First, I wanted to inform you of a web interview which was recently posted:
I have enjoyed writing this blog, especially when I reference items from my novel, "Legend of the Mystic Knights" For the next couple of blogs, I will be reiterating why I choose Switzerland as the location for my novel. I had contemplated that my novel would be read by a t least some people in Switzerland. I do list many landmarks and cities in my novel from that country. However, my calculations were wrong; my novel has not been bought in any recognizable numbers of readers from Switzerland.
With that said, I am still going to revisit the reason I chose Switzerland as the setting of my novel. If you remember from my previous two blogs, I took famous people, and infamous ones, and rewrote their past to coincide with the alternate reality in my novel; the physical location of Switzerland is no different.
The concept of my novel is that an evil was released upon the earth in the year 1100 AD. As a result of this evil, civilization and technology have been stuck in the middle ages for the past 1,000 years. To combat this evil force an order of knights was established. This order runs a school to train pages and squires into becoming knights into their order.
Switzerland is a centralized country in Europe. Having this central location in Europe has allowed me to introduce students who come from different countries. This is a major advantage in writing my novel. One, I am able to bring in different cultures and have the knight school as a melting pot of societies. Secondly, I was not bound to use only Swiss names, although many people in the novel are from Switzerland, I was now able to expand the boundaries of my novel.
In the back story of “Legend of the Mystic Knights” the city of Rome had previously fallen to the march of the evil forces. Switzerland is north of Italy, and is now the main barrier against the evil forces. Although this is not a factor in my novel, its location near Italy will become a major factor later in the sequels.
First, I do not refer to the country as Switzerland; I refer to it as Helvetia. I have stated this in my blog before, that Helvetia is synonymous with and is the female personification of Switzerland. The name originates from the Gaul tribe who once inhabited the region.
There are many specific locations from Switzerland in my novel. The hero is from the village of Andermatt. This small village and is a crossroads, connecting both the east and west and north and southern parts of the country.
I choose this location because it is a rural area; this is vital having my hero from such a location. My series of novels is a heroic tale and thus follows the monomyth pattern described in Joseph Campbell’s’ “Hero with a Thousand Faces.” Basically the beginning of the monmyth pattern is the hero lives in the ordinary world; the majority is usually set in a rural or agricultural location. The hero receives a call or quest to enter an unknown world to perform heroic deeds.
If you want to know more about the monomyth hero, examine the path that Luke Skywalker tales in the “Star Wars” movies. His travels to accomplish his quest are a perfect example of the stages laid out by Campbell. The Harry Potter novels are also an excellent illustration of this concept.
If you enjoy my blog, please leave a comment. Also, take time to go to my website: www.warusho.com to learn more about me and my writing, wrestling and acting career.
Next Time: We will continue our journey through Switzerland
Ceasar waged the Gallic wars there. He actually wrote a book about it. The Gallic Wars. Like everything he wrote it was mainly propaganda. What a pity that Swiss have not shown an interest in buying your novel that takes place there. Wonder how many of the have read Caesar's book?:-)
ReplyDeleteI've always thought of Switzerland as something of a crossroads, someplace you have to pass through to get to where you're going. Seems like a good choice as a setting for your story.
ReplyDeleteI remember Helvetia well from my childhood as I read and re-read Asterix and Obelisk books who were Gauls with superhuman strength. Good choice as a setting for your novel.
ReplyDeleteThose were a good comic. I am thinking of adding someone in my next book who has one of their names.
DeleteI think the decision to use Switzerland as the setting for your novel is a pretty logical one! Maybe your sales from this country haven't met your expectations yet...but keep the faith:)
ReplyDeleteHave you been marketing your new novel in Switzerland? Look how popular "The Sound of Music" became. I am not sure that it was a big success there are much as tourist attraction in Austria. I thought the idea of you using Switzerland was brillant.
ReplyDeleteThe scenery in Switzerland is absolutely mind-blowing. I thought I had seen mountain, but then I saw the Alps... my jaw hit the windshield of the car. I can imagine it provided the perfect setting for your book and am more intrigued now than ever as a sense of place can make or break a novel for me. P.S. Hope you're making some headway with all the snow there :)
ReplyDeleteNo headway against the snow, I am heading back to Albany now. It is going to be a hard trip, until I get out of this snowstorm.
DeleteIf you like this blog, next time, I am having an excerpt from novel which includes how the character sees the mountains.
I know little about Switzerland so I will have to keep following subsequent post.
ReplyDeleteYou should tweet regularly about your book using #Switzerland. That will attract attention from its citizens and tourists. When I was a kid, a classmate created his own country for a class assignment. He was the only one who chose something that already existed--the Black Sea. Your creative process is terrific!
ReplyDeleteThe right choice of location for a novel setting can take it places; as is apparent plenty from your post. Glad to read this post. I now have better clarity in terms of location for my own story. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI have never been to Switzerland but I have heard a lot about its scenic beauty and have seen in pictures which I think is perfect for a mystic novel. Good work!
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting journey!
ReplyDeleteI have never visited switzerland.
All the best.