The Chicken Thief is the story of Allois, an innovative young man who left his job in the civil service to become a chicken thief and along the way gets pulled into a complicated mystery which involves saving one of the country's most celebrated war heroes. The book is set in a mythical African country that seems very much like Zimbabwe to me. It is a wonderfully plotted tale with characters you won't easily forget. I recently read an interview where the author said that she is working on a sequel which made me very happy. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one. I read it in just a few days because the mystery in the plot is very compelling.
And one thing I liked even more about this book, is that it is self-published. You wouldn't know it was self-published though. It is well edited and very well written. It is indication of the new definition of self-published books. Too often people dismiss self published books assuming they will not be up to standard. I'm actually quite surprised this book was not grabbed up by a traditional publisher. It is better than a few books I've read recently that were published traditionally. Perhaps the author never gave them the option, this is what I suspect.
Hi Lauri, thanks so much for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question about publishing I made an initial attempt with traditional publishers but was basically told that books about Africa were a hard sell. I decided to self publish to not only prove that agent wrong, but also to show other authors that you could put a book out into the world without having to wait for someone to give you permission.
So many people have stories they want to tell, but are afraid they'll never be good enough. I think that's an incredible shame, especially if they love the act of writing.
But I've filled up enough comment space! Yes...this is a subject I'm passionate about!
Hi Fiona, wow, thanks for visiting. I'm pretty shocked by that comment-books about Africa were a hard sell. I often wonder why us African writers on the continent trouble ourselves. My biggest wish is that our indigenous publishers become empowered enough so we don't need to go overseas with a begging bowl. I agree there are many stories left behind because of gatekeepers with little sense or creativity.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy your book is doing so well. I really did love it. I keep talking to my husband about it but he can't read it since it's on my Kindle and I'm always busy with my Kindle. I must buy him the paper version or else he must get a Kindle too. :)
Best of luck with the book and thanks for stopping by!