The stories, so far, in the Intasimi Warriors series are set in Kenya, meaning some of the words in the story will be foreign to readers. How do you deal with this as an author without providing a glossary? I try to limit how many foreign words and situations there are in any given scene. While I want children to learn more about Kenyan culture, I don’t want them to feel frustrated or alienated either.

My interest was certainly piqued by the chapter headings! In book one the heading has one word crossed out & its replacement. In book two all the headings are X vs Y. How important is it to the stories? I think chapters titles are really important because they tell the reader what to expect…they set the stage. One thing I’m also actively doing in this series is making sure the chapter titles speak to the nature of the book, whether it’s the theme of of unmasking or revealing the true nature of things with Mwikali or opposing ideas and internal battles for Odwar.

In Book 1 Mwikali joins a new school, learns about her ancestry. Is it realistic for readers to imagine native Africans having legendary ancestry? Unfortunately, because of the fact that most African history is oral, we don’t have legendary ancestry that goes back more than one or two generations.

Does your family have any legendary ancestry? No. I couldn’t even tell you my great grandparents' names.

Is using legends, missed with fantasy in your story like creating a retelling? I weave in everything that we already know from our history books and then fill details with my imagination.

Magical objects are important in the story. Do you think having objects ~ of power or significance ~ is an important element in the story, in any story? I think it is — it makes the hero’s experiences and objective more concrete.

In the story the children learn about their history, myths and legends. Is this typical of education in Kenya? Unfortunately, most of the history we learn in school focuses on our colonisation by the British. Very little is taught in school about our native legends and ancestors. This is the main reason I wrote this series — to teach kids the cool part of our history that gets left out of textbooks.

In Book 2 Mwikali’s friend, Odwar, takes centre stage. Is it important for you to give your characters their own stories? Every character is going to have their own story because I believe it’s important to give every legendary character their own time being centre stage. Telling stories from different perspectives provides the opportunity for that to happen. Book 3 (which I’m writing at the moment) told from Soni’s point of view and Book 4 will be from Xirsi’s.

There are some powerful themes - dark magic, feeding on dark emotions… How do you balance this with making sure children feel safe? My editors have been really good at helping me do that! Having a third eye really comes in handy when we (as authors) get in too deep.

Can we have a sneaky insight into what is coming next? Soni’s book is next!

Would you consider writing a book of retellings of Kenyan myth and legend? It seems so fascinating. Absolutely! I don’t think I’ll ever tire of writing about our myths and legends. And we have so many to choose from!