„George“ is a story in which the protagonist is a man who roams the streets of London plagued by massive nightmares at night. How did I come to write a story largely from the perspective of a male protagonist when I am a woman myself? Well, since I myself read almost exclusively books written by male authors – it just always turned out that way – it was kind of natural for me to let a man experience this story. I hope to have learned enough about the male mindset, psyche and emotional world while reading all these novels, so that George is authentic enough. Inspiration for George’s appearance and the fact that he has a five-year-old daughter was a situation I experienced myself. I immediately got captivated and I got the idea of the main character. I was sitting on the tram very early in the morning. It stopped at the Bebelplatz stop and when I looked outside, I saw a picture of absolute peace and bliss. On the bench next to the bus stop, sat a man with his little daughter on his lap. The daughter sat tightly snuggled up to her father, who in return had laid his head on hers. See, total peace and bliss! Both have closed their eyes as if they were sleeping peacefully. Next to the girl on the bench there was her little Dora The Explorer backpack. You want to know what they looked like? Read it in my book!
Anyway, this picture didn’t let me go in a wonderful way and so the main character and his little mini-me were created. The appearance of the father on the bench, his cosy, bearlike charisma aroused in me the idea or rather the question of how he handles and feels about everyday topics, such as cooking, raising his daughter, hobbies, dealing with love and sexuality. How it affects other people. How they deal with him because of his charisma. Whether they misunderstand him, maybe mark him down, see him as someone he may not be. All these things shot through my head at that moment.
Why the fact that George grew up almost completely without a father? One’s childhood is the most important part of our development. George’s childhood has made him become the man he is. Without this childhood and the resulting development, he would most likely have dealt with his nightmares differently. He hadn’t walked through the streets sleepless at night, he would have been more open and courageous in dealing with women. „George“ would have been a completely different story.
Why the nightmares? Well, this is the only detail of the plot that is a personal part of me. I dreamed them all myself. And as already mentioned, when you write things down, they leave you alone.
Why the storyline with Dr. Manville? First of all, psychology is simply important in my opinion when it comes to detailed character descriptions. Secondly, it is … Well, yes… I don’t want to write too much. In case this is read by someone who hasn’t read „George“ yet, but still has it in mind, I wish you a lot of fun!
Hey there, my name is Martina, I am 36 years old, married and live in the heart of Germany, Kassel. If I don’t do my job as a clerk or have fun with my three cats, I use as much of my time as possible to write my stories. This requires a good organization as well as a sympathetic husband. Telling stories or writing them down has always been part of my life, because I am very lucky that they come to me. The smallest inspirations that happen to me trigger storylines, which only “leave me alone“ once I have written them down. When formulating, the characters are especially important to me. I admit that they are often more important to me than the actual story. Since I have a degree in English literature, my stories always take place in English-speaking countries – mostly the UK – as a little homage. Therefor, „George,“ as well as the story I recently finished writing take place in London. The novel I’m currently working on is taking place in the US for a change. You see, I always have a writing project going on.
What drives me? Apart from the stories that don’t let me go until I put them on paper, it’s the feeling of having created something. And, of course, the hope that the reader, got captivated by my story, fells delighted to have been distracted by something unpleasant and simply feels entertained.
Martina Writes 