For the Love of Language: An Interview with Chris Kayel

In this latest author interview, we were fortunate enough to steal a look into the mind of Chris Kayel, author of "Quattuor IV: The Book of Aurelius". We discussed his lifelong love of language, his early interest in storytelling, and what is next for him and his writing endeavours.  You can find Chris' book on our website! 1). You mention that you have been writing since childhood, and that you wrote short stories over the years during your studies. Do you recall any of the short stories you wrote when you were younger, and did you write any you were particularly proud of? CK: Throughout my childhood I felt a constant pull towards storytelling, something that was instilled in me by my grandmother who was an excellent storyteller. Many of us would gather to hear her life’s stories and also some of the fairytales she would craft for us over the years. During my university studies (Linguistics) we had to take short story courses and writer’s workshops. When I was younger I wrote a story that was a modernized version of the classics such as Snow White and Cinderella. In the future I might fully revisit this material since I have begun crafting a story around this subject matter. I can guarantee you though that this story is unlike anything you might expect. Feels like a trilogy…

2). “Quattuor IV: The Book of Aurelius” is your first book. How did the ideas for the book initially come to be? CK: It honestly happened out of nowhere. One afternoon in early 2022 the concept just struck me while returning home out of the blue and decided to put my thoughts on paper, the rest is history…

3). Genre-wise, the novel largely inhabits the fantasy genre. Were there any fantasy authors or books that really defined your interest in that genre throughout your life? CK: I can definitely agree that my first book falls under the fantasy category. Growing up, I used to read the Chronicles of Narnia book series by C.S. Lewis which were a huge impact on how I was shaped as a person and one day I can only dream of creating something as successful and loved by readers as the Chronicles of Narnia. 4). You have said that you want readers of the book to “immerse themselves in a fantasy world that reflects real life”. What kind of themes have you woven into the book, and what do you hope people will be able to take away from it? CK: Art imitates life and writing is art, therefore I could say that even fantasy worlds reflect truth, or more specifically aspects of the truth. Themes such as loyalty, friendship, the stereotypical battle between good and evil and much more are only a small amount of the themes throughout the book. I hope that readers will be able to see themselves in these characters and in the future they might get to spend much more time with them with a second book that will explore the fantasy world of Seltra even further… 5). If we may ask, what is next for you with your writing endeavours? CK: You can most assuredly expect a trilogy coming your way that will change how storytelling is viewed. Theme-wise I have made sure to create a world that will reflect people’s desire to spend time with my characters and explore stories that have never been written before. All I can reveal is that the main character is a detective….