Where did the Island come from?

Some have asked how the Island of Stone came to be.

My first few books were very heavy on research. For Vril, I had to delve into Nazi history and secret organizations. For the Land In-Between, it was religion and demonology. For Slaying of the Bull, the themes were medieval Europe, Mongolian history and culture, and Manichaeism. I also worked on a Sci-Fi mystery book during this time, set on Saturn’s moon Titan. All of these books took a lot of research. I mean, just a huge amount of research. We’re talking binders full of all sorts of things.

It might not be inherently clear, but any book requires quite a bit of digging. The story flows until you reach a point where you’re not sure you’re being accurate. Some simple oversight or inaccuracy can turn off some readers and pull them out of the story. As a writer, you want to avoid that at all costs.

A lot of that research never makes it into the final book. For example, I spent a great deal of energy researching Mongolian history and culture for the Slaying of the Bull. I had whole chapters drafted on the Mongolian perspective, with a main character being Batu Khan, the man who led the invasion into Hungary. They were good, rich chapters, and I was able to develop complex, historically accurate, albeit mostly fictitious, characters in Batu Khan and his lieutenants. But as the book progressed, it became clear to me that adding this humanity to my antagonist took away from the book’s dread. I needed to write the villain from the perspective of the Europeans, those who huddled in fear at the approach of this dark horde. To really succeed in that enterprise, the Mongolians needed to remain largely a mystery.

In the 13th century, the Mongolians were virtually unknown to Europeans and were even referred to as Tartars, who were a completely different people and culture. At first, the Kingdoms of Medieval Europe thought the Mongols were merely raiders and therefore not a real threat. The first fingers of the army indeed behaved much like that, but in reality, they were testing the Europeans’ defenses, and the Mongols were not impressed. The arrogance and naivete of the Christian Kingdoms almost led to Europe being added to the growing list of civilizations that fell under the sword of the Mongolian Empire. At the Battle of Mohi, the Hungarian army was decimated. Keep in mind, at the time, the Hungarian kingdom could field the most powerful and advanced army in Europe.

In any event, after writing these books, I was a bit worn out on the research front. I wanted my next book to be a simple, streamlined ghost story. I wanted to keep the characters minimal and the setting something familiar. The Island of Stone rose from this desire. Although the story grew more complex than originally intended, simplicity and minimal research were the catalysts behind the book. I love nature, and I’m fascinated by isolation within its bosom. A small, quaint cabin on an island deep in the wilderness seemed like a great place to have a ghost story. Throw some ruins on that island, and some history, and you have the building blocks for a great setting. Then, take a conflicted man full of grief and put him on said island, with no easy way to escape, and you have a character that can really be tested both mentally and physically. Hence, the Island of Stone was born.

Cheers!