Boakyewaa Glover — a writer at heart

By Rebecca Kwei

For his entire life, former Chief Justice Joseph Annan has had his eyes on his country’s top prize: the Presidency of Ghana. And this time, he will stop at nothing to ensure the title is his alone.
But can he stop his world from falling apart in the process?
The Justice: God. Country. Family. is a searing political thriller that follows a career politician in his last gasp for the highest honour as friends, foes and family are embroiled in his relentless, no-holds-barred play for power.
This is the premise of Boakyewaa Glover’s third novel out on the Ghanaian market from August 31.
As a country heavily interested in politics, there are several non-fiction books dedicated to the topic, books that chronicle the lives and motives of Ghana’s elite politicians, provide insights into historical events and describe Ghana’s political process in depth.
However, there are none that are fictional thrillers. Essentially, that is what The Justice is — politics, romance and mystery all rolled into one promising novel.
Boakyewaa is also the author of two other books: Circles (2009) a romantic drama, and Tendai (2013), a science fiction mystery.
“I write what I enjoy and I enjoy a lot of different things, particularly when it comes to entertainment. Most of the time you find that people who are science fiction geeks aren’t into drama, and people who are romance buffs aren’t engaged by thrillers and mysteries. And political buffs are typically aligned with historical enthusiasts.
“These are all stereotypes, of course, and don’t always apply to everyone. In my case, it doesn’t. I love politics. I am enthralled by it — politics is important and critical, as well as annoying, frustrating and mysterious. I had a story in my head, turned out to be politics, and I wrote it,” she said.
Truly, Boakyewaa’s background is colourful and diverse career. Her background shows that she doesn’t pigeonhole herself in a particular area. She’s an Organisational Psychologist by training, and has worked as a Consultant for a number of consulting firms in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
Prior to that, she was a News Anchor for TV3 Network (Ghana) and a TV Presenter for Smash TV on Metro TV (Ghana). She also used to write scripts for TeleClass, a children’s show that aired on GTV in the early 2000s.
She also maintains a blog that features her short stories, poems, articles and movie reviews.
Currently, she is a Change Management Manager working for Newmont Ghana Gold Limited. She also serves as the group director for Minds on Fire Group, a publishing, entertainment, and creative lounge company.
With all the buzz around Ghana’s last elections and the impending Supreme Court decision, it is also fascinating that Boakyewaa is releasing a political book in these times.


The Justice

“I am not sure if the timing works for me or not, because I had this idea or book in my head in 2009. Right after I finished Circles, I started outlining the concept for The Justice.
Unfortunately, I was too busy to see it through. Then I picked it up again last year and finished the first draft even before the results of the 2012 elections were announced. So the two aren’t linked. I didn’t write the book because of the situation the country is in. And the characters in the book aren’t based on any of the characters in our ongoing political story. I just happen to be releasing a political book in the middle of all of this. Great timing? Bad timing? I guess we’ll see.”
Boakyewaa insists that none of her characters are modeled after a specific Ghanaian politician, not even the titular character — former Chief Justice Joseph Annan, the centre of the entire book.
She describes the justice as a man of indisputable integrity, honour, and commitment to his country, God and family. These values set him apart from the pack and it’s the same values that threaten to destroy him.

Her story

According to Boakyewaa she always wanted to be a writer.
“I probably started writing when I learned my ABCs. I wrote all over the house when I was a child. My granddad used to print computer rolls and I would write on so many of them, story after story. I've always loved words, deeply love words and it's always been a part of me. I've always enjoyed public speaking as well.
I wrote and recited a poem with my older brother once - at the Children's Park, when we were at Ridge Church. I also won a prize for a Christian story I wrote back then. And at Wesley Girls', I was the President of the Writers and Debators Club. I wrote plays and performed in them during my SSS time as well. I think anyone who's known me for years knows I love to write. It's just me. “
She said Circles wasn't her first attempt at getting published. She wrote a book while at Wesley Girls' High School and held onto it until she got to the University of Ghana, Legon.
“At that point, I showed the book to one publisher, a friend of my mum's. He read it and said he couldn't publish it because it had one sex scene in it. One! That scarred me for a while because I refused to edit the scene out.
Then in 2008, I was in the US when the recession hit, and work slowed down a great deal. So I used the opportunity to write Circles. Before then, I kept waiting for the right opportunity and timing to write a book and I realised that there is nothing like perfect timing. So I just wrote it. And once it was done, I started taking the next steps to get it published” she recalled.
Her inspiration? “Life inspires me - everything that happens in life inspires me. I'm a very broad-minded and open person. I think anything is possible in life and I think that makes my writing better”.
Boakyewaa said she wants to keep writing but eventually would want to do it full-time.
“I was reading about Taiye Selassie's experiences when she wrote Ghana Must Go. That's what I want to do. I want to experience the world and write as much as I can. Writing while juggling a full time career is very, very tough and I don't think I can keep doing that for another 10 years! Soon there'll be kids and then that's it, I'll be grounded. So I know for sure that I want to write my next book on the road travelling the world. It's a must. Just have to figure out timing” she says.


School and family

Boakyewaa attended Ridge Church School from Grade 1 through to Junior High School. She then continued at Wesley Girls’ High School and then to the University of Ghana. Later she went to New York University for her masters degree in Industrial and Organisational Psychology.
Her mom is Abena Otu, a management consultant and her dad was James Amoako Glover (deceased). He was also a lawyer, writer, and had a set of poems published before.
Boakyewaa has two brothers — Kofi Glover who lives in the UK with his family and is an IT consultant. Her younger brother Nana Kojo Glover, lives in Ghana and runs his own events company - Presentation Plus.

Whatever the outcome of the election petition, Ghanaians will have the opportunity to distract themselves from our current reality and become immersed in the world of Joseph Annan when The Justice is launched on Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Silverbird Lifestyle Store where Boakyewaa will be signing books from 3 to 6 p.m.
“I know as the writer, I am biased towards my own work, but I really love this book. For a month after it was done, I just kept missing the characters. I would think about something I wrote about a character and then I would laugh, almost as if I’m thinking about a friend. It’s a good book. People will enjoy it.”