We are now one month away from 2012 - the year of prophecy and hype, which have all but wrenched Mexico and its earliest cultures into the mainstream spotlight. By now the bookstore shelves have been laiden with almost every possible scenerio of fiction that can find a tap into the buzz surrounding the coming new year. Most take a fantastic spin from the slightest prophetic suggestion. Some, like EFFIGY, attempt to weave a fascinating story within the bounds of fact and realism. Few turn away from the "end times" and instead focus on where it all began.
Fellow Whiskey Creek Press author, John Coe Robbins, has done just that with his historical novel, MAYA LORD. When I heard that his book follows actual historical figures through events set precisely 500 years ago, the historian within me urged my hands to find a copy os my own to hold open before my exploring eyes. And what an adventure it has been so far!
Right from the start, John wisks us from a desperate oceanic wasteland to the exotic realities of Mayan life in A.D. 1511. Not only does John bring a piece of history to life for us, he also introduces some thought-provoking issues surrounding our basic human condition. I'm only half-way through the story (and wouldn't spoil it for you even if I had just closed the last chapter) so it's only appropriate to stop here and let John further describe this jewel he'd excavated from the anals of history!
Thank you, John, for taking the time to talk about MAYA LORD. Can you introduce the story to us?
"Maya Lord" is a novel based on the lives of the first two Europeans to encounter the Maya Civilization in the Yucatan region of Mexico. That was in 1511, just prior to the Conquest of Mexico by the Spanish. Forced to live several years as slaves, the two men eventually responded in very different ways to being thrust into this new and exotic culture.
Who were these two men in history?
Gonzalo Guerrero was a soldier who came to the new world to make his fortune. He ended up becoming a Maya warlord and is considered the father of the first Mestizo family. Jeronimo Aguilar was a priest who remained steady in his beliefs and later ended up fighting on the other side of the Conquest from Guerrero. Ix Zazil was the princess of Chetumal who attracted Gonzalo's attention when he was sent to that Maya city.
What inspired you to write about Guerrero, Aguilar and Ix Zazil?
I actually had a dream about running through the forest as a warrior and I realized it was based in some way on the story of Gonzalo, which I had read in a very sketchy form in the historical record.
What surprise you most while you researched the lives of these characters?
Actually very little is known about the three main historical characters, but I researched them as well as I believe anyone has. This included obtaining materials in the original Spanish and having them translated. I also did a lot of research on Maya daily life and on life in Spain during that period. I was amazed at some of the parallels between Maya culture and Western culture even though there was no previous contact between them. The Maya religion had a Trinity and a seventh heaven. Maya children had a baptism and a godfather. And yes, the Maya sacrificed humans, but the Spanish Inquisition was burning heretics in public at exactly the same time.
History sure can have a way of surprising us when we take the time to look back. What do you hope your readers will take away from MAYA LORD?
I hope they will think about how much of our personal identity is a product of our culture and will think about what they might be like if they had been brought up in a radically different environment. I think that should promote tolerance of other cultures.
Now that we've been introduced to your characters, what can you tell us about the history of John Coe Robbins?
I am a former television reporter. After that career and prior to writing the final version of the novel, I was an independent scriptwriter and documentary producer for about fifteen years.
Did someone inspire you to become a writer?
When I was a student at Duke University, I managed to get into a creative writing class taught by Reynolds Price and Frances Gray Patton and I was especially encouraged by Ms. Patton's comments and her passion for writing.
Now that MAYA LORD has been released back into the world's memory, are there any other projects you are currently working on?
Yes, I'm currently working to market my documentary "Dying To Live" which is about the drastic shortage of organ donors in the U.S. and I'm brainstorming on a mystery novel set in Savannah, where I worked some years ago as a TV reporter.
We'll look forward to seeing more from you in the future. For now, where can readers go to purchase their own copies of MAYA LORD?
The most convenient place is probably Amazon.com for the paperback or Kindle version and reader reviews. There is a Nook version now on Barnes & Noble. And there are other formats available on the Whiskey Creek Press Website.
Thank you so much, John, for bringing to light this little piece of forgotten history you've featured in MAYA LORD.
Unfortunately, this blog has only the space to offer readers the barest taste-test of MAYA LORD. However, to learn more about John's research behind the book, read a passage or to keep up on his current projects, check out his website at www.johncoerobbins.com.
Okay, it's December 21, 2011. 365 days from Winter Solstice 2012. 151 days from the Toltec/Aztec New Age as portrayed in EFFIGY. Only three months from the next Spring Equinox - the date that launches EFFIGY's Equinox Killer into action.
