An Interview With The Author

Someone gave me a list of questions about my book, which I have tried to answer to the best of my abilities:)

Who are you and what are you doing in your daily life?

My name is Sanne Wijker, I live in Holland and I am your average middle class housewife.

How and why did you decide to write a book?

This is a complicated question! As far as I remember myself, I have been an avid reader, and I was especially fond of  adventure/mystery stories about medieval knights, damsels in distress and English lords:) As I grew older I switched to fantasy and science fiction and became a fan of Star Wars, Tolkien and Narnia (which I read already at the university). Unfortunately, as the years went by, the society became more feminist and traditional adventure tales became stories of grrrl power which I detest, so I decided the only thing to do was to try and write a book in the classical adventure style and that's how I became an author. 

What is your book about and what are you trying to say in it?

In a nutshell, my book is a story about a young man from an aristocratic family who by the chain of unlucky circumstances  becomes a soldier of fortune, and later a secret agent of his government, his relationship with his best friend, and, of course, there is a love affair in it. As for what I have been trying to say...well, one could say that it's a story about friendship, but it's also about honour and forgiveness and other things, too. 

How would you describe the audience you were writing for? Men or women, young readers or adults?

There are certainly more men who read books in this genre (fantasy/science fiction), but I don't see why a woman can't read it, either.  Some of my friends of both sexes read  and enjoyed it, though the women will probably find Parts 2 and 3 more interesting, as that's where the love story begins.  As for the age of the readers, the book deals with some subjects which in my opinion are more suited for adult audience, such as adultery and the consequences of it etc.It's not a book for children, as for teenagers, parental guidance is recommended. On the other hand, when you look at what books the teenagers are supposed to read at school, you'll find this one quite innocent in comparison.

Who do you consider to be the most attractive character in the book and why?

Well, the main character, of course!:) As for why, well, you need to read the book to understand. As for the female characters, Miss Nerts because she is a wise old lady. 

Why did you choose fantasy and not another genre?

Strictly speaking, my book is neither fantasy nor science fiction, I'm told the correct name of the genre is space opera. The events take place in the future in a part of the Galaxy far far away but the  society has something of the Victorian customs and traditions. That's probably why I chose this genre, it gave me an opportunity to create a world which still operates according to the Victorian concepts of honour and duty, which have become quite outdated nowadays, but has modern technology.

Does you book contain a Christian message and which exactly?

Being  a Christian myself, of course, when writing this book I was doing it from a Christian point of view. On the other hand, I didn't want to sound preachy, as honestly, I wanted to try and reach people who are not particularly religious but like this genre, and I hope should they read the book it will make them think. It's basically a story of a man who lost his faith due to the tragedy of his youth but finds God in the end and learns how to forgive.

Why do you think this message is important?

Because man needs God

Was it difficult to write the book?

Writing it was not difficult, editing and preparing it for print was.   

Do you want to present the world you created as an ideal one? Was that part of your message?

In my book I describe several different planets, each with its own customs and traditions. I wouldn't describe that world as an ideal (well, aside from Delta with its Victorian tea parties:), it has cruelty and ugliness in it, but there is also place for courage and heroism and adventures and true love. 

Do you have plans to write  a sequel, or may be something else?

I'm not so sure about the sequel as I basically said everything in my first book what I wanted to say about this particular character. I would definitely like to write more books about the same world and probably will do it one day.

Where can one buy your book?

It is currently sold on Lulu and you can see a permanent link on my blog. The advantage of Lulu is that it sells to nearly every country on the planet. It normally takes about a week to get it. It's also  on Amazon since recently. Here is the link: 

The Long Way Home 

I'm planning to make it available in Kindle format soon 

Well, that was about all. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!