LET THE TRAVELS BEGIN (AGAIN)

 Now fully vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine, I am once again ready to travel, and this season will be a busy one. Of course, it was impossible to do any travel during 2020 to travel to Ghana to research the third Emma Djan novel called LAST SEEN IN LAPAZ--that's Lapaz, Accra, not La Paz, Bolivia. However, having to stay home in 2020 facilitated my finishing Emma #2, SLEEP WELL, MY LADY in record time, as well as starting on LSIL, which I'm scheduled to turn in to the editor on or before July 1, 2021. The deadline looms large!

Now that I've passed the halfway point writing LSIL, I know which areas of research I need to focus on. In addition to the standard visit to Ghana, I need to travel to Nigeria and Niger, because substantial portions of the novel take place in these countries. You can get an idea of my itinerary from the map below, which is numbered in sequence according to the destinations during the trip.

So, for your reference, I will be in Lagos and Benin City, Nigeria, for ten days in July; Niamey and Agadez, Niger, for eight days; and Ghana for the remaining four weeks or so.

My destinations in West Africa (edited, original image Shutterstock / Porcupen)

I went to Nigeria as a small child but remember little to nothing about the trip, so Nigeria will be a new experience for me, as will Niger. The issue with these two countries is that neither scores high in the safety category. The US Department of State puts Nigeria at its Level 3 warning: reconsider travel; and Niger earns a Level 4: do not travel.

Then, why am I going to these two countries? I considered not doing it, but anyone can do Google and YouTube research. I believe I owe readers a lot more than that. Being "afraid" to travel somewhere is not going to cut it. On the other hand, I'm not throwing caution to the wind. I've secured a guide and escort to be with me at all times in both countries.

The unofficial jacket cover copy will help you understand what I'll be looking into during my travels.

When Nnamdi Ojukwu’s daughter Ngozi elopes with boyfriend Femi, Nnamdi appeals to Emma Djan and her detective agency boss to investigate Ngozi’s whereabouts. Weeks later, Femi is found murdered at his opulent residence in Accra, but Ngozi is still nowhere to be found. How is she connected, if at all, to Femi’s killing? As Emma digs further, she discovers Femi was part of a horrifying network of sex traffickers in Europe and several West African countries. Migrants from Ghana, Nigeria and other West African countries are duped into thinking they are on their way to success and riches in Italy. But once there, they are manipulated into prostitution with little chance of escape.

As successful as Femi has been, he has made a lot of enemies, all of whom have had possible motives to murder him. The question is, which one of them did it? Not only does Emma have to hunt the killer down, she’s in a race against time to find Ngozi—that is, if she’s still alive.

As you can see, LAST SEEN IN LAPAZ tackles the complex and uncomfortable subject of human and sex trafficking with scenes in Ghana, Nigeria, and Niger. The West Africans one sees on TV attempting to cross the Mediterranean, sometimes perishing in the process, depart mostly from the shores of Libya, but they originate primarily from Nigeria, and to a lesser extent from Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Agadez, in Niger, is the legendary transit spot for migrants before they make the hellish trip to Libya across the brutal Sahara desert, which is fraught with danger from armed gangs, the intense heat, and the threat of dehydration. Needless to say, I'm not going to Libya.

Migrants crossing the Sahara packed into a pickup truck (Shutterstock/Torsten Pursche)    

Many migrants get stuck in Agadez or Libya because they find they don't have enough money to proceed. Sometimes, it takes months to gather the wherewithal to continue on. During that time, they may be subject to physical and sexual brutality, particularly in Libya. If and when they get to Italy--surprise, surprise. Contrary to the glowing picture painted of making tons of money working in a store or being a travel guide, migrant women discover they will be working as prostitutes for the "madam" who paid for much of their arduous journey. Now they owe her money--lots of it. The madam is often a woman who has been a prostitute herself. The blatant disregard for human life in this trafficking world is quite stunning.

Migratory routes from West Africa to Libya

Regardless of the present, this region of Africa holds a long and storied past--periods of epic achievements in culture and learning on the one hand, but strife on the other. Apart from researching for my novel, I'm hoping to make a connection with aspects of West Africa's history.

In addition, there'll be something new: I will be vlogging my journey, allowing for any slow or absent Internet connections I might encounter in different locales. My vlogs will be on YouTube. It's going to be quite an adventure.

What Happens When You're Alone on an Island Paradise

Photo by Thanasis Krikis (Mykonos Confidential)

Jeff—Saturday

I can’t believe how quickly the summer’s flown by!  My Texas granddaughter and grandson already are back in school, and my New York granddaughter is gearing up for her entry onto the Long Island kindergarten scene.

Over here on Mykonos, the tectonic shift in tourists is underway. The hard partying young Southern Europeans have moved on, the Gay XLSIOR Festival crowd has moved in for a week, and all the island awaits September with its promise of returning old Mykonos hands lingering on into October.

I’ve spent many an August on Mykonos, and to be honest, I no longer feel affected by the dreaded August madness—other than incidentally impacted by the choking traffic, late night marauding crowds, and steeply escalated prices.  No doubt that’s because I rarely leave my writing garrets.  That’s plural, because I have several, depending on my mood. 

Outdoor office #1

View from OO#1

Outdoor office #2 

Outdoor office #3

Indoor office #1

Indoor office #2

Deadlines must be met.  It’s a curse I’ve labored under since my days as a lawyer, and mine always seem to fall at the end of summer.  This year, I started writing Kaldis #10 during the last week of May, aiming for a stride of 1000 words per day.  I hit that mark, and once Barbara abandoned me to the island for August (see above for reasons why), my output increased considerably.  After all, what else could there possibly be for me to do on Mykonos without her?

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. For example, I bet you can’t imagine the sorts of responses I received to this simple research question: “What are high season rates this year on Mykonos for prostitutes?”  Trust me, it’s integral to my story line.

One would expect such a question to raise an eyebrow or two, but each person I asked answered matter-of-factly, as if I’d asked for the time of day.  Was that reaction indicative of how islanders have come to accept the sex industry, and all it represents, as part of a new island normal?  Or were they simply treating it as just another of Jeffrey’s “crazy writer questions.”

Whatever their reasons, I obtained the information I needed, wrote my book, and two days ago, transferred it from the screen to hard copy pages for the next stage in the process. 

I’m comfortable in knowing that the book will meet its deadline (puh, puh, puh), and all I’ll have left to worry about is whether this is the Kaldis novel that will have me “swimming with the fishes.”

No matter, once Barbara returns, we’ll be off for a bit of vacation among the Greek Isles.

Ah, the joy of being a crime writer living on an island paradise.  You get to fictionalize its intriguing warts, while enjoying its honest pleasures.

—Jeff