INSPIRATION IN THE CITY OF MASKS
This article first appeared on the Book Diva Reads blog on Jan. 27, 2022.
I’m not sure if other authors have the same experience, but the most frequent question I’m asked about my new release, The Prisoner of Paradise, is, “How did you come up with the idea?”
The Prisoner of Paradise is a thriller blended with historical fiction and magical realism, about Nick and Julia O’Connor, an American couple who travel to Venice, Italy, aka the City of Masks.
Though Julia is understandably concerned for Nick’s welfare and wants to return home, Nick is adamant he has a connection with the woman in Paradise. He discovers an ancient secret society that developed a method of extracting people’s souls from their bodies. They trap the souls—which they claim are evil—in the two-dimensional prison.
Nick will do anything to free his soul mate, but freeing her means freeing all the souls—and the secret society will never let that happen.
“How did you come up with that idea?”
To be honest, as a fiction writer, this question surprises me. I’ve written a good deal of all sorts of stories. Ideas come to me on a regular basis. Is my brain wired to make things up? Perhaps.
I’ve always been fascinated with the intangible, indescribable attraction between two people that goes beyond physical attraction. What is it when you feel it in your gut more than in your mind? (Or elsewhere.) Is it soul mates? Perhaps. I’m one of the lucky people who found their soul mate and that’s my wife, Tiffani. I've always wanted to explore the concept of soul mates in a story. And not just an intense love affair, but really soul mates.
In this case, the kernel of the idea sprouted in Venice itself. If you’ve never been there, Venice is one of the most magical cities on the planet, even when it’s the height of summer and inundated with tourists. In low season, it’s not only magical but mysterious.
The city is one thousand years old and built in a lagoon. Marble buildings, sidewalks, squares (piazzas), and everything else are resting on top of millions of petrified wooden pylons.
Cars and any wheeled vehicles are prohibited.
The only mode of transportation is by boat or foot. There are dozens of bridges and the winding, maze-like streets are often just a few feet wide.
Add to that a remarkably colorful history filled with legendary artists, architects, and events, and you have a story around every corner.
One of these artists was Renaissance master Jacopo Tintoretto. So prolific, he was known as “The Furious Painter.”
His work is all over Venice but the best places to see it are The Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) and Scuola Grande di San Rocco (School of St. Roch).
The Scuola features dozens of Tintoretto paintings and many of them are mammoth in scale, including The Crucifixion, which includes nearly one hundred individuals of all ages, genders, and races. While researching, I later discovered Paradise, a painting that includes thousands of people. The images are so lifelike, each could be an individual portrait.
It’s no secret that artists use models but I started wondering to what extent. Did Tintoretto have a line of people outside his studio? Unlikely.
Did he create each one from his head? Who were these people? Why were they chosen to be immortalized?
These questions had me thinking about soul mates and that led to an idea…
Perhaps their souls were in the painting and their likenesses painted over their ethereal selves. And they were immortalized not for veneration, but rather imprisoned for all the world to see.
