Every journey begins somewhere...
Trapped: Autumn, a book I didn’t think it would make the light of day. Something I didn’t think was possible, to write and publish a book all in under a month. The story is based on real life events and conversations, real people and situations. A simple tale that was turned into a mix of grounded reality and a mythological tale that was used to be told. A mixture in styles between the classical way of writing and telling a story, and post-modern ideas with modern language. The choice of taking the characters from a real place comes from the idea of transcribing reality onto paper and grounding the work. The same goes for the dialogue and situations, considering the fact that reality is strange and quirky why not use it? As for why I mixed the situations with mythology, I needed a reason to explain why John, the main character, was going through the motion of the story. Yet the more I wrote the story, the more I fell in love with this idea of why deities are taking shelter on Earth. Something I still want to explore. To the same point, I thought that today lacks this type of literature. As in gods or anything mythical for that reason. Something that influenced the writing style, opting for a more classic style in that regard. The sort of idea of a Shakespearean play set in today’s world, with today’s morals and standards. To bring comparison to what it can be interpreted as lack of progress over the many years that have passed. Which is why this book has references, ideas and what I like to call little gems hidden from the very first words of the preface until the last word of the book. Again, something with which the reader would have to be very careful, knowledgeable, patient when reading the book. In the end everything is connected and has a purpose and some sort of sense. That is why I entrusted the reader that once he steps into this world, he will be put to observe like an omniscient god the story that unfolds in front of his eyes, and at that understand the story itself.
What should one expect from this mix styles? Fairly easy, not a lot of description for the characters. Since I wanted the story and characters to be relatable and for the reader to place the action wherever he wants. It could be a space epic that has a college with a campus, for what the reader might imagine. No narration, since everything one will read in this book will be thoughts and dialogues. And since the reader is observing thoughts and dialogues they are unfiltered, raw, uncensored and pure. Most times messy, weird, riddled with mistakes and not always making any sense, if the reader doesn’t pay attention. You could say that this book even punishes the reader by not paying attention to what is said, thought or done. Since nothing is said, done or thought without a point or a payoff later on.
What’s the story about is the hardest question one can ask me without spoiling it. In short it’s the tagline of the book. About the man, the myth and the once upon a time. Like I mentioned before, this book is a mix of classic literature, mythology, postmodern ideology, immature philosophy and all for a weird fairy tale with mature language. But to go in a bit of detail about the book, the story takes place around a freshman in college. A student that asks too many questions, has too many opinions, thinks a bit too much and has a tendency to self-destruct for educational purposes. Something that does not sit well with his friends or his girlfriend, many times being categorized as a weird guy. Just like his tendency to arrive exactly on time or to be late, yet never early. As such he is put to observe his own behavior, being detached from his own body, what would his opinion of his own actions and thoughts be? If he was to see himself like a stranger and judge himself like he judges strangers. Not only that, but while doing so he is put to task by a force he can’t explain or see. Especially for him to understand what is happening is nearly impossible. Having such a crisis on his hands while trying to solve two mysteries, is not an easy task to fulfill.
About the author, well, I’m twenty six years of age. I love classical music, rock, any music that is either fun or has some actual meaning in its lyrics. A former student at the College of Literature in Cluj-Napoca, Romania with a Major in English and Minor in Japanese. Currently, besides writing short stories on this blog and writing books, I also work in retail at a liquor store with twelve hour shifts.
If there is something I believe in, it’s the fact that everything can be joked about. There is nothing in this world that can’t be joked about or made fun of. Since every experience is something to learn from, making a joke about it, can only help in the end. As long as you take the lesson with you further down the road. If I had any inspirations? Well, Shakespeare inspired me in only one aspect, when it comes to this book that people need to be reminded of what they are. Just like South Park reminds provides us with the best social commentary there is. Through crude language and exaggeration, South Park on the weekly awes me that is why I used this sort of vulgar language in this book. George Carlin would be another one, considering that even today many of his ideas still float inside my head. Like for example “Don’t bullshit, there’s enough bullshit as is in this world”, to this I hold near and dear.
When it comes to any other influences, there would be the music I was listening while writing the book. Such as classical music and rock, there are twenty three songs I listened to while writing the book. If you search on YouTube “Trapped: Autumn the music behind the book” you will find the complete set of songs. How music influenced my work? It helped me keep a certain tone to the book, listening to music helped me keep the world tighter and the ideas linear. Then there is the title, which itself is a reference to the last album of the band HIM, Trapped in Autumn. But more precisely it would be to the song Into the night, which is constantly paraded throughout the book.
If I were to describe my own style of writing, it would be personal. As in everything I write feels intimate, real, uncensored and unfiltered. With a mixture of everything that is, plus something new. Something that is has substance, emotion and thought put behind every word.
My last word would be the fact that I look forward for people to read Trapped: Autumn, to look forward to my future books. And I hope that I gave them something to think about, get attached to and want more of.