In the vast, open silence of Montana, secrets have a way of echoing further than some can imagine. For author and educator Champale Butler, the journey of her debut novel, Whispers of BABA, began not with a word, but with a haunting, raindrenched image: a man running for his life, clutching a notebook, being chased by something unseen.
'It’s frightening when I even think about it,' Butler shares, reflecting on the childhood imagination that eventually matured into this gripping mystery. 'Once I pictured ‘Baba’ running, I automatically started thinking: What if he had children? That is when Oreoluwa was born.' The story follows 12-yearold Oreoluwa (Oreo) and her brother, Oluwatobi (Tobi), as they navigate the mysterious disappearance of their father, Oluwaseun Adebayo.
In a decisive narrative choice, Butler begins the book with an absence. There is no body; only rumors and a haunting silence that forces the characters to reconstruct their father's life through the 'whispers' of others.
