What is 'The Sworski Codex' about, Paul?
"Victor Sworski has certainly misused his power and influence. As a result the world slowly moves towards what he has planned to be a very unpleasant future for the next five millennia. Plus I guess it poses the question relating to the world's population growth over the next five thousand years, which is something we don't usually stop to think about every day. I hope it makes us realise how important it is for all of us to get along together peacefully in this world despite there being more people living on the planet."

Where is the story set?
"The story action takes place in present day New York, Los Angeles, Missouri, Hungary, Finland, Germany, Peru and Bolivia. So the characters get to move around quite a bit - as you might expect in an action-adventure. The dialogue is lively and there's lots of travel in helicopters, jets, fixed wing planes, an ultalight plane, a hot-air balloon, buses, stretch limos, boats, trains, cars, vans, biplanes, etc."

What impact do you think will it have on readers?
"I think it's a mysterious, entertaining and amusing novel. Who knows, it may have all the right ingredients to become a 'cult classic.' It's sort of hard to nail it down, really. Now is the future sort of thing. Our present day IS the future as portrayed in old sci-fi movies. That sort of edginess as an undercurrent. Yet this isn't a sci-fi novel. If someone thinks this is a slow moving book they must be seriously mistaken, but at the same time there is some philosophical depth or overtone resonating around it, too. Where the human race is heading in the long term future is, I guess, one issue that comes through strongly. It also may also inspire readers to look up things on the Internet and explore for themselves. For instance they can see what the 'Dresden Codex' actually looks like, etc. They can puzzle over some of the questions raised about human civilization and cultures which have preceded us. These days we can all be armchair archaeologists, digging up data though rather than physically uncovering buried tombs and ancient artifacts."


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What exactly is The Sworski Codex?
"Sworski is also obsessed with Mayan and Inca culture and the mystery of the ancient codices of Mesoamerica. A codex is an ancient text. Sworski has become such a behemoth with delusions of world dominance he refers to his own handwritten tome as a future survival manual for the planet. This is what he arrogantly calls 'The Sworski Codex'".

Would people say you are copying the Da Vinci Code?
"Actually I've never read the 'Da Vinci Code' novel but I recently got around to seeing the movie. I enjoyed it. But 'The Sworski Codex' is a whole different idea. There are no similarities story-wise at all. However if readers enjoy a combination of action, mystery, suspense and intrigue and characters visiting exotic locales then they will enjoy my novel. In addition the ancient codices I refer to are real and 'The Dresden Codex' which is directly referred to in my novel actually exists. I've researched some of the archaeological work around Peru, Northern Bolivia and Guatemala. It's fascinating to see the clash of ideologies as much as a clash of cultures when the Spanish conquistadors invaded Mexico & Peru in the 1500s and the consequences for the Aztecs, the Mayans and the Inca, which basically spins off into my story."




[Photo Credits: ~ Eclipse Photo: NASA ~ Chopper Image: US Fish & Wildlife Service
~ Wheat Photo: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration ]

How would you describe your style of fiction writing?
" I would hope it would be considered as a more intelligent style of crime-action-adventure fiction. Whatever sub-genre of fiction this work is considered to be. There's a lot of soul searching and dialogue with all the characters so they're not like cardboard cut-outs. Besides, I don't like fiction books with lots of excessive violence. When someone is punched it really hurts them and when someone uses a knife or a gun it really has a serious and dramatic effect in my book. As it would in real life. Otherwise it is too much like an animated cartoon where a bomb explodes, the smoke clears and people just have marks on their faces and then continue on running around as if nothing much happened. When my characters get physically hurt, they feel it, like real people would. "

Can you see The Sworski Codex ever being a movie?
"Yes, certainly. I think it will work quite well. Sworski is a sophisticated and dark character and Jim Covax is a normal everyday guy who finds he has to rise to unexpected heights. There is certainly a David versus Goliath feel about it and a dramatic ending in the Greek theatrical tradition. But there is enough substance in the book and characters to extract a movie script and enough mystery to keep readers pondering what is going to happen at the end. There are more or less three definite main acts or sections in the story structure. In the book I've worked hard on the what I call a 'double-barreled ending' to avoid that feeling of readers being short changed. I hate books with 'fizzle-out' endings that leave you up in the air. There are also cryptic clues and the story has deliberate areas where characters miss factual cues and if you want to get right into it on a deeper level factually, there are some very interesting spin-off concepts I saved up for the ending. This gives readers a feeling of intrigue over the territory covered and possibilities of where it might be heading in their own minds even though the story has ended. However perhaps that sort of subtlety of content could be too deep for a movie or may have to be played up more if it was filmed. There is also enough colour and movement in the novel and the variety of locations are fantastic for a film. From the Peruvian Andes across the Urubamba Valley and over to Lake Titicaca and Northern Bolivia are wonderful mysterious and beautifully rugged. These locations also make a great contrast to the hustle-and-bustle of LA & New York, the quiet space of the Royal Saxon Library in Dresden and the wheat fields outside St Louis and in Hungary. So the camera would capture a feast of visual information as the scenic backdrops are so interesting." © 2010 Paul Norris/NMP. All Rights Reserved.

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