Welcome Chris Fischer to
‘Author 2 Author’ Blog Chat.
Thank you for stopping by, please make yourself at
home and we’ll begin.
Chris is here today to chat to us about his book ‘The
Luck of the Weissensteiners’; here is a little about it from Chris’s
description…
The Luck of the Weissensteiners is a novel
set in 1933 Bratislava of what was then the First Republic of Czechoslovakia.
It focuses on the romance between a Jewish weaver’s daughter and a German
bookseller. As fascist interest in the country increases and war comes to
Europe the couple and their families have to face the challenges thrown at each
of them. After the War there are more unexpected circumstances to deal with.
I have some family connections to the region
and while researching the past of my ancestors I started to become particularly
fascinated by the role that Slovakia played in World War II.
I write historical
novels and also some contemporary fiction. I am fascinated by the last century
and the way both World Wars have affected the creation of new nations: The
changing of borders, forced or voluntary movement of people and the resulting
conflicts of loyalty and sense of belonging of my heroes. To portray this I
usually create a large cast of characters whose lives are affected by the chain
reaction of political and personal changes.
My other,
contemporary, fiction revolves around private dramas, such as mental and
physical illnesses, mid-life crisis and choices we are forced to make in our
lives.
“The Luck of
the Weissensteiners” is part of a trilogy, which deals with the issues I have
outlined above: Political borders, forced or voluntary mass movement of people
and conflicts of loyalty and sense of belonging. The Trilogy is loosely
entitled “The Trilogy of Nations”. The next part in the series has the working
title “Sebastian” and is set in Vienna before and after World War I.
Print Length: 363 pages
ISBN: 1481130331ASIN:B00AFQC4QC
Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
Language: English
Right so tell us a bit about yourself?
I am a semi-retired resident of the UK with roots in Germany. I live in the country-side and I love sitting in the garden with a good book. I am fairly new to writing novels and when I am not on the computer my dogs determine how I spend my time.
How would you describe 'your book (s)'?
My books are mainly historical fiction. The first one, “The Luck of the Weissensteiners” was published in November and concerns a Jewish and a Catholic family in Slovakia in the 1930s. It is not so much about the holocaust but more about a variety of people affected by the times and the politics in different and more subtle ways. It is part of my Three Nations Trilogy which explores what defines us as people: Nationality, culture, family and religion. The next book, “Sebastian”, will be out late spring 2013.
What genre is your work mainly? Do you tend to stay
in the same vein or are you hoping (if not already) to explore new ventures?
Four of my seven books are historical novels. The other three deal with mental health, Alzheimers and society drop outs, so quite different subjects. The research necessary for a good historical novel can be all consuming and I do need a break from it every so often.I am not sure I could write a good comedy, although the challenge is tempting.
What inspired you to write 'your book (s)’?
The first three novels were inspired by historical research I did about my family who have roots in central Europe. The other ideas came from real life, stories I have heard at dinner parties or read in the newspaper and which made me think “How would that feel if it was me or my family?”It was curiosity that got me interested, but at some point my imagination runs away with what I have read and comes up with a plot.
Who was the easiest character to write and why?
Hardest and why?
The easiest character to write was Jonah Weissensteiner, the father of the heroine of my book. He was meant to be a harsh and strict man but the first scene I wrote with him he had turned into my late father who was very gentle and kind. It was an amazing experience to have him there.The hardest characters were some of the bad guys, because I didn’t like to use stereotypes. I had to work hard to make sure I had given at least some of them other dimensions to make them more life-like. I believe that nobody is intrinsically pure evil without any redeeming factors. For the purpose of my plot development however, that complicated things.
Are your characters based on real people? People
you may know or TV/Movie stars?
Some of them are loosely based on real characters, but once the story found its way on the screen of my computer, the characters developed beyond my influence and would not behave in the way I had planned in my head.Some characters looked like movie stars in my head. Although Jonah behaved like my father, I imagined him like Ed O’Neill from Modern Family and I had Glenn Close, Harvey Keitel and Kate Hudson on my mind for some of the roles.
Without giving anything away, what is/are your
favorite scene(s) in 'your book'?
Sadly the scenes I like the most in my book, and would love to talk about, would be spoilers if I described them here; so I will only mention the epilogue, in which I tie up all the loose ends. It felt nice to tell the readers what will happen after the actual story of the book has finished.
If 'your book (s)' had a theme song, what would it
be and why?
The first song that came into my mind when reading this questions was “Human” by the Killers, but on longer consideration I would like it a Kate Bush song, maybe her duet with Peter Gabriel “Don’t give up”.
Do you listen to music while you write your book
(s)? If so ... what songs?
No, I need total silence – as far as that can ever be achieved with doorbells and three lively dogs.
What’s up next for you?
I am editing my second book Sebastian at the moment and working on the draft of two others.
What’s came first the chicken or the egg? Lol
I am a vegetarian so I vote for the egg.
Lol fair enough ;)
Do you have any favorite books or authors?
I loved “We need to talk about Kevin” by Lionel Shriver, “The Slap” by Christos Tsiolkas and “The Warsaw Anagrams” by Richard Zimler.Independent authors: Paulette Mahurin (The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap), Angella Graff (The Judas Kiss) and Graham J. Sharpe (Purple)And many more…
Are you working on anything else besides this?
Yes, I review a lot of books myself, all that networking on indie writer websites makes me hopelessly curious, and I spend too much time reading and reviewing other people’s work. Some of them I exhibit on my blog.
Here could you give us a few words to people who
haven’t yet read your book (s).
Sell your work ;)
Don’t be put off by the seemingly dark theme of the book, there is more to the story and the characters than that. There are still a lot of stories to be told about those times, lessons to be learnt and inspiration to be taken.
Here are all the place you can find Chris, please
go check ‘em out and go buy his book.
Amazon US:Amazon UK:Barnes and Noble:My profile on Goodreads:My Facebook links:My writer’s blog:My reviewer’s blog:
And as ever, Chris, please come back and share more
of your work with us, maybe next time you’ll join us with Book too ‘Sebastian’.
Take care hun x
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