Today we talk about The Book of Mayhem, a book by A. Hewman published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author A. Hewman to get to know him better, where and when he found the inspiration to write his The Book of Mayhem, as well as how felt to read his life on the pages of his book.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Where and when did you find the inspiration to write your book?
I saw this story. I still see it. I saw it after I penned the prologue, which was a standalone piece, on my way to work. Once I had filled a notebook with this story, I began typing. It was there in full like a play with the actors moving yet always in flux. The ending, the beginning, the middle, all of it was a set of images that fluttered through my mind and each had two or three or maybe more alternatives to what each could be. Each path I took opened more images that entered my mind and it felt fresh as I moved through this book. A friend of mine inspired me as well. If not for him I may never have penned anything. Just the world itself. How does the world see itself? I asked and wrote. What was made what will be. What is, is lost with each moment. I discovered what was coming with each word I wrote as much as anyone reading might discover with each page turned.
- What is the message you want to convey to your readers?
There are many messages but if I picked one it would be: What makes you feel? Why? The pages of this book are made to make the reader react and think, to feel and wonder. It’s what I was doing as the writer. I wondered. I was in the story. I am of it and through it. I questioned myself. I learned. I grew and found ways to say things I never knew before. Existence grew. My world opened up. I changed and for it I am better. Each character is a reflection of real people and of real things yet are being twisted based on whose point of view you receive. What do you feel? Question these things. Don’t ignore them. Open them and stare them down no matter how difficult it might seem. Know who you are or someone will use who you are against you. Don’t be someone else’s puppet. Be your own. Let your nature guide you, yet don’t let it be your master, or you will lose who you are.
- What are the crucial themes of your book?
Family, Friendship, Loyalty, Sex, Hatred, Salvation, Surrender, Destiny, Love, Hate, Luck, and more are all actors and characters pushing and pulling the path of the story. Mayhem is the main theme. It is the central figure that never truly reveals itself yet surrounds all as the story progresses. We see it in life yet in this story it is front and center, though it may not seem like it from the beginning. Why we act and the things we do are taken advantage of. We are animals. We are beings of life that act and react to our surroundings. Are we free or are we trapped? If our natures are altered but even a little we become the monsters that lurk, the things that go bump in the night. All actions put in different contexts can become things of beauty or horror. No one is immune to life and all that it holds. Gautama Buddha too had to take in all that is life before acceptance was found. Take it all in. The good, the bad and the ugly. Fight for your world too! Don’t let others tear apart what you worked hard to create! Acceptance isn’t always the answer. Resist! Know why you resist but resist in whatever form that takes. This world, the one where people are human, is worth all that it brings, so fight for it! Resist it! Fight for it! Resist it! Live in this paradox and above all stay human through it all.
- What sensations did you feel by ‘reading’ your life on the pages of your book?
Fear, loathing, anger, sadness… there is deep sadness in this book, misery even.. happiness.. there is great happiness in this book, joy beyond words.. wonder, confusion, power, release, acceptance, rejection, and in the end magic and the indomitable human spirit. As a character, the author of this book, I felt as if I was resisting in some ways the magic of the Witch. Her book is one that told a different story than mine. It was my word against hers at the end. Clashing events that coexist yet can never find the same conclusion, and while I wrote, her story would take over at times and mine would react. I won in the end, but only because of deep sadness in my life, not the character that is the author, but me who is this person. I wanted to not have an ending that was hers. I wanted something that I could feel power and joy from. I am not thankful for that sadness, but this ending is part of that sadness, yet it is more. It is humanity’s victory. We overcome, we persevere, and we find ways to push on to tomorrow. Truly there is no victory here. No one won in this story. There are no winners, only survivors.
- Are you working on a new writing project, you can tell us about?
I see the story of a pirate crew cast in ancient times that tells of glory but also the cruel realities of life and also the unfairness of our existence. I have seen the story of lovers cast in the guise of a space opera, where love never dies, but duty tries to kill it nonetheless. I have written and drawn a comic on luck and misfortune and how the central character is pushed and pulled by both. Some words to each of these are on pages in many different places, but as of now I have no ambitions or desire to pen them or add to them as of now. I am simply trying to move on in my life and find the next chapter in my own existence. I am busy trying to find my own path, and when I obtain a muse or desire I will write more. Poems make their way onto pages both paper and electronic. I’m a little lost, but I have stood tall and I think I see a path forward by simply being this animal that I am, and not being so afraid of what I might or might not do.
Europe Books thanks the author A. Hewman once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside him on the editorial path that led to the publication of his book The Book of Mayhem. We wish him the best of luck for his book and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, may this story interest you, make you curious and keep you engaged in reading; that it will also allow you to ask yourself questions, learn from the answers you will find, and grow through them exploration.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your Editor!