Author
Christoph Fischer
1.
What
types of books I write
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.
2.
The
latest book I have written
“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.
3.
Part
of a Series?
“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.
4.
When
did I start writing
I first
started writing at the age of 10 for my school’s student magazine, mainly comic
pieces. In my late teens my desire to read got the upper hand and I abandoned
my creativity in order to read more of what others had put together. I started again
two years ago.
5.
Why
did I start writing
I began to
write a student manual for a course I was planning to give and got distracted
by the idea for a novel. Curious to see if I could do it I persevered,
expecting to lose my momentum before long. Only as I reached the 100 page mark
did I believe that this story could turn into a book. My reason for writing
that particular and yet unpublished book was my desire to share my personal
experiences with mentally ill people, to alert people to the problems, heighten
their sensitivity and become more tolerant, change their perspective. I am
writing books of the type that I prefer in the hope that they will entertain
others in the same way as I have been entertained and educated by great writers
in the genre.
6.
My
influences
In terms of
other authors, I would have to say: Lionel Shriver, Simon Mawer, Christos
Tsiolkas, Tom Perrotta and Patrick Gale – to name a few. Their honesty and bite
when portraying their characters, their ability to create a love-hate
relationship with their protagonists have fascinated me deeply and I am sure
that some of their style has rubbed off on me.
Being German
and having learned Latin at school I am told that my sentence structure is
reminiscent of Thomas Mann and other German writers, many of whom I studied in
my teens and twenties.
Other
influences are of course my wonderful friends and editors.
7.
The
Future
“The Luck of the
Weissensteiners” is out on Amazon
Kindle and CreateSpace print on
demand in December. The second part of the Trilogy, “Sebastian”, and a
book about dementia, are currently in the later stages of editing. I hope to
publish at least one of them in 2013.
A translation
into German is currently also under way.
My blogs are:
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