Today we talk about THE GOLDEN APPLE- Michael and Jennifer’s Return, a book by Takezo Art and Susan Ogden Benting published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the authors, Takezo Art and Susan Ogden Benting, to get to know them better, what prompted them to write their book THE GOLDEN APPLE- Michael and Jennifer’s Return, as well as how they describe their writing style.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- What prompted you to the writing of your book?
We began this trilogy not from the desire to tell a story, but from the need to keep an essential question alive: what happens to the world after evil has been defeated? Many stories stop at victory. We were interested in what comes after, in how those who brought the light continue to live, what the price of peace is, and how it can be passed on. Michael the Brave and the Silver Apple was born from the idea that true heroism is not conquest, but protection. In The Golden Apple – Michael and Jennifer’s Return, the return is not a glorious one, but a responsible one: the choice to remain present in a world that wants to forget. And The Platinum Apple emerged from the need to speak about memory, about shadows that do not disappear, and about choice, even for those born into darkness. We wrote these books as an act of continuity. As a way of saying that light does not cancel shadow, but learns to face it without fear.
- What would you like to hear from your readers?
We do not seek admiration or validation. What would truly move us is to hear that these books have awakened questions. That readers felt an emotion that stayed with them after closing the book, or that they recognized themselves, even briefly, in a character, a choice, or a silence. We would like to know that they felt the fragility of light, not only its strength. That they understood goodness not as triumph, but as responsibility, and peace not as an ending, but as a process that must be protected every day. If a reader tells us that they now look differently at heroism, memory, or forgiveness, then we feel that the journey of these books has fulfilled its purpose. Above all, we would want readers to feel that they are not alone in their questions. That shadows are part of the path, and that acknowledging them is not weakness, but maturity.
- How you describe your Writing style?
We would describe our writing style as both lyrical and narrative, built more on atmosphere, symbolism, and inner rhythm than on fast-paced action. We are as interested in the silences between events as in the events themselves, because that is where deeper meanings are born. We write in a register that blends elements of fairy tale, myth, and fantasy, yet remains grounded in a very concrete human sensitivity: love, loss, memory, and choice. Our aim is not to explain the world, but to allow it to breathe, offering readers space for interpretation and reflection. Our style avoids gratuitous spectacle and focuses instead on quiet emotion, lasting images, and the idea that the true strength of a story lies in its moral coherence and in the honesty with which it treats its characters, whether they are kings, travelers, or beings of light.
- Is there a book you are particularly attached to and that has taught you something?
We are attached to each volume of the trilogy, because each one marks a different stage of the same journey. However, The Platinum Apple holds a special place for us, because this is where the theme of choice becomes central, and the boundaries between light and shadow are no longer clear. This book taught us that inheritance is not a fixed destiny, but a responsibility that can be accepted or transformed. The characters can no longer live solely from their past, whether glorious or traumatic, but are forced to consciously assume the present. For us, this represented a moment of both narrative and moral maturation. The Platinum Apple showed us that true growth does not come from eliminating darkness, but from acknowledging it and choosing not to let it led. It is, perhaps, the most honest book we have written together.
- Are you planning to write more books? Can you tell us something about it?
Yes, writing does not end with this trilogy. In fact, starting with The Platinum Apple, we felt that we had already opened other directions that were implicitly present from the beginning. We are interested in the same fundamental questions, but expressed through different voices and addressed to different ages. In adult literature, we have begun to explore themes of absurdity and fragile meaning, as reflected in Nothing, a story about illusion, hope, and the way people sometimes come to believe more in appearances than in truth. At the same time, we have written for children in books such as Caleb and Vivy the Squirrel and Sharab and Betty, where the same values are approached through an accessible and empathetic language: care for the vulnerable, responsibility, friendship beyond fear, and the choice of good even in difficult situations. For us, these directions do not contradict one another, but rather complement each other. They are part of the same search: how light can exist in a confusing world and how it can be passed on without becoming a false promise. Regardless of the audience we address, we remain faithful to our intention to create stories that invite reflection, empathy, and humanity.
Europe Books thanks the authors, Takezo Art and Susan Ogden Benting, once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside them on the editorial path that led to the publication of their book THE GOLDEN APPLE- Michael and Jennifer’s Return. We wish them the best of luck for their future works.
To you, my readers, may this book fuel your curiosity, stir your emotions and resonate with your personal experiences from which you can draw small lessons to apply in you everyday life!
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your editor!