July 2, 2013 - July 9, 2013.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hangmans-Replacement-Disruption-ebook/product-reviews/B00B1KMM2C
In 2011, I was fortunate to be vacationing with my partner in the
lakeside resort town of Stresa, in Italy. I was reading Zimbabwean
news online when I came upon an article about the country's efforts to
hire a new hangman after the last one retired in 2004. I wondered why
the recruitment effort had been launched after a seven year hiatus in
which the country appeared to be drifting towards abolition. The
premise was rich with the speculative potential that underlies all
exciting fiction. I immediately took out my computer and started
writing. More accurately, the story wrote itself through me. For many
hours, I literally dictated the events I was witnessing in my mind to
the stenographer huddled in my finger tips.
Fortunately, my partner had more than enough work to keep her busy so
we toiled side by side. Later that evening, I read her the first
thirty pages I had written. At that point, we both knew that this was
the story that would see completion: The Hangman's Replacement. Not
only did the premise raise many intriguing questions; I finally felt
that I had gained the threshold skill to tell the story as I intended
it.
As can be expected, the conception of the exciting premise had been
pleasurable. The birth was different. Adolescence was frenetic. There
was more than one mid-life crisis during each draft. My partner's
unwavering encouragement helped to keep wrestling with the manuscript,
especially when it stubbornly resisted the yolk of my nascent
storytelling confidence. A few good friends took the time to provide
extensive feedback along the way. They suggested discipline when my
narrative was errant and unfocused. They provided praise with the same
candour that they pointed out the critical flaws. These "aunts" and
"uncles" all helped to raise the literary child of an author who works
best in the solitude of his own imagination. Since I released my novel
in January of 2013, this family has been growing as new readers share
heir views on various forums including:
Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17409163-the-hangman-s-replacement
Kirkus Reviews
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/taona-dumisani-chiveneko/the-hangmans-replacement/
IndieReader
http://indiereader.com/2013/05/the-hangmans-replacementsprout-of-disruption/
I am currently working on Book 2 which is due out by the end of 2013.