All writers have an inclination that their first draft is only the beginning of a long, arduous journey to completion; my first draft began around the age of seven. The world back then was immersed with magical creatures amidst social and political conflict. Dark tides rising on an unsuspecting world; forces of good desperately trying to outwit the agents of chaos. Fast forward a couple of decades and I find myself still living in that world.
Like many freshly minted twenty-year-olds living in New York City, I suppressed my very amateur storytelling abilities in favor of chasing the common formula for perceived success –School, job, marriage, job, and oh yes, job. Still in our twenties, my wife lost her battle with breast cancer. This sent me on a journey to find myself, and as fate would have it, I joined the brave men and women of the armed forces.
In the most unlikely of places I heard reminiscent ideas of my first draft being discussed amongst US Navy sailors. Surrounded by the cold steel of an aircraft carrier’s bulkhead, two petty officers passionately discussed the works of Graham Hancock and Dr. Robert Schoch. Echoes of my story blared once more at the mention of turbulent affairs during a time of wonder, long forgotten by history. The not so invisible divide between ‘ship’s company and air-dale’ would not prevent me from joining in; I had to know more.
The fires were rekindled. This time I avoided the imaginations of a child in favor of science. Anthropology, archaeology, philosophy, history, psychology, all played their role in fabricating a viable approach to telling my original story, but with more of an adult appeal. There were many source materials available for my research, coupled with my own exposure to a multi-cultural environment during my youth; tales and legends experienced through travel. I finally had a tangible framework to begin “The Anuk Chronicles.”
Creating the universe in my novel was easy, for by no means is it my own. It belongs to the multitude of researchers, dreamers, and growing alternative-history proponents around the world. The characters as well are a mixture of the myths of heroes long past, blended with real human personas. This is the goal after all, to showcase people in the environment of their time.
The civilization of Atlantis is only a placeholder, an anchor if you will; the setting of the novel could have very well been New York City, Chicago, or London. My favorite place, however, are the kingdoms of Illyria; old Europe spanning the Balkans to the Rhine. Not much is taught about these ancient civilizations; not much is known outside the oral legends.
Writing the characters proved challenging, but once their individualities were established, they took on a life of their own. I have often feared that while writing their scenes I am engaging in a form of dissociative identity disorder; thankfully I have not yet manifested any of their traits. The future of the heroes and villains has already been written in the ancient tales of Greece, China, the Indus Valley civilization, Mayan, and Aztec.
This all started off as a child’s escape from reality, progressed into a series of screenplays on a virtual shelf, and has ended up in a planned series of novels. The universe is vast, whether it is external or internal. My hope for the Anuk Chronicles is that it prompts readers to explore their own worlds, experience the riches the ancients left behind, and slow down for a moment to reignite sparks of innocence.
