| |
| |
|
Book Reviews |
|
|
|
Why Malta? A Mystery-Thriller Author Tells Why
"Why Malta?" my new Maltese friends kept asking me when they find out that my mystery-thriller The Cellini Masterpiece is set on Malta. Mind you, only the Maltese ask that question. (Some kind of national inferiority complex?) Americans ask "Malta Who?" or "Where the heck is Malta?" or "Is it about the Maltese Falcon?" (They must always think that they're the first ones to think that up.) The difference in questions is obvious. The Maltese are puzzled. Americans are plain ignorant. Someone once wrote that the way Americans learn geography is by war. Why Malta is the question that is harder to answer. My usual comeback is why not? That usually brings a laugh, but it's difficult to explain how a tiny bit of limestone southwest of Sicily should hold such an interest for an American for so many years. I will be 65 by the time this article is in print, but I fell in love with Malta sight unseen as a 10-year-old in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was a stamp collector and bought one of those cheap worldwide stamp packets, with one stamp showing Verdala Palace in Malta. Somehow it grabbed my interest, and a few years later I started reading about Malta until I had exhausted the local library collection. The chance discovery of a stamp led me to one of the most geographically and historically significant places in the world. Literally the crossroads of the Mediterranean, it has Neolithic temples pre-dating the pyramids and has been occupied by every world power since the ancient Greeks. I'm a historian, for heaven's sake. Who wouldn't be interested? I was hooked. My stamp collection turned into a business, which I named Maltalately (for Malta philately). Even so, all my life I wanted to write a novel set in Malta. At age 14 I read Cellini's Autobiography. The rogue artist absolutely intrigued me. I also know he lived in the mid-16th Century and that the Knights of St. John defeated Suleiman the Magnificent's Turks in the so-called Great Siege. It was the greatest holy war of all time and may have saved Europe from occupation by the Turks. Voila. Somehow my novel would involve Cellini and the Great Siege. I even had a punch-line. Now all I had to do was write it. It took more than twenty years but I finally had a finished draft in 1985. The Jonathan Lazear Agency decided to represent it. Unfortunately, they weren't able to find a publisher and the manuscript went back on the shelf to languish for nearly ten years before I finally went to Malta for the first time at age 54. I stayed at a bargain accommodation, the Soleado Guest House in Sliema. What a great location to set the novel! I dusted off the manuscript and started again. My first change was to give Rick, my hero's, sidekick a sex change. My male cab driver was now a sexy young woman. The manager of the Soleado, Joey Bugeja, got a gender change, too. He was now Josefina. How could I miss? The events of September 11, 2001, although tragic, provided another powerful plotline, since Malta is near North Africa and has close economic ties with Libya. I should be able to polish the book off in a couple of months, I thought. Not. Things still didn't fit together quite right. In September of 2003 I enlisted the help of a musician I had met while I was selling postcards. He liked thrillers and had a keen ear for the music of language and a discerning eye for the continuity of my story. Taking him on board was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and by the beginning of 2004 I could envision the final draft. Then I heard about the North African boat people who were landing in Malta. Wow. Now all I had to do was tie Benvenuto Cellini to Suleiman the Magnificent and add in a plot from World War II with another involving modern-day terrorists and refugees. What could be simpler? Even Snoopy could do it. Somehow I did do it. And according to my readers, successfully. Why Malta? Because there is no other place in this whole wide world where the story would make sense. The other answer to "Why Malta" is found, for me, in a quote from Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence. It could have been written for me. "I have an idea that some men are born out of their due place. Accident has cast them among certain surroundings, but they have always nostalgia for a home they know not?. Sometimes a man hits upon a place to which he mysteriously feels that he belongs. Here is the home he sought, and he will settle amid scenes that he has never seen before, among men he has never known, as though they were familiar to him from his birth. At last he finds rest." SAHHA u hbibierija. To read a chapter of The Cellini Masterpiece, or to ask John a question or comment, log on to http://www.cmasterpiece.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Book-Reviews - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Little Mornings - Book Review The Little Mornings, by C M Albrecht is a murder mystery with 262 absolutely absorbing pages. We have three main characters here - the grandfather, an alcoholic of questionable character, a slightly off balance woman (Angie) and an impressionable young man (Darcy) who becomes mixed up in a whirlwind of events. Author Releases Comprehensive Family History Book On The Family of JACKEL, JECKEL, IEKEL, YAKEL When the topic of family history comes up, where do you stand? How do you respond when someone asks you where you are from, or when questions about your surname are raised? Do you wish you could give something more than a vague reply, such as, "I grew up around here, and I'm not sure about the name. . Kashmir: Behind the Vale Kashmir has been a reason for at least three wars between India and Pakistan. Over the past 15 years, the name Kashmir has become synonymous with violence and terrorism. The Birth of I Confess I dreamed since I was fourteen years old to spend most of my existence writing. I began reading at this time, and reading became my passion. Book Review: Seth Godin - All Marketers Are Liars Let me start with a small disclaimer: I am a HUGE fan of Seth Godin, and have been ever since he wrote Permission Marketing and probably always will be. Seth has a very unique take on traditional marketing (he thinks it's dead) and I agree with him. Book Review: Christmas in Dairyland Author/Publisher Christmas in Dairyland by LeAnn R. Ralph Published by LeAnn R. Job Interview Answers Last week I found an interesting book called Ultimate Guide To Job Interview Answers. Having myself hired many people I was intrigued what the book had to offer. Alison's Journey: Book Review "The dedication in this book is a work of poetry in itself. I had a distinct recollection of 'Sleeping with the Enemy' when reading this book, but this story has some very unique twists and turns. Looking for Harvey Weinstein Book Review Brassy, ballsy and full of energy.A totem of two women's struggle to do something worthwhile in life, it certainly knows how to serve up endless comical observations. Empowering Teenagers - A Few Clues About Teens And A New Book EMPOWERING TEENAGERSFrom a new book: "Adolescence is a difficult period, both for the emerging adult and for those around him/her. Intellectual growth, sexual awareness, quantum physical growth and the need for increasing independence are all natural and expected patterns. My Dad Wears Polka-dotted Socks! - Review "Bright colored sheets just inside the sturdy book cover certainly set the mood for this excellent book geared for children between the ages of 4 and 8.The main character is a young boy who is desperately fretting over the class reaction to his strange family. Book Summary: The E-Myth Revisited Ever wonder why most small businesses-- no matter how huge effort they put in their endeavor--still fail? Micheal Gerber reveals the answers in this book. Accordingly, the future of small businesses revolve in only three philosophies: the e-myth (entrepreneurial myth), the turn-key revolution, and the business development process. Jason Seeleys War - Book Review "Jason Seeley's War" is centered in the heart of a small American town where two youth are deeply in love, and have been since high-school. Jason and Natalie's love runs with a flexible strength that endures her recovery from a horrible drug addiction. What Color Is Your Parachute? - A Book Summary The best-selling job-hunter's bible for decades, this indispensable resource is a complete handbook for people who are on a quest to find their mission in life, or at the very least, the next good job that will put food on the table. Whether you are a fresh graduate, never finished a degree, or are searching for your deeper calling after many years of work, this is the book for you. Execution - A Book Summary You've got the bright ideas and the smart people, and the market is just ready for you. But why hasn't your business taken off as you predicted? Maybe the problem is in your execution. How to Survive Sudden Leadership Challenges - Covey Has Some Clues I have decided to start with this text as simply far too many people have said to me I should - it clearly has an enormous following of people who found the message rang true for them.In the introduction to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Covey talks about how we perceive reality based on certain beliefs or paradigm. Book Excerpt: Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam When I reached the top of the driveway after getting off the school bus one April afternoon, I couldn't help but wonder why Dad was standing on the stepladder next to the tractor.I had never seen my father use a stepladder to fix a tractor. The Bubblegum Babes Guide to Sixth Grade - Review This is one book that I would have cherished as a little girl. The Bubblegum Babes' Guide to Sixth Grade is the first in a series designed for young people growing up in today's fast-paced and high-pressure world. Ideas Are Free - A Book Summary Without great ideas, no organization can stay afloat, much less flourish. Managers and top executives are constantly struggling to come up with big ones - creative marketing strategies, ingenious cost-cutting schemes and other corporate solutions that will save time and money and improve productivity. Niche Site Confessions Revealed - An Unbiased Ebook Review If you're like me then chances are when it comes to purchasing ebooks online you want to make sure you get your moneys worth. As someone who is trying to establish a home-based Internet business within 4 years before I retire trust me when I tell you that Niche Site Confessions Revealed is easily the best ebook to come out in a long time.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2007 Retail Media Concepts, LLC |