Q&A: Moses Ose Utomi, Author of 'The Truth of the Aleke'

We chat with Moses Ose Utomi about The Truth of the Aleke, which is the next installment in the Forever Desert series and an epic fable about truth, falsehood, and the shackles of history.

Hi, Moses! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Sure! I’m Moses Ose Utomi, a Nigerian-American fantasy writer and the author of the YA fantasy novel Daughters of Oduma (2023) and the fantasy novella trilogy The Forever Desert, which starts with The Lies of the Ajungo. Other than writing, the only things I’m good at are traveling, martial arts, and karaoke (note: not singing, just karaoke). And watching anime, if that counts as a skill.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I began reading very young and started writing basic stories pretty soon after. My mom still has my first book—Warrior Bunnies from Mars, or something like that—from when I was 5. My love for stories in general in part comes from my dad, who is still the greatest oral storyteller I’ve ever known. A lot of my childhood was spent listening to the wild [and almost certainly embellished] stories of his youth.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

The first book you ever remember reading: Probably The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The one that made you want to become an author: The Once and Future King by TH White
The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee

The Truth of the Aleke is the second installment in your Forever Desert series! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Nothing is what it seems 🙂

What can readers expect?

A psychological thriller disguised as a fantasy novel. Those have always been my two favorite genres, and I think I’ve done a good job of blending them here.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

There’s a character named Lumhen who is absolute peak human competence. She’s in her early 20s, but already a legend in her society, both as a warrior and as a gorgeous, inspiring, indomitable public figure. She’s probably too powerful, if I’m being honest. But I got to spend a lot of time in her head trying to figure out how someone who can literally do anything she sets her mind to stays motivated. What makes her tick? How did she become this way in the first place? It took me several drafts to find the right tone for her; it was tough, but really fulfilling.

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What’s next for you?

The sequel to Daughters of Oduma and the finale of the Forever Desert trilogy come out next year, so those are in the immediate future. After that, I’m in the early stages of planning my first adult fantasy novel, so I’m looking forward to debuting that.

Lastly, are there any releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?

So, so many. Every year, I have a list of things I want to read and every year I fail to read even half of them. So here’s the [partial] list of books that I will fail to complete (I’ll stick to science fiction and fantasy to keep it short):