Bestselling author Eric Madeen has announced that his contemporary romance novel 'Water Drumming In The Soul' will be available at no charge in ebook format from October 24 through October 26, 2024 at Amazon. This promotional period offers readers an opportunity to access a work that has garnered significant praise for its literary quality and cultural authenticity.
The novel follows Peace Corps volunteer David Fields as he builds a medical dispensary in an equatorial African village, where he encounters cultural complexities and becomes captivated by Assam, a woman whose water drumming draws him into a passionate relationship. Madeen describes the narrative as beginning "like a string of firecrackers" with escalating energy that engages both average and literary readers. The author notes that much of Part II is told from Assam's third-person limited point of view, creating what he calls "jumper cable sparks" in the prose.
Critical reception has been notably positive. Zaheer Baber, Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, stated that "Madeen's storytelling prowess shines through and resonates with authenticity" and praised the novel for "challenging traditional stereotypes" and presenting "a more nuanced and genuine portrayal of African culture." Author Elizabeth Montano compared the work to masters like Hemingway, calling it "a novel so beautifully and realistically written I found it on par with works by whom we consider masters."
Reader reviews on Amazon have highlighted the novel's emotional depth and thematic complexity. One reader described it as "not only a passionate love story" but also a work that "delves into thought-provoking themes like culture, identity, and the power of human connection," creating "a rollercoaster of emotions" with "unexpected twists that keep you flipping those pages."
This free promotion represents a significant opportunity for both readers and the publishing industry. For readers, it provides access to a critically acclaimed work that explores cross-cultural relationships and African settings with authenticity derived from Madeen's own experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in Gabon. For the industry, such promotions demonstrate how established authors can use limited-time free offerings to reach new audiences and generate renewed interest in their backlist titles.
Madeen's broader body of work includes other cross-genre titles available through his Amazon author page, including 'Tokyo-ing!', 'Tennis Clubbed, Snubbed and Rubbity-Dub Dubbed', and the Amazon bestseller 'Asian Trail Mix'. The author's professional background includes positions as an associate professor of modern literature at Tokyo City University and adjunct professor at Keio University, with writing published in numerous international publications.
The three-day free availability of 'Water Drumming In The Soul' allows readers to experience a novel that Madeen says leaves readers "with your soul strummed elegiacally in a deep down knowing as to why this story had to be told." The promotion's timing during late October provides a strategic window for readers seeking substantive literary fiction before the holiday season, while the free format eliminates financial barriers that might prevent some from accessing this particular exploration of love, culture, and human connection in an African setting.
