Monday Interview Series: Captain Nemo

Today, we're leaving The Deliverers Publishing Headquarters to take to the seas. We're going under the sea--20,000 leagues under the sea--to talk to the mysterious Captain Nemo. We were lucky enough to be invited aboard his wonderful submarine, Nautilus, to spend a little time getting to know him better.

Greg:  Thanks for inviting us to spend a little time with you, Captain. I know that you don't like to talk much about yourself, but I was wondering what you did before taking to the seas.

Nemo:  I was once known as Prince Dakkar, the son of a Hindu Raja of the Indian Kingdom of Bundelkund. In my youth, I watched as the imperial forces of the British Empire conquered my beloved land. In the fighting, I lost both my kingdom and my family.

I decided to devote my life to scientific endeavors in order to put an end to imperialism and lead the world into a new era of peace. To that end, I and those loyal to me worked to devise a fantastic machine, capable of diving to great depths.

Greg:  Let me guess, we're in it, right?

Nemo:  Correct. This wondrous vessel, called Nautilus, is my masterpiece. It is a world unto itself, free of the greed and evil that thrives upon the land. With it I could liberate treasure from sunken ships. With that treasure, I have been able to create a Utopian society where man is free to evolve into a higher order without the mundane thirst for power that drives the surface dwellers. True freedom only exists beneath the sea, for it is the only place beyond the greedy grasp of mankind.

Greg:  Very impressive and admirable ideals, Captain. But isn't it true that you indulge in some of those very things yourself? For instance, haven't you been known to attack ships?

Nemo:  You are correct, up to a point. It is true that I, we--my crew and I--have attacked ships. However, I never attack unless attacked. The vessels that I have sunk were ships of war, those whose express purpose is to wreak havoc upon the weak and oppressed.

No sir, I do not indulge in violence, as you say. Rather, I protect the seas and all creatures in them from the marauding forces of man. Besides, the laws and conventions of the surface dwellers do not apply to those of us who live beneath the waves in tranquility and peace.

Greg:  Okay, okay, no need to get so uptight. I get it. Since we're down here under the waves as your guests we'll just go with it--when in Rome, and all that. It must be an exciting life, living beneath the sea. Can you tell us a little about your adventures?

Scenes That Inspire

"Where do you get your ideas?" is a question that I'm frequently asked when people find out that I write. For me, some ideas just come to me, seemingly from thin air. Others are triggered by places that are familiar to me, and are at least partially a conscious effort to pull some of those elements into a world that I've created.

The fishing village of Calendria, where much of "The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel" takes place, was inspired by some of the living history museums I've been visiting since I was a kid. The entire village, although located in the tropics in the book, is based on a New England 19th century village.

Calendria is located on a sheltered harbor. It has a wharf and fishing related buildings such as a fishmonger and a netmender. I guess I was influenced by trips to Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT, where I'd view scenes like this:



Up the hill from Calendria's harbor, lies the village green. The concept of this came from a traditional New England colonial green, such as you'd see in places like Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA. Usually, tradespeople would have shops on the green, and the wealthier members of the community would also have houses there.

In Calendria, Kate Endria, the daughter of the Lord Mayor--and the one who befriends Eric and Stig--lives in a large house at the head of the green. I imagined that it looked something like this:

It's scenes like these that formed the foundation of a new world that is different and yet familiar, both for the reader and for Eric, who has been pulled into it. If you can keep your fiction grounded in elements of reality, while also introducing something new, you're well on your way to creating a realistic, believable fantasy world.I think I've been able to do that. You can judge for yourself when the book comes out.