Famous Nigerian author Othuke Ominiabohs is preparing for his upcoming East African tour to promote his new books, "Odufa: A Lover’s Tale” and "A Conspiracy of Ravens”.

Ominiabohs is expected to arrive in Kigali on November 29, ahead of a Spoken Word Rwanda event on November 30, where he is expected to participate in an interactive book-reading session to talk about the inspiration behind his works.

Speaking to The New Times, the author explained that the expository tour seeks to formally expose his works to other regions and that it is the first of many that will follow as part of his desire to take his work to all of Africa and beyond.

"No literary work should be confined by the invisible barriers of borders, ethnicity, language or religion. There is also nothing like meeting some of the people, who read the books you write,” he says.

Ominiabohs also says he loves and listens to criticism about anything he has written. The tour, therefore, also aims at interacting with East African readers and answering whatever questions they might have as regards his writing and to learn from East African writers and readers, he said.

"Being my first time in East Africa, I expect to take as much from the experience as I can and who knows, maybe write a book about it.”

"East Africans, the ones I know, are lovers of literature, and avid readers. Also, a friendship is a big deal. I have made a lot of good friends from East Africa. Since this is my first book tour out of Nigeria, what better place to start than a place where your friends, who happen to also love to read. So it is a simple case of stars aligning,” he says.

Rwanda will be the Nigerian’s first leg in a four-nation regional tour that will also take him Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Ominiabohs, who says he has always loved the written word, attempted his first novel at the age of 9, and then at age 19.

"A Conspiracy of Ravens” is a thriller that digs into the unrest in the Niger Delta and draws a connection between it and the Boko Haram insurgency and the Nigerian Civil War. The book was unveiled in Abuja and Lagos on September 17, and October 2 respectively.

"Odufa: A Lover’s Tale”, on the other hand, is an African romance literature about love and friendship,” he said. Both books are available online at Konga, Jumia, Dookshop, Amazon and iTunes.

His book, "Odufa: A Lover’s Tale”, was nominated for an Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) prize in 2016, and an earlier adaptation into drama made the shortlist for the Wole Soyinka Prize in 2014.

"Odufa: A Lover’s Tale” and ‘A Conspiracy of Ravens’ were published in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and published by TND Press.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw