Dr Tony Macaulay's new book focuses on love and reconciliation in Rwanda

Kill the Devil: A Love Story from Rwanda was launched last week just a few days ahead of Genocide against the Tutsi Memorial Day in Rwanda (April 7) and the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (April 10).

Dr Macaulay, well known for Paperboy, Breadboy, Little House on the Peace Line and Belfast Gate, linked up with Rwanda screenwriter and film-maker Juvens Nsabimana for the new novel.

Together they tell the love story between a survivor and a perpetrator of genocide. It reveals the remarkable progress in reconciliation in Rwanda since the horrors of 1994 - a lesson for our times and for all time.

It is a transcontinental and cross-cultural collaboration between a writer who grew up in Belfast during The Troubles and another who grew up in post genocide Rwanda.

Kill the Devil was written collaboratively by the authors, who have both experienced survivors and perpetrators in the villages of Rwanda recounting their profound stories.

Dr Macaulay has spent the past 35 years working to build peace and reconciliation at home and abroad. Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Ulster University for services to literature and peacebuilding, Tony has been a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio and is a regular speaker at universities and colleges in Europe and the USA.

Juvens Nsabimana was born in the slums of Kigali in Rwanda and has been writing and telling stories since he was a child. In early 2013, he started writing film screenplays and throughout his twenties he developed his career as a professional writer with poetry blogs, books and screenplays. Kill the Devil is his first novel.

It tells how a woman and a man, nearly destroyed by extreme violence, hatred and despair, follow a rare and unexpected path and discover extreme forgiveness, love and hope.

Three fishermen pull a near lifeless woman from a lake, having suffered unimaginable loss, Patricia’s life is empty and her only motivation to go on is to bring the one responsible to justice.

Meanwhile, always on the verge of running, a man hides from his guilt in Kigali, terrified of his anonymity being compromised and his past uncovered.

Co-author of Kill the Devil Dr Macaulay said: “On my visits to Rwanda I have been inspired by incredible reconciliation work. I was privileged to hear stories of forgiveness and reconciliation, something I’d never heard the like of before - certainly not where I come from.

"Whilst visiting Rwanda I was fortunate to meet Juvens. Following many conversations we were keen to collaborate and help shine a light on the remarkable, untold stories of reconciliation in Rwanda since the genocide in 1994, when a million people were killed in a hundred days.”

Co-author Juvens Nsabimana added: “When I met Tony during one of his visits to Rwanda, we very quickly realised that we not only connected as storytellers but knew we would work well together. I created the screenplay idea of Kill the Devil but needed to collaborate with someone who had the experience and expertise of writing a novel.

"We have been on an incredible writing journey together and I am grateful to have had the opportunity collaborate with him.”

Kill the Devil: A Love Story from Rwanda is available in paperback and e-book in all good bookstores. For more details go to https://tonymacaulayauthor.com/