Welcome to Day 5 of the “Ghost Radio: Countdown to Paper” event! Our celebration of the mass market paperback release of Leopoldo Gout’s hit horror novel Ghost Radio. Today Leopoldo looks at the mysterious Toltec civilization. And make sure to read to the bottom of the post for a chance to win some exciting PRIZES!
One of the greatest assets to any writer is a mystery. Whether that mystery be large, like the meaning of life; or small, like a missing set of keys, their ability to drive stories is virtually identical. They don’t merely aid in creating narrative, they serve as the most functional armature for building narrative upon. The mystery has done for writing what the post and lintel did for architecture. But if writers see mysteries as an asset, readers see them as almost a necessity.
You’ll rarely find a successful novel, from the most high-minded to the most mercenary, that doesn’t have a mystery at its core: Some question that author hopes to examine if not fully answer.
Ghost Radio is a novel full of mysteries from murders to missing radio shows to the mystery of the afterlife itself. But one of my favorite mysteries that Ghost Radio tackles is the mystery of the Toltecs.
Unlike other ancient civilizations, the Toltecs have become more mysterious by the decade. Once believed to be an actual ancient people of central Mexico, now more and more historians have come to accept that they may simply have been a mythic creation of the Aztecs. And, because of this unclear history, they have become utilized by all types of people for all types of purposes. The Toltecs seems to serve a function similar to that of the druids of ancient Britain: A mystical group upon whom we can project our own ideas and feelings. A new age catchall, if you will.
But I didn’t want to use the Toltecs that way in Ghost Radio. I thought they deserved better. So I sought to use them in a way that was both more mysterious and more surprising. You’ll have to read the book to find out more. But, if you’re like most readers, I think you’ll find it a mystery worth exploring. And I hope you enjoy what I did with it.
CONTEST INFORMATION!
Each day of this event we offer the chance to win prizes. Every winner will receive autographed copies of both the hardback and paperback editions of Ghost Radio. But they will also receive a special bonus surprise tied to the day’s theme. This could be additional books, DVDs, CDs, audio books, or maybe something even more exciting. So what are you waiting for? Enter today’s contest now.
Here’s all you need to do to enter today’s contest:
Just send an email to ghostradioinfo@gmail.com, and put “COUNTDOWN TO PAPER – DAY 5″ in the subject line, and “Ghost Radio” in the body of the email. Or just use the contact form below:
This contest closes on March 13, 2010. Winners will be chosen at random, and notified the following week.
And don’t forget to check back to tomorrow for another day of this exciting event, and another chance to win PRIZES!
If you’ve missed any of the COUNTDOWN TO PAPER event you can catch up here.
