Mystery, suspense surround group of intelligent women

Bowie author finds joy in writing his first fiction novel

Thursday, May 18, 2006

by Sara Schwartz

Staff Writer

Anthony Wilbon was at a conference in Florida when the idea of having highly intelligent characters who used their intelligence to get out of a bind popped into his head.

This led to Wilbon writing ‘‘The Enigma of Njama,” which was was released last August.

‘‘I just came up with the premise,” he said. ‘‘I [then] spent an hour a day, every day and in about five months, I had a rough draft.

‘‘It was pretty diligent on my part to get it done.”

Sprouted from his idea came the Njama, a cluster of women who notoriously protect their secret, whatever that secret may be. Montgomery Quinn, one of Wilbon’s main characters is hot on the trail of the secretive sect.

Montgomery hopes to find out more because his friend, Jovan Givens, gives him a stolen thumb drive to see whether or not Jovan’s wife is involved in an affair. Jovan ends up in a coma and Montgomery is left to figure everything out on his own.

Wilbon, of Bowie, works at Morgan State University and admits that while he had an idea for how the plot would transpire, he didn’t know how the book would end.

‘‘As I started getting feedback from the editor [David Collins] and his wife, the ending changed slightly from what I had initially intended,” Wilbon said.

Wilbon acknowledges his wife at the front of the book for her ‘‘encouraging feedback.”

‘‘I would give her chapters to read and she would want to see more,” Wilbon said. ‘‘Even though I was giving her 10 chapters at a time.”

His wife’s hungry enthusiasm for ‘‘The Enigma of Njama” isn’t something she shares alone.

According to Wilbon, several book clubs and book signings have paid off.

‘‘[The book] has been very popular and very successful,” he said. ‘‘It’s been well received.”

Wilbon is basking in his proverbial bookish sun and is toying with the idea of a sequel.

But he’d like to finish his second book, a ‘‘total departure from Njama.”

Another mystery suspense novel, his second book will be about a university baseball player who gets accused of sexual assault while his three siblings try to clear him of the charge.

‘‘It’s kind of a ripped from the headlines kind of thing,” Wilbon said, referring to the current Duke lacrosse team story.

He admits that the creative process is what entices him about novel writing and it’s a welcome break from his academic works he writes during his career.

E-mail Sara Schwartz at sschwartz@gazette.net.