Today we talk about MAGES AND SAGES, a book by Hristo Al Santulov published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author Hristo Al Santulov to get to know him better, what was the moment that prompted him to the writing of his book MAGES AND SAGES, as well as how much he recognizes himself in the protagonist of his novel.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- What is the moment that brought you to the writing of your book?
I could not point to a specific time when motivation struck me but I remember My granddaughter Emilia growing up before my eyes. She was carrying an inexplicable pain in her soul, as if bewitched by some evil spirit. That is how the title of the first story was born – “The Lonely Swan”. She needed to fight for “disenchantment”, as my children used to say when they were little. So I wished to disenchant her and “give” her the most precious thing – the love of a true friend who is ready to sacrifice himself for her. The other story, “The Emerald Castle” envy and treachery collide with purity and the struggle to defend it. In this clash, the magical and the real are intertwined to reveal the magic of human repentance. I may say that I have always been inspired by the drama of human choices – so universal and so new with each and every one – as the beauty of the seasons where every spring is new and pure.
- What is the message you want to communicate to your readers?
I am a professor of philosophy and there is no way that my messages do not stem from my reflections on human values. My deep convictions that love is the basis of Christian optimism are diverse. That is how my characters develop. In “The Lonely Swan” Yana is freed from the evil sorceress, but she remains lonely without the love of her faithful friend Yasen. Freedom without love is an endless, painful loneliness. And when he finally finds her at the Mirror Lake, he chooses to voluntarily sacrifice his human form, asking the sorcerer to join the swan, just so that he and Yana can be together. As a writer, I am alien to shallow effects. In my stories, conflicts arise within an individual person. If I have to briefly define a message to the readers, I would say this: “Love is the path to success”. Revenge begets revenge; malice begets malice; envy burns the soul. Love gives birth to love and spiritual balance, harmony. People’s hearts freeze sometimes. Egoism conquers their souls. What a pity! It takes a deep understanding of the opportunity given to us to choose the path of our own existence. But such a choice requires strength and willingness to take responsibility.
- How much is there of you in the protagonist of your novel?
As a philosopher, I have never been inclined to identify with any of my characters. Rather, through writing, I reveal my spiritual attitudes in different aspects. In my 85 years, I have experienced upheavals, but I have found the right paths to move forward. You may be curious to know that my wife Elena and I have been married for 59 years. How do you think this can be achieved? Only with love. Somehow, readers shall recall St. Apostle Paul’s hymn of love in his first epistle to the Corinthians and shall see that there is no easy true love. In short, I am in all my characters, I put my emotions and experience in them to make them alive, dense, to rejoice and suffer, to laugh and cry, to love and hate, so that the reader can feel the sincerity with which the author invites them to share.
- How would you define your writing style?
I have always been fascinated by the wisdom encoded in legends. That is why I may say that my style is close to Magic Realism. All my fairy tales and stories are rather an artistic interpretation of the relationship between the magic in legends and human experience as I know it. I hope this doesn’t sound strange to you, but I started writing fiction after my eighties. Until then, I was still teaching at the private college our family has founded or visiting at other educational institutions. But I’ve always dreamed of writing for children so I started with “Mishi Mashi of the Orange House”, a fairy tale where the fat landlady’s grandchildren befriend three mice. My pal, the magician, often turns me into a little mouse, so that I can observe their lives. This is how the formation of my style began. I am not a trained writer. My daughter Maria and my wonderful wife, who are extremely literate, discovered me. They encouraged me and I continued in this style.
- Are you working on a new writing project you can tell us about?
I have completed and edited two more short novels. “The Edge of Pirin” is based on the legend of the edelweiss in the Pirin Mountains, through the prism of Bulgarian wedding traditions. The other, “Tears of Marble” interprets an existing legend of the “Marble Fountain of Love”. This fountain still exists today in the beautiful Stara Planina town of Tryavna, where the ancient Tryavna school of woodcarving, famous on the Balkan Peninsula, developed. My first historical novel, entitled “Sparks in the Darkness of Time”, is also nearing completion. It describes the great transformations in Flanders in the 12th and early 13th centuries, based on the personal fates of the Count of Flanders, Philip I of Alsace, and the family of his court painter Elias Vandevyvere. I was impressed by the beauty of the medieval Ghent and its dramatic way through the early Renaissance.
Europe Books thanks the author Hristo Al 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 MAGES AND SAGES. We wish him the best of luck for his book and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, may this book allow you to reflect on your values, your responsibilities and choices made in life; how to protect them and how to improve them in order to live a life always at its best and in continuous development.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!