Gerald Kateu guards his privacy closely but agrees to tell readers a little bit about his writing career. “I was studying Law at college when I first started writing The Ugandans Abroad series,” he explains. “I remember what sparked me off was the Kiwuwa High Court case that is uniquely Ugandan because it sets a precedent banning same-clan marriages among members of the Baganda tribe, Uganda’s largest ethnic group. The question I asked myself back then was how this judge-made law affects a same-clan intending couple of Baganda ancestry that meet in the diaspora in a city native to them and plan a wedding in Uganda with no inkling of Baganda culture or Uganda’s marriage law. At first I imagined the story in terms of pictures because I was thinking of what an enlightening television series the book series could become.” The story’s cinematic origins explain the many striking images contained in the book such as the bustle and hustle of big cities as well as the quiet pine-shaded hunting grounds of Michigan. Gerald describes scenes just as they are in real life. “I have an overactive imagination and the ability to type quickly. I considered cities where my story should be set and liked New York City as a setting for this kind of story. NYC is a melting pot of cultures with nationalities from all over the world that call the concrete jungle their home – exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Because I am not a New York native, though, I did as much research as I could so that I sound convincing to the New Yorker. I also loved London. While in the borough of Chelsea, I asked myself: what would my story’s characters do in this city? Then of course Kampala City cannot be avoided since it is Uganda’s metropolis where the Kiwuwa ruling can be contested.” With The Ugandans Abroad Gerald breaks out of traditional African writing, opting for a contemporary writing style that embraces labyrinthine and addictive plots; he understands about dialog and the architecture of scenes instinctively. He is married to pre-primary teacher, Winnie, with whom he has three daughters – Favoured, Blessed and Special.