Today we talk about The Tales of Zitreg, a book by M. A. Geritz published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author M. A. Geritz to get to know him better, where and why he found the inspiration to write his book The Tales of Zitreg, as well as all the messages he wants to convey with his book.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Is there a particular moment in your life that led you to the writing of your book? What was that?
There were multiple times in my life where I considered writing a novel. However, it wasn’t until my time at Rollins college that in decided to write a book. Through inspirations from my professors, to various internet creators, Teamfourstar especially, I made multiple attempts at book writing. While some of them ended in failure, the Tales of Zitreg was my first success. Funny thing is, it was originally intended to be a set of short stories ala Hans Christian Andersen, 50 pages total. Afterall I first started working on this novel when I found out my cousins in America where finally going to have a baby. So as an uncle I decided to give a special gift to my nephew. Also, at that time the pandemic took over the world, while I just finished my Master’s degree. Therefore, while looking for work, I had a lot of free time so I started to write my book. Then I wrote the primary antagonist and well… the rest is history.
- What characteristics your audience should have to appreciate your book?
Fans of Fantasy, Sci-Fi and anime would greatly appreciate this work. This book had many inspirations from Tolkiens Lord of the Rings, through Lucas’s Star Wars and finally to Oda’s One Piece and Kishimoto’s Naruto. Anyone who likes interesting stories, different concepts and curious worldbuilding will find this story appealing. These were my primary inspirations. Any person who’s interested in deeper secrets, hidden plots and original concepts will find something for themselves. The main idea behind this book, as well as the subsequent works was: “something different”. The base points of any fictional story are being kept, so that the readers don’t lose themselves within the pages of the book, but that is it. So, anyone who’s tired of the saturated one saviour type story will find a refreshing new take on the concept within the pages of this work. Also, the characters are really cool, but I do admit that this is a small bias from my side.
- What messages did you want to convey with your book?
The book is an anthology of fantasy stories, therefore there are many messages. The main idea behind the book is that the world does not revolve around a single person. There are multiple characters on this stage of life and we are all enacting our plays. Each sage seeks their own personal creeds of knowledge, to bear witness and record new experiences and events. Their stories show us what put them on those paths, or just a regular day in their lives. There are no easy answers, destined quests, or power of love and friendship nonsense. Even the antagonistic characters have deeper meaning and stories to them. There are also messages hidden beneath the lines but those are for the viewer to discover. Some of the additional themes of those stories include: ‘A great person can come from anywhere’, ‘Standing up when you have the power to do so’, ‘Love can be found anywhere’, ‘What is freedom?’, ‘What it means to be no.1?’, ‘The idea of evil’.
- How would you describe your writing style?
Non-linear and unique. When writing this book, I took a very specific approach especially with the narrator. It is an experimental style, but it was done in such a way that is easy to follow. Originally the work was extremely experimental. I was trying to use different fonts to express the feelings, stances and personalities of different characters. Basically, anyone beside the POV character would have their own font. Unfortunately, while the base concept seemed interesting the execution of it would’ve made this book an unreadable nightmare for the eyes. Now after careful revisions with the help from the excellent editors I had the pleasure of working with, I was able to revise it in such a way that removes the unworkable concepts, and left experimental one that might just work. I’m talking about the narrator choice of course. Through careful crafting I was able to achieve a workable 1st and 3rd person narrator, a dastardly plan I had in works from middle school. Feel free to read it and decide whether it works or not.
- Are you working on a new writing project?
I’m planning on writing the full series in this universe. Definitely a trilogy of the main storyline as well as a prequel. The sequel titled: “Masters of Sarassotto” is already in the works. The main story will follow the characters introduced in this book. It’s either continuation oof their stories, their conclusions and different forms of development. I’ll also be introducing new interesting characters who help develop the plot further. Once again, I’ll be taking an experimental approach with them, but rather than focusing on stylistic experiments, I’ll focus more on story development ideas. I’m not sure if I’ll continue after these four works. I already have a planned plot point for them. Things that need to happen for the overall story. That’s also part of my writing process. Knowing points A, B and C, while inventing how to reach them at the spot. So, the main stories and prequel plot points are set, and while there might be more in the future after them, I still have to carefully think about them.
Europe Books thanks the author M. A. Geritz 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 Tales of Zitreg. We wish him the best of luck for his book and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, may this book full of stories, characters and messages captivate you and provide you with interesting food for thought to apply to your everyday life.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your Editor!