Ciku: ‘My next cocktail will outdo all others…’
By Mbugua Ngunjiri
Ciku Kimani-Mwaniki was feeling lonely and homesick when a friend told her, over the phone, to start putting down her thoughts on paper. “At that time, I was living in the UK, so I started writing about what I was missing about Nairobi,” says Ciku.
Her confidant was Nducu wa Ngugi, renowned novelist Ngugi wa Thion’go’s son, who was and still lives in the US. “I guess, him being a writer and coming from a writer family, he recommended what he probably knew worked for him and luckily, it worked for me,” adds Ciku.
With Nducu’s advice, Ciku started writing in longhand, in notebooks. “It was 2005 or thereabouts; I remember It was the Christmas season, a very ugly and cold winter. So, I wrote it down, and came back home with my notebooks, in 2007,” she explains. The excitement of getting back home somehow made her forget the writing project she had started.
Back in Nairobi, Ciku wangled a writing gig as a columnist in a new magazine – Zukha – then published by Nation Media Group, every Friday.
Her authorship dreams were reignited when in May 2013, a group of Nairobi-based writers led by Kinyanjui Kombani organised a public event at the Junction Mall. “That time, Kombani was riding high with his novel, The Last Villains of Molo. I decided to attend the event with the hope of kick-starting my writing career,” she says.
By this time, she had knocked on the doors of several publishers, who did not seem too enthusiastic about publishing her. At the authors’ event, Ciku came across a woman who had self-published and sought advice on how to go about this. The woman took her around in circles. “She kept on telling me how it is a lot of work and how she couldn’t share,” recalls Ciku with irritation.
Eventually, it was the late Binyavanga Wainaina, who was also at the function, who directed her to the Kenya National Library Services, where she got helpful pointers on self-publishing.
“That woman made me swear to myself that I would never turn away anyone who seeks my help or advice on self-publishing,” she says. Soon, Nairobi Cocktail, a book she had started writing while in the UK, became a reality. This was in 2014.
Learning through mistakes
Being her first baby, Nairobi Cocktail was, well, a diamond in the rough. “There was no editing,” she explains. “I published my first draft, which was full of mistakes, but I was so proud of it.”
When she held a copy of her first book, she said with a tinge of nostalgia, “That's the time people started calling me mwandishi or author. I also remember it was a very proud moment for my mom.”
With a cheeky smile, Ciku explains: “I am her last born, and until then, she never believed anything serious could ever come out of me. I don’t blame her, really; I can be ungovernable at times. To date, Nairobi Cocktail is the book I am most proud of because that is what broke the waters.”
She had done an initial print run of 1,000 copies and sold all of them. “Remember at this time I was a newspaper columnist, so I was relatively well known, plus I did a number of media interviews, radio and print. That really helped.”
With the first book out of the way, and having learnt the ropes of self-publishing, Ciku was ready to publish her second book.
Immigrant Cocktail, her second book, is a fictionalised account of what really happens in London’s underbelly, where the mostly immigrant community toughs it out as they seek to make the best of a bad situation. “London’s underground has the kind of stories you wouldn’t want your mother to hear,” Ciku says.
Immigrant Cocktail came out in 2018. “I wrote about Nairobi when I was in London; for my second book, I thought that I should write about London, while living in Nairobi,” she says. “Although it didn’t quite hit the market as much as I would have wanted it to, it is one book I wish would be read more widely, especially by gals in high school, because they are the most vulnerable when they get to college entry age.”
The polygamy debate
Ciku’s most enduring offering so far is Cocktail from the Savannah, which came out in 2022. “I launched it in Wangige – it was awesome – I got Nairobi people to come to the village; we were sitting on hay and dancing in the dust and it was, oh, so amazing… The turnout was huge.”
What made her write Cocktail from the Savannah? “There was a huge debate in Kenya about polygamy at around this time,” says Ciku. “Polygamists were really on the receiving end; I think society judges these people unfairly. We get worked up over nothing; just because someone got another wife.”
The book revolves around the Maasai community, who by virtue of the fact that they still practise polygamy as part of their culture, would not be judged as harshly. In order to pull this off, Ciku got herself a consultant; “a Maasai, of course,” she says. “I had started learning the Maasai language, but now it is all gone.”
In writing Cocktail from the Savannah, Ciku created a memorable character in the name of Masikonde, the man who was forced by circumstances to go for a second wife, but was already too willing.
Masikonde, Ciku says, managed to appeal to both men and women. “The women wanted Masikonde while the men wanted to be Masikonde; he got the money, the looks… Everything. How can a guy have it all? He actually doesn't have it all; how else would he be messing up with other women if he had it all?”
“Savannah has and continues to sell so well. I have done several reprints,” she says. “It was studied as a unit at the University of Nairobi, in the beginning of 2023. I had a Zoom meeting with students, where I answered their questions; it was surreal.”
Ciku’s fourth book, Cocktail of Unlikely Tales, a collection of short stories, was also launched at a fun-filled event, this time in Nairobi. “The launch was another huge thing; unlike the last village launch, this one happened in the city. I am somewhat averse to official things,” says Ciku matter-of-factly. “I prefer people to just meet and mingle. People come to have fun. You haven't read the book, so what are you being so official about?” Even with all that fun, more than 250 books were sold at the launch.
A new cocktail?
So, what is her new project? “I'm trying to write a book that will outdo Savannah. This one will fuse crime and romance in Nairobi. It is a very risky genre, but I'm gonna do it. The people who have read it say that it has a Going Down River Road feel to it, but with a little more grit. I trust their judgement.
The book will be published by eKitabu, with whom Ciku has struck a working arrangement. “eKitabu got in touch and said they'd want to produce an audio format of one of my books, which turned out to be Cocktail from the Savannah,” she says, adding that there are a lot of people who have been asking for e-books and audio versions of her books.
“Those two formats are not easy to produce because of the quality and the cost involved. Through eKitabu, those worries are now off my head. eKitabu would also like to reissue my books. We can always do with professional help, which also comes with distribution.”
“As much as we talk ill about publishers — because we feel slighted — having a publisher is amazing, especially when you have a personal relationship. I almost feel like they are buddies now; my suggestions matter and are appreciated. I feel quite at home and I'm excited. I can't wait for them to publish my next book.”
Ciku: ‘My next cocktail will outdo all others…’
By Mbugua Ngunjiri
Ciku Kimani-Mwaniki was feeling lonely and homesick when a friend told her, over the phone, to start putting down her thoughts on paper. “At that time, I was living in the UK, so I started writing about what I was missing about Nairobi,” says Ciku.
Her confidant was Nducu wa Ngugi, renowned novelist Ngugi wa Thion’go’s son, who was and still lives in the US. “I guess, him being a writer and coming from a writer family, he recommended what he probably knew worked for him and luckily, it worked for me,” adds Ciku.
With Nducu’s advice, Ciku started writing in longhand, in notebooks. “It was 2005 or thereabouts; I remember It was the Christmas season, a very ugly and cold winter. So, I wrote it down, and came back home with my notebooks, in 2007,” she explains. The excitement of getting back home somehow made her forget the writing project she had started.
Back in Nairobi, Ciku wangled a writing gig as a columnist in a new magazine – Zukha – then published by Nation Media Group, every Friday.
Her authorship dreams were reignited when in May 2013, a group of Nairobi-based writers led by Kinyanjui Kombani organised a public event at the Junction Mall. “That time, Kombani was riding high with his novel, The Last Villains of Molo. I decided to attend the event with the hope of kick-starting my writing career,” she says.
By this time, she had knocked on the doors of several publishers, who did not seem too enthusiastic about publishing her. At the authors’ event, Ciku came across a woman who had self-published and sought advice on how to go about this. The woman took her around in circles. “She kept on telling me how it is a lot of work and how she couldn’t share,” recalls Ciku with irritation.
Eventually, it was the late Binyavanga Wainaina, who was also at the function, who directed her to the Kenya National Library Services, where she got helpful pointers on self-publishing.
“That woman made me swear to myself that I would never turn away anyone who seeks my help or advice on self-publishing,” she says. Soon, Nairobi Cocktail, a book she had started writing while in the UK, became a reality. This was in 2014.
Learning through mistakes
Being her first baby, Nairobi Cocktail was, well, a diamond in the rough. “There was no editing,” she explains. “I published my first draft, which was full of mistakes, but I was so proud of it.”
When she held a copy of her first book, she said with a tinge of nostalgia, “That's the time people started calling me mwandishi or author. I also remember it was a very proud moment for my mom.”
With a cheeky smile, Ciku explains: “I am her last born, and until then, she never believed anything serious could ever come out of me. I don’t blame her, really; I can be ungovernable at times. To date, Nairobi Cocktail is the book I am most proud of because that is what broke the waters.”
She had done an initial print run of 1,000 copies and sold all of them. “Remember at this time I was a newspaper columnist, so I was relatively well known, plus I did a number of media interviews, radio and print. That really helped.”
With the first book out of the way, and having learnt the ropes of self-publishing, Ciku was ready to publish her second book.
Immigrant Cocktail, her second book, is a fictionalised account of what really happens in London’s underbelly, where the mostly immigrant community toughs it out as they seek to make the best of a bad situation. “London’s underground has the kind of stories you wouldn’t want your mother to hear,” Ciku says.
Immigrant Cocktail came out in 2018. “I wrote about Nairobi when I was in London; for my second book, I thought that I should write about London, while living in Nairobi,” she says. “Although it didn’t quite hit the market as much as I would have wanted it to, it is one book I wish would be read more widely, especially by gals in high school, because they are the most vulnerable when they get to college entry age.”
The polygamy debate
Ciku’s most enduring offering so far is Cocktail from the Savannah, which came out in 2022. “I launched it in Wangige – it was awesome – I got Nairobi people to come to the village; we were sitting on hay and dancing in the dust and it was, oh, so amazing… The turnout was huge.”
What made her write Cocktail from the Savannah? “There was a huge debate in Kenya about polygamy at around this time,” says Ciku. “Polygamists were really on the receiving end; I think society judges these people unfairly. We get worked up over nothing; just because someone got another wife.”
The book revolves around the Maasai community, who by virtue of the fact that they still practise polygamy as part of their culture, would not be judged as harshly. In order to pull this off, Ciku got herself a consultant; “a Maasai, of course,” she says. “I had started learning the Maasai language, but now it is all gone.”
In writing Cocktail from the Savannah, Ciku created a memorable character in the name of Masikonde, the man who was forced by circumstances to go for a second wife, but was already too willing.
Masikonde, Ciku says, managed to appeal to both men and women. “The women wanted Masikonde while the men wanted to be Masikonde; he got the money, the looks… Everything. How can a guy have it all? He actually doesn't have it all; how else would he be messing up with other women if he had it all?”
“Savannah has and continues to sell so well. I have done several reprints,” she says. “It was studied as a unit at the University of Nairobi, in the beginning of 2023. I had a Zoom meeting with students, where I answered their questions; it was surreal.”
Ciku’s fourth book, Cocktail of Unlikely Tales, a collection of short stories, was also launched at a fun-filled event, this time in Nairobi. “The launch was another huge thing; unlike the last village launch, this one happened in the city. I am somewhat averse to official things,” says Ciku matter-of-factly. “I prefer people to just meet and mingle. People come to have fun. You haven't read the book, so what are you being so official about?” Even with all that fun, more than 250 books were sold at the launch.
A new cocktail?
So, what is her new project? “I'm trying to write a book that will outdo Savannah. This one will fuse crime and romance in Nairobi. It is a very risky genre, but I'm gonna do it. The people who have read it say that it has a Going Down River Road feel to it, but with a little more grit. I trust their judgement.
The book will be published by eKitabu, with whom Ciku has struck a working arrangement. “eKitabu got in touch and said they'd want to produce an audio format of one of my books, which turned out to be Cocktail from the Savannah,” she says, adding that there are a lot of people who have been asking for e-books and audio versions of her books.
“Those two formats are not easy to produce because of the quality and the cost involved. Through eKitabu, those worries are now off my head. eKitabu would also like to reissue my books. We can always do with professional help, which also comes with distribution.”
“As much as we talk ill about publishers — because we feel slighted — having a publisher is amazing, especially when you have a personal relationship. I almost feel like they are buddies now; my suggestions matter and are appreciated. I feel quite at home and I'm excited. I can't wait for them to publish my next book.”
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