Alberto Büchi and Frontier Wanderer

Today we welcome author Alberto Büchi to Promote Me Please to talk about his Dystopian novel, Frontier Wanderer

Q. Frontier Wanderer is a memorable story with a memorable protagonist. Can you give us three words to describe Hansio?

A. Hansio is a protagonist with a complex personality. I could divide his character in two, according to the dramatic events of his life, his past and his present, and associate him to various adjectives. However the Hansio I prefer is the devastated man bent by the crumbling world in which he lives rather than the strong and lucid mind hero of his past. He is an ambiguous hero. For this reason the first three words that come to my mind are: nihilist, furious and spiritual.

He is nihilist, broadly speaking, because he is a sick man, he wishes for himself and for the world a total disruption. Hansio doesn’t see an ultimate purpose leading the life, he is a man without God.

Hansio is also furious because he failed coming to terms with the past. He has poured his heart into what he believed was right and into love for his wife. But life has been violent and cruel with him.

At the same time Hansio is a character who seeks his own spirituality. It may seem a contradiction, but it is not and I would not go too much into on this point as I don’t want to spoil the story for those who have not read the book yet.

  

Q. Which came first for you when writing Frontier Wanderer? 

Was it the plot, the “world” or the main character?

A. They were born at the same time, Hansio and his dying world with the sun which is blowing out. The plot came later.

The book, however, was born from a particular image, the initial one. I imagined my protagonist riding a horse and dragging a prisoner on foot and in chains. I saw both of them in a Nordic, cold, ruthless landscape while coming toward a wooden stake fixed in the ground where the mud was mixed with blood ...

I do not like the completely good characters and that’s why I told myself: that prisoner will end up badly regardless of the reason it is tied!

  

Q. The images on the Facebook Frontier Wanderer page are attention-grabbing, from the cover to the author pictures. How did you come up with the “look” you wanted?

A. I love horror and fantasy genre. Frontier Wanderer is a raw and ruthless novel and I thought it could be a good idea to join the book with a dark pic of me, a light from below, gloomy glance… things like that.

The same was for the cover.

However, just to make someone smile, the picture I chose for my facebook personal profile is one in which I embrace my beloved cocker, Toffee.

You can imagine that a picture like that did not match too much with a story in which corpses, blood and cruelty are. 

Q. How well does the cover of Frontier Wanderer reflect your concept for the story?

A. The cover comes from the collaboration with the cover artist Cinsearae Santiago. I explained her the mood of the story and especially the cold and dying world where it is set. The protagonist holds his weapon and looks into the distance the horde of creatures, hungry for human flesh, that slowly approaches. It communicates a kind of inexorability of events that goes well with the inexorability of the quests that Hansio will face.

His enemies are outside in the world, but many are also inside him. He must win both battles.

The idea of monsters like the vampire or the zombies are basically a metaphor for the inner demons that haunt us.

 Q. The theme of a hero’s humanity struggling to survive in terrible circumstances is a strong one and you carry it off with panache. Is this a theme you consider using again?

A. Yes. I really like to create parallels between the outer world and the inner world. Hansio’s world is a world where the sun is dying and the same is also happening to life in his heart. All vitality is being lost while inside him the hope for something better has already been switched off for long time.

It will be up to the reader to find out if the little who he must save will help him returning to be a true hero with a great soul, or not.

Now I'm working on a post-apocalyptic book. The main character is a pregnant girl who struggles to survive despite the fact that Earth is not the same anymore. She is full of hope but this positivity will be put to the trial.

Thanks, Alberto! 
Frontier Wanderer is published by : Siento Sordida, an Imprint of Caliburn Press, LLC.; (November 28, 2015)

Now, here are some links. 

Alberto's website www.albertobuchi.com

Twitter alberto_buechi

Fb book page 

Amazon book link

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It is open to anyone with a family-friendly creative endeavour to promote. Comments are welcome. To read other interviews at Promote Me Please, choose from the menu on the right of this post. The direct url for this post is http://tinyurl.com/albertowarrior