The Caves of Etreat sounds like a great mystery.
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The Caves of Etretat
by Matt Chatelain
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BLURB:
In 2007, Canadian bookstore owner Paul Sirenne is suddenly thrust into a quest for answers, when his parents are found brutally murdered, their bodies cut up and shaped into the letters H.N. Finding a note inside his father's copy of 'The Hollow Needle', by Maurice Leblanc, Sirenne is determined to uncover the roots of his long-forgotten family secret.
He heads to the town of Etretat, France, on the trail of a hundred year old mystery hidden in the pages of the 'Hollow Needle'. Falling in love with Leblanc's great-granddaughter, he deals with puzzles, theories, codes and historical mysteries, leading him to believe that Leblanc held a secret war against Adolf Hitler, fighting for the control of an incredible complex of caves hidden in Etretat's chalk cliffs.
'THE CAVES OF ETRETAT' is the first in a four-book epic adventure following Paul Sirenne, an average man unknowingly manipulated into becoming the key in the final phase of a complex conspiracy spanning millennia. Inextricably woven into history, the series re-writes everything we know in a non-stop rollercoaster of a ride where nothing is ever as it seems.
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INTERVIEW
Who inspired you to start writing?
When I was nine years old, I went into my brother's room and found a poem he had written. Instantly jealous, I decided that I, too, could be a writer and promptly went to my room to write two absolutely horrendous poems. Over time my poetry improved. Then it changed, becoming eight to twelve page long classical stories with morals.
When I started writing fiction stories, I was always copying styles of my literary heroes, Isaac Asimov, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Maurice Leblanc. Leblanc must have stuck stronger than the others because he became the backbone of 'The Sirenne Saga', my four-book epic adventure series. The second novel of my series, 'The Four Books of Etretat' focuses on a search for four mysterious, identical copies of 'The Hollow Needle', a book written by Leblanc, more than one hundred years ago (Available free online, at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page ).
Leblanc's style permeates 'The Caves of Etretat' , written as an ode to his great character, 'Arsene Lupin', Gentleman-Thief. Most would not know this, but, once a year, in Etretat, France, a contest is held for the best Lupin novel of the year. The prize is given in Leblanc's ancient Villa, by his great-grand-daughter. I wrote 'The Caves of Etretat' to win that contest.
As an interesting aside, Paul Sirenne's soul-mate, in 'The Sirenne Saga', is Leblanc's great-grand-daughter and the story begins in their home. How convoluted is that? I sure hope she likes the story, otherwise my chances for that contest may have vanished.
As a secondary, contemplative aside, I have no idea what her name is, or what she looks like. On an unexplainable impulse, shortly before publishing, I changed the character, Raymonde Leblanc's appearance. What would it mean if the new description and name matched the real person? What would that say about the reality of my story?
What elements are necessary components for this genre?
My story is cross-genre, full description: Action/Adventure/Thriller/Historical mystery/ suspense/mysticism. Short version: Action/Adventure. The mix was accidental, really. I was just writing the story I had always wanted to read, the ultimate adventure, where all the questions were answered.
The only way to achieve this was to create a story so blended into history, it could not be separated. Is it reality or fiction? Just about everything you will encounter in 'The Caves of Etretat' is real. Every fact I present to bolster my theory can be substantiated through research. When the story gets more outlandish, that, too, is real.
There was a danger 'The Caves of Etretat' might get bogged down by too much talk among the characters, so an antagonist was needed to create tension. Here, I was presented a problem. My antagonist is not truly revealed until Book Two. Luckily, I had some alternate choices that came in handy in Book One.
I also wanted my series to have a real pace, some get-up-and-go. The only way to do that was to balance tension against suspense and ratchet it up constantly. As a result, no matter how fast you think Book One is, Books Two through Four just keep getting faster.
Another thing I wanted was some meat to the story. No cheap storyline for me. This was going to be something you'd have to bite on and chew for a while. I wanted something that went the distance. Something that would stay with you, make you think, make you wonder about the deepest questions mankind has ever faced: Why are we here? Is the universe real? What is everything all about?
To achieve that took six years and four books. The Sirenne Saga.
How did you come up with your idea for the novel?
It was a gradual thing. 'The Caves of Etretat' was intended to be a single book. Research revealed true historical mysteries in Etretat. When I wrote the thing, I had intended to do something like 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown, only different. I didn't want it to lead me directly to Rennes-le-Chateau and provide me with the real explanation behind 'The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail' by Michael Baigent, etc. What was Leblanc doing involved in all that?
Jules Vernes had been in on it too. Now, here I was, caught in the same trap, discovering an incredible story hidden through the ages.
Weirdest thing was that the research connected directly to another story of mine called; 'The Greyman', an earlier attempt to explore my mystical beliefs through an action story. What was going on? Inevitably, I had to accept that I was going to have to write a four-book series as my first book. Worse still, the story was so complex, I didn't know if I could write it. The questions my main character, Paul Sirenne, would have to face, were my questions and I didn't have the answers.
In the end, the story became a total blend between reality and fiction, somehow answering all of my questions, all of our questions. Yet, the story remains fiction. Or does it?
What would you want your readers to know that was not in your bio.
When I was thirty-five, I went in for open-heart surgery. They told me the replacement valve was good for ten years. I figured that meant I would die when I was forty-five. When I reached forty-five, I met Charmaine, my partner. I realized I didn't want to die after all.
Of course, you're going to suggest I had no say in the matter. Dying was not my choice. It's just something that happens. The problem was, the operation took that certainty away from me. I had no long-term anymore. I always felt like today was my last day. Sure it was in my head but it was there nonetheless.
Then, my mom died. I wrote a story about that, which you can download from https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/156578 . Her death was a miracle. I watched her let go of all her worries, her life issues, everything, before she died. She gave away her clothes, her jewelry and her body. Her final adventure gave me an insight into life and death, without which, writing 'The Sirenne Saga' would have been impossible.
Today, at fifty-three, still with the same valve, I feel fine. I accept my fate, whatever it may be. I know my previous worries served a purpose, pushing me to write the series, believing it would be my last and only literary effort. I put everything in there, shirking no duty. Looking back, I see that I went through my life lessons writing those books.
I found life-lessons in fiction. Imagine that.
As far as writing goes, what are your future plans?
The series must be finished to the end before I undertake a new project. Recently I decided to publish books three and four concurrently to speed up the process. If I'm lucky, I will finish by August 2012. After that, I am planning a two-book connected series. The first book is intended to be my ultimate exploration of the action genre. That story is going to move. It will have a sub-current focusing on money and economic-related issues. The second book is intended to face the economic issues straight on, seen through various eyes, while watching the collapse of society. Saying more than that would be to spoil things.
I consider writing 'The Sirenne Saga' as preparation for these two books. I'm hoping to write both this year, another insane goal. However, don't forget, without insane goals, we'd never go insane.
If you could be one of the character from this book, who would it be?
The one character that connected to me most was my main antagonist. He is buried in 'The Caves of Etretat'. We don't really see him, although he is everywhere, with his hand in everything. I know, I know, you're going to say, the antagonist is a vicious serial-killer. Why would I want to be him?
The thing is, in so many ways, the story surrounds him. As you get deeper in the series, (the next books), the antagonist comes out of the folds of history and more story gets devoted to him. We see his character develop. Despite his murderous tendencies, he has many difficult challenges to overcome. His growth rivals that of Sirenne, the main character. Questions about him become inevitable at some point. Is he really evil? Is Sirenne really good? None of that is clear. What we are left with is that the antagonist began it all, followed his quest and ended it, just like Sirenne. His were the stronger lessons, without which Sirenne would never have evolved. Good cannot exist without bad.
Of course, identifying with him means I have a serial-killer in my head giving me advice. It's okay, I'm dealing with it. So far, I've controlled most impulses. I hardly laugh at bloody murders anymore.
Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?
Paul Sirenne is forced to head to Etretat, France, after his parents are killed, their bodies twisted into the letters HN. He is seeking the answers to a forgotten family mystery, following clues found inside a hundred year old book, The Hollow Needle, by Maurice Leblanc. Falling in love with Leblanc's great-granddaughter, Sirenne unearths codes, puzzles, and historical mysteries, leading him to believe that Leblanc was fighting a secret war against Adolf Hitler for the control of a fortress of caves, hidden in Etretat's chalk cliffs.
That's the standard blurb for 'The Caves of Etretat'. I'll give you a little tidbit no-one else has gotten: Book One is intended to fool you. Nothing that happens there is what you think. No matter where you think this is going, you're wrong. That is my challenge to you my reader. I am going to fool you into seeing a story that is not there.
Book Two really gets the ball rolling, opening up new directions, changing Book One. The next books will continue the process. By the time you finish Book Four, ending at the beginning of Book One, you will be ready to read it again and it will be a different book.
Do you outline your books or do you just start writing?
I just wrote 'The Caves of Etretat' without any plotlines. That's why I had to re-write it fourteen times, to get some plot into it. In the doing I removed over sixty-five thousand words from the darn thing. Unbelievable. Going into the next books, experience had taught me that an outline was necessary. Writer's block tended to vanish when you knew what the story was.
By splitting the creative work into two parts, the process speeded up. Book One took me about two and a half years to finish. Book Four, 'The Greyman' took four months to write the first draft. When I sit down to write, I review the story so far, set in my mind what I've got to get down, story-wise, and then, let it fly.
If something drops into my mind while writing, I go with it. I don't worry about mistakes or perfect words/sentences. I just get the material down as best I can. Later, I come back and edit the thing to an inch of its life. Plenty of time during editing to hone those sentences into perfection.
How do you maintain your creativity?
My problem is how do you tone it down? My mind is always flying off the handle, coming up with ideas. I can't stop it. The problem is choosing which idea to act on. There are so many areas calling at me. One clear choice comes up. Right now, I'm consistently choosing to write stories with large scope. I have a list of about six or seven books that must be written as soon as possible. After that, if I don't get any other crazy ideas, maybe I'll be able to settle down to writing some small-town cozy mysteries. Maybe.
Anything else you might want to add?
Check out my website for much more background on the series. I've also got a free monthly book draw for signed books. You'll find some audio excerpts and interviews on my site. Thanks so much for the interview.
EXCERPT
The moment his eyes dropped, I took off running, knowing exactly where I was going thanks to Coulter’s map. I had never broken any speed records before but, at that moment, I felt as if I were moving like a train, barrelling non-stop across the landscape, increasing my momentum and distance with every second. His pistol's barrel was too short for any type of accuracy. If he wanted to shoot me, he would have to catch me and I wasn’t planning to give him the chance!
Coulter kept scrolling the map on the screen, showing me exactly where I had to go, cheering me on all the while. I heard Norton yelling and risked a single glance backwards. He was hobbling after me at a decent pace, using his cane to lop forward, his pistol waving around with every step.
He looked angry.
I heard some car doors slam and more screaming in the distance. The Vallin brothers were in the parking lot, running all out toward Norton. They were both brandishing bats and waving them madly. I kept running, aiming directly for the cleft. I headed down, mostly sliding on one foot, dangerously out of control. Norton was closer behind me than I would’ve liked.
“Watch it, you’re going to lose it, you’re going to lose it... No... You’re fine, doing good, now be careful, here’s the stairs...” Coulter yammered on in my ear, keeping up a running commentary. I had to slide to a desperate stop right above the rusty steps. They were clogged with silt and sand that had come down from the cleft. I saw signs warning tourists off and bars blocking the staircase. Coulter screamed:
“Just go for it, Norton’s right behind you.”
Incredibly, Norton was sliding down the cleft on his good foot, using his branch to balance himself. He was coming down fast, still holding his gun, determined to catch me.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Born in Ottawa, fifty-two years ago, I have been the owner of a used bookstore I opened in Ontario, since 1990. I have been writing since I was ten. Beginning with poetry, I quickly moved on to short stories and non-fiction pieces. I stayed in that format for many years, eventually self-publishing a franchise manual (How to Open Your Own Used Bookstore), as well as a variety of booklets, such as 'How to Save Money at Home', 'Build a Greenhouse with Style' and the ten booklet series of Eddy Brock, Brockville Detective.
Having semi-retired from the bookstore, I embarked on the project of writing my first serious novel, which I expanded to a four book series after discovering an incredible mystery hidden within Maurice Leblanc's books.
My interests are eclectic. I like Quantum Physics, Cosmology, history, archaeology, science in general, mechanics, free power, recycling and re-use. I'm a good handyman and can usually fix just about anything. I'm good with computers. I love movies, both good and bad, preferring action and war movies. I can draw and paint fairly well but am so obsessed with perspective and light that I cannot think of much else. I am too detail oriented. Takes too long to finish anything.
Website: http://www.mattchatelain.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100003486781507
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PRIZE INFORMATION
Matt will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour as well as to the host whose post receives
