Novelist Vince Santoro is chatting with me today about his new historical fiction, The Final Crossing: a tale of self-discovery and adventure.
During his virtual book tour, Vince will be giving away a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too.
Bio:
Vince is an Italian-born Canadian who grew up in Toronto, Canada and now lives in Pickering, a suburb of Toronto, with his life partner, Elizabeth. He has two children, both paving their road in life.
Strong family values, sports, and education at a private boy’s school, helped to shape Vince. Graduating with a degree in History and Behavioural Science, led to his fascination for Egyptian history.
After completing his studies, he set his eyes on Europe and played professional basketball in Italy. When he returned home, he decided to hone his writing skills by studying Journalism and had several articles published.
Then came the next challenge – to write a book. His debut novel, The Final Crossing, has been a labour of love, one he had worked on for many years. It reflects life experiences, woven into a story that inspires and entertains. Perhaps even see the world in a different way.
Welcome, Vince. Please tell us about your current release.
The Final Crossing tells the story of an Egyptian servant, Nenshi, who struggles with class structure, both around and within himself, often pondering what it means to be a free man. It’s a story of self-discovery and adventure, with spiritual overtones.
Nenshi builds up the courage to ask his master to free him. But as fate has it, before the petition is granted, he is caught in a secret love affair with Sia, a beautiful Egyptian freewoman. During one of their trysts, Nenshi commits a crime against Sia’s father and is consequently punished and sent to the Nubian mines to serve his sentence. He escapes and vows to return home, but events take him farther and farther away on a journey in pursuit of freedom and love. A journey that redefines him, a journey mired with cruelty, bloodshed, and the discovery of a new deity.
The story asks some philosophical questions such as what it means to be truly free, what is the human spirit, and what it means to believe in a god? It explores cities and civilizations in the ancient world. It’s a story filled with compelling moments, some clever, some with musical wordplay all told through interesting characters and twists and turns until the very end. It’s a story that entertains and perhaps make the reader see life in a different way.
What inspired you to write this book?
I have always had a fascination, a curiosity, for ancient civilizations. After graduating with a degree in History and a minor in Behavioural Sciences it occurred to me that the two were interconnected.
Behavioural Science deals with several disciplines, such as sociology, social and cultural anthropology, and, psychology. History is the study of the past; the events and people that have changed the world.
And so, I chose one of the most well-known ancient civilizations and its surrounding lands to tell a story about what I believe has been man’s quest since time immemorial: freedom, love, and the guiding hand of a god.
The story is told through the protagonist Nenshi and his journey to what we now call “the cradle of civilization.” The struggles during his journey redefine who he is. He sheds the traditional religious beliefs of his country; he overcomes man’s cruel behaviour of injustice and violence; he finds love among a simple nomadic tribe.
Nenshi’s quest holds true today. As we strive for the same goals, we question our beliefs, we change our behaviours, we hold on to what has served us well, we redefine ourselves and our world for a better life.
Excerpt from The Final Crossing:
The night sky was absent of its usual splendour of bright stars. The light of the crescent moon, low on the horizon, cast bleak shadows. An occasional cool breeze swept over the trees through the stillness. An eerie feeling engulfed Nenshi and all he could think of was Sia, to tell her what had happened.
Along the way Tehuti’s acrimonious criticism of the Egyptians and their way of life played on Nenshi’s mind as did his own disbelief in the concept of life after death; that life passed but once and never repeated; his unusual dream and Sheikha’s divination; and he reflected on how he had saved Hordekef’s life or had he? He thought of Sia and the disparity between two classes that had prevented him from expressing his love. Now he longed for her warm embrace, for only in her arms could he forget his burden.
He hurried to get to the garden. Once there he climbed the usual tree and perched himself on a supporting branch. He moved leaves away from his view. There was no sign of her, so he made the distinct sound of a songbird to draw her attention, the one that signalled his visit. Sia had opposed the suggestion, saying it was too risky. But lovers take risks. He had devised the signal and the new plan after he was nearly caught by a housemaid the last time he had visited.
Sia walked through the garden, a leisure stroll not to raise suspicion until she found Nenshi.
“You know I don’t like meeting like this,” she said as she held his hands, cold to the touch. “You look startled. What is it?”
He told her about what had happened to Hordekef, told her about his dream, about Sheikha and the interpretation. Her eyes, watered, fixated on Nenshi, frightened as a child shaken from a nightmare. She cupped her hands around his face. His pain passed through her.
“Hordekef is a decent man,” Nenshi said. “A good friend. He doesn’t deserve this.”
“It’s not your fault. He will heal. Only the hand of Sekhmet delivers suffering.”
“A goddess of vengeance has no place in the lives of good men.”
Sia then took him in her arms. Her embrace soothed him. The sorrow lifted, even if it was just for a moment.
He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her soft and supple skin felt good. He brought his lips to meet hers, gentle petals of a rose in full bloom. The long kiss ended as their mouths, warm with passion, unwillingly separated.
But he had more to share in this rendezvous, something left undone, to reveal a hidden truth.
“There’s something else you should know.”
Sia smiled, waiting to hear the words expressed to a woman in love, anticipating hearing him speak with his heart. But suddenly their tryst was interrupted by a sound from the shrubs behind them. Nenshi’s ears perked.
“Are we alone?” he whispered as he scanned the garden.
“Yes. I heard my father order a servant to take him to the city. Let your mind rest.”
They embraced and their lips met again and their heated bodies pressed against each other. But there was still uncertainty. She tilted her head back.
“What is troubling you?” she asked.
As he was about to reveal his truth, once again, a sound behind them caught his attention and he turned. Out from the dusk Anpu flung in a rage and pulled Nenshi away from his daughter. There was no time to react. The sudden appearance pierced through them. The fear in their eyes held them motionless.
What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m working on a second book, also historical fiction, which takes place in Italy and North Africa during WWII, titled Letters of Redemption.
The story is told through a dual point of view – from the protagonist Antonio and from the protagonist Maria. It’s a story of Antonio’s search for reconciliation from his transgressions and of Maria’s hunger for independence and apprehension over newfound love.
During the war Antonio writes letters on behalf of another soldier, Roberto, to Maria. Roberto had never learned how to write. Maria didn’t know this because she had just met him before he was sent to the front lines of North Africa. The secret is well hidden and even after Roberto’s death in battle, as the war continues, so do the letters. They become Antonio’s own expression of love that ultimately leads to guilt and a search for how to end the dishonesty. In the meantime, Maria has moved from her hometown in Taormina to Rome to find work to help her parents in poverty-stricken and war-torn Sicily. It’s also an opportunity to be independent. And she doesn’t know about Roberto’s death.
As the letters continue to reach Maria in Rome, Antonio’s dishonesty leads to guilt but the relationship he had created and nurtured over time prevents him from telling the truth. He has fallen in love. As the war comes to an end, Antonio must find Maria, plea for forgiveness and declare his love for her. Maria, who has also fallen in love with the man behind the letters, must decide whether to follow her heart or let Antonio go.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
There’s a difference in being a writer and being a serious writer. I always enjoyed putting pen to paper. Yet, even after my first draft on my current published book, I didn’t think of myself as a writer. It was a goal to write a story. That’s all.
It was when I studied Journalism that I became serious about writing. Especially after having published an article for a U.K. magazine, titled Technology – the fighter pilot’s real enemy. It was a look at the major problem for pilots of today’s high performance combat aircraft like the F-18 featured in the Top Gun movie.
Although the article was based on facts, I enjoyed the research, interviewing scientists, watching pilots being tested in a high G-Force Centrifuge, etc. Putting everything together in a compelling and coherent article and getting it published was a thrill. And it made me think that I could do the same writing fiction. Only by becoming a serious writer could I realize my dream of publishing a book.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I am flexible with my writing. Yet I know that a writing routine is important. Giving in to the many distractions can easily put me behind the eight ball. And so, I adopted a routine and try to stick to it as much as possible.
I start the morning (after breakfast) by dealing with the business aspects of writing: check and respond to emails and social media; follow-up on marketing initiatives; work on a draft for an upcoming blog, etc. After lunch I work on my story whether it’s planning scenes, researching or actual writing. The mood will generally dictate which way to go.
As I mentioned my routine is flexible, not set in stone. Of course, there are days that I prefer to golf instead or go out for lunch or visit friends and family. And I don’t beat myself up for it if a day goes by and I haven’t written a thing. I know at some point I’ll make up for it and write for hours on end. Balance is the key.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I like to lie down, close my eyes, and visualize a scene that I’m working on. I repeat the scene, over and over, as if I was re-writing it, visually. I pay attention to the senses, tension, thrown in a twist, character development, and so on until I’m relatively happy with it. Then I put into words everything I envisioned in my mind’s eye, like describing a scene from a movie. Naturally, there’s more re-writing that follows.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
There were so many exciting walks of life I wanted to explore growing up. At one time, I wanted to be an aeronautical engineer. My brother and I built countless airplane models, we went to airshows, and even rode our bikes to the airport just to watch planes take off and land. In my work life, for many years, I worked in the aerospace industry. That was the closest to becoming an aeronautical engineer.
There was also a time when I wanted to be a teacher. I even did supply teaching for a while. But then a goal came calling to play professional basketball in Italy. And as the adage goes, the rest is history.
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Thanks for hosting!
I liked the excerpt, thank you.
Thank you for sharing your interview, bio and book details, I have enjoyed reading about you and your work and I am looking forward to reading The Final Crossing.
Nice book cover and the book sounds interesting.
The book sounds fascinating. Great cover!