In our second novel – A Deadly Trade - we have a character called Moremi, who is the cook at a tourist camp on the Linyanti River in northern Botswana. I’ve chosen him because of the initial idea and subsequent development. We have friends in Johannesburg who have a cleaning lady. As she cleans, she listens to the radio, and chats to the personalities on the program and comments to herself. She lives in her own world, intersecting with the ambient world when she feels like it. That she enjoys her own company is clear; that she is intrinsically lonely is an obvious deduction.
Moremi was based on that. But no radio for him. He has found and nurtured a baby bird of the “Go-away bird” variety (a large grey, crested African species) and the bird is his foil. The bird is named “Kweh” after the alarm call (which is anthropomorphised to “go-away”). But more than that – and perhaps like our friends’ cleaner – he is self-sufficient. He doesn’t seek out human company; he has Kweh. He chats to him, asks him questions, pretends to understand the answers. He’s happy. This seems an interesting way to look at the culture and background that brought him to that point. To my recollection, he’s the only minor character we’ve been asked by readers to bring back in later books (which we haven’t done as yet).
What kind(s) of character do you consider this character primarily to be, or how would you describe this character?
Moremi is a loner, satisfied with his own company and that of his bird. Yet, despite that, he is a busybody. Such people often are.
What is a character from a published fiction story by another author you would compare this character to and why are they similar?
I’m sure there are a lot, but the one that comes to mind is Tom Bombadil in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. He is very different, yet has a similar disjunction with the world and ability to operate independently of it. And he is happy.
To what extent did you use any pre-existing character formula, template, paradigm, character design, archetype, or theory or principles of making or analysing character in planning, writing, and refining this character?
In general we don’t try to fit our character development to any mould. Maybe because we don’t know the moulds anyway! But most of our characters seem to us to develop naturally, and seem to come to life for the readers.
How would you describe the first chapter, scene or section of this story in one paragraph?
Moremi first appears in the middle of a police investigation into a multiple murder at the camp. He’s impossible. He doesn’t answer questions sensibly, replaces fact by intuition, drives the detectives to distraction. Yet at another level he is already analysing the mystery. Although he doesn’t solve it, his intuition about who is not the murderer turns out to be right, and he plays a key role in unveiling an important clue. We think that the intuitive versus the logical makes an interesting juxtaposition in a crime novel.
Pick one of your published stories. How would you describe the introduction of the main character, or one of the main characters, in this story?
The protagonist of our mystery novels is a detective in the Botswana Criminal Investigation Department nicknamed Kubu. He is first introduced in A Carrion Death heading out to investigate a body discovered in a game reserve. He has to drive there, and the scene opens with him clambering into his vehicle and heading out. The trip gives him time to think about the case, but also about himself. He also has to negotiate Gaborone traffic!
What makes this an effective character introduction for this story?
We are able to discover issues about his character and background intertwined with speculation about the mystery. Starting the scene at the body would have meant that he was too busy with police work to do so.
What major changes does this character go through, or what major challenges does the character encounter and how does the character respond to them?
Kubu has to wrestle with a personal involvement in the case. He manages that well, but it does affect the way he sees police work.
How would you describe the most important minor characters in this story and the changes in their character, or the challenges they encounter and how the respond them?
Difficult to decide on the most important minor character. Probably I would choose Redbeard – a psychopathic killer. His challenges are that things don’t go according to his plan. Since he is completely self-centred, he responds by removing obstacles to what he wants in whatever way it takes. At one stage he is captured, and he shows that he has other talents besides violence to do that.
What does the story gain from the minor characters?
The minor characters display the culture and lifestyle of different groups in Botswana. Of course they provide information for the reader about the mystery as well. Botswana itself has been described as a “character” in our novels; this is largely due to the minor characters going about their day to day activities.
To what extent would you describe the characters in this story as typical or atypical of characters in your fiction stories?
The characters discussed above – Kubu and Moremi – are typical of our major and minor characters. But Moremi is unique in his behaviour and approach. That’s why he’s a favourite!
Author website: www.detectivekubu.com
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