Today we talk about ZARINA’S SPRING, a book by Hristo Santulov published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author Hristo Santulov to get to know him better, what inspired him to the writing of his book ZARINA’S SPRING, as well as what the key themes of his story are.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- What inspired you to write your book?
First of all, I would like to thank you for the kind attention to me and my book. Bulgarian folklore is a rich, deep source from which I draw inspiration. It encodes the deep wisdom of the Thracians, Proto-Bulgarians and even the Celtic tribes that once lived on our lands. Complex family ties and relationships have always been a direct expression of conscious or unconscious moral values or prejudice. I have tried to reflect the clashes between pride and humility, greed and generosity, envy and pure heart and those are the lines that feature each of the characters. And those are the lines of conflict going across close ties, even kinship or family relations. Brother against brother, sin and repentance are only part of the complex tangle of the characters’ destinies. And Zarina’s sacrifice of her immortality for the pure love for her human family and community is the culmination of this story.
- What would you like to hear from your readers?
People are different, as are their aesthetic preferences. And thank God, so that we live in a colorful world. I have tried to encode the moral choices, but also the responsibilities that determine the value of our own lives. I have tried to present a multi-faceted picture of life, in which everyone could discover traits of their own character and find that meaningful and relatable. So, I think my readers could be adolescents and elderly alike. I would be especially happy if I managed to recreate the mystical atmosphere of our Bulgarian mountain Rhodope, which is considered the birthplace of the mythological Orpheus. There are Orpheus rocks, Orpheus lakes, many ancient Thracian sanctuaries, and one of them is known as the grave of Orpheus. This mysticism is the natural environment of my characters and their search for meaning beyond the easy answers.
- What are the key themes in your story?
Two main themes are constantly intertwining in the story. One of them is dedicated to the family. Life has always proven that when demonic manifestations of greed and envy creep into family relationships, they painfully fall apart. Through the images of the two brothers, I have tried to delve deeper into their personal experiences that led to this dramatic breakdown. The second theme is a praise for sincere, pure human love. It finds expression in the beauty of reciprocity between the younger brother and the wild Zarina. Why don’t people trust each other’s love? This is a question that has always puzzled me. Maybe because we imagine that it is something very easy to experience. But when it is real, it is long-suffering, selfless, reaching self-denial. Such is the love of Zarina and Stoil, which seems to naturally lead to her self-sacrifice, igniting the cave of the cursed treasure that feeds people’s greed.
- How did it feel to see your book published?
It is always nice to see your book presented to people’s attention. After all, no writer writes for himself, but hopes to touch the sensibilities of as many people as possible. That is hope, reality is not always like that. But an author who is sincere in his stories must be patient. We have a saying “Good things happen slowly”. I may add a bit of humor saying: – I am 85 years old and I am in no hurry.
- Are you working on a new writing project that you can tell us about?
God has blessed me with a large family. Everyone has their own job. To my greatest happiness, my wife Elena and my elder daughter Maria have dedicated a lot to our joint work. I write, and they edit, proofread, and translate. This frees up my time to be more productive. I have finished a 550-page novel. It’s nearly edited and ready for a translation into English. It might be interesting to mention that the idea for it came about after my wife and I visited the city of Ghent in Belgium to see our great-grandson Samuel. Then I decided to dedicate a fairy tale to him and bestow it to him for his third birthday. But God had decided otherwise. Ghent conquered and obsessed me. I started reading about its history and development. I came across biographical information about the builder of the Gravensteen Castle. This stone giant is the pride and emblem of the city. Its founder was Count Philip I of Alsace, ruler of Flanders. The novel is not just a description of his dramatic life, but a broad panorama of numerous historical events that left their own mark on the development of Flanders. So many new things emerged in this county at the end of the 12th century. I could not resist the temptation to title the novel “Sparks in the Shades of Time”.
Europe Books thanks the author Hristo Santulov 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 ZARINA’S SPRING. We wish him the best of luck for his book and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, may this book capture and intrigue you and be a source of new knowledge and new reflections for you.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your Editor!