Meet Lanza Sebastiano, author of That Which Must Happen
BBB: Tell us about yourself.
LS: Of course. I’m an author/land surveyor based in Sicily, Italy. I take great pleasure in observing, studying everything that draws my attention. And when something does, I have this almost obsessive need to understand how that something works, down to the most minute detail.
I’m a lover of fine arts, meaning anything whose whole value is greater than the sum of its single parts. Hence, fine art can be found nearly everywhere, be it a good dinner, a painting, a movie, music, even football.
I also adore impossible challenges, if nothing else for their paradoxical nature. Nothing is impossible.
BBB: What inspired your book, That Which Must Happen?
LS: At some point I became fascinated with writing about fate’s inner mechanisms, what makes it tick. By which criteria do some events occur whilst others just don’t?
What came closer to explain it all was the idea of an active fate, or as I later found out, Wyrd.
This is not the “inexorable fate” we all know. It’s an event, an occurrence which leads to yet more events and so on. It’s not a destination, rather a crossroads. And via our choices we can interact with fate. As I was saying, an active fate.
Wyrd is also an old English noun from which “weird” originated. It was originally used to describe someone as being able to control fate. Think about the weird sisters in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They do predict Macbeth’s ascent and downfall.
LS: Of course. I’m an author/land surveyor based in Sicily, Italy. I take great pleasure in observing, studying everything that draws my attention. And when something does, I have this almost obsessive need to understand how that something works, down to the most minute detail.
I’m a lover of fine arts, meaning anything whose whole value is greater than the sum of its single parts. Hence, fine art can be found nearly everywhere, be it a good dinner, a painting, a movie, music, even football.
I also adore impossible challenges, if nothing else for their paradoxical nature. Nothing is impossible.
BBB: What inspired your book, That Which Must Happen?
LS: At some point I became fascinated with writing about fate’s inner mechanisms, what makes it tick. By which criteria do some events occur whilst others just don’t?
What came closer to explain it all was the idea of an active fate, or as I later found out, Wyrd.
This is not the “inexorable fate” we all know. It’s an event, an occurrence which leads to yet more events and so on. It’s not a destination, rather a crossroads. And via our choices we can interact with fate. As I was saying, an active fate.
Wyrd is also an old English noun from which “weird” originated. It was originally used to describe someone as being able to control fate. Think about the weird sisters in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They do predict Macbeth’s ascent and downfall.
BBB: Tell us about your main character.
LS: Benjamin is a child able to control fate. He is able to foresee, forestall, and alter events happening all around him. But does he do that of his own accord? Surely there must be some sort of set of rules to this. What that set of rules is, well, I'm not going to say.
However his personal attachments do get in the way. He was a very interesting character to develop, as I had to think outside the box. I revel in that. He has this mask through which nothing transpires, but inside it's a whirlwind.
BBB: What do you think readers will find most appealing about your book?
LS: That Which Must Happen is definitely not a light read. There are these terrible events happening throughout the whole novel. As I was saying, it is an attempt at studying what makes fate tick. Consequently it is also a study of human nature. How do we react in the face of adversities? How should we react to adversities?
Despite having these terrible events plaguing Benjamin's life and those of the people around him, I think readers, once having read the whole novel, will turn the last page in a feel-good mood.
BBB: How did you come up with the idea for your book cover?
LS: The cover is actually the work of a friend of mine. I liked it so much that I decided to use it. As for how he came up with the idea? He says he was drunk whilst putting it together, so you’ll have to ask him. And even then I’m not entirely sure he’ll manage to give you an explanation.
BBB: What are you currently working on?
LS: A novel involving Romania, a priest on pilgrimage to Turkey, and nothing of the supernatural. (As Romania is home to Dracula, I feel it is my duty to be really clear about this). All set around the end of the XIX century.
It’s going to be slightly smaller than That Which Must Happen, probably better than it. It’ll almost be an exercise for my third novel. I’ve got some very exciting ideas for it.
BBB: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
LS: They can find me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SebLanza)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/ThatWhichHappens/) and
Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18472419.Sebastiano_Lanza/blog)
Buy That Which Must Happen on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J4STFTN
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07J4STFTN
LS: Benjamin is a child able to control fate. He is able to foresee, forestall, and alter events happening all around him. But does he do that of his own accord? Surely there must be some sort of set of rules to this. What that set of rules is, well, I'm not going to say.
However his personal attachments do get in the way. He was a very interesting character to develop, as I had to think outside the box. I revel in that. He has this mask through which nothing transpires, but inside it's a whirlwind.
BBB: What do you think readers will find most appealing about your book?
LS: That Which Must Happen is definitely not a light read. There are these terrible events happening throughout the whole novel. As I was saying, it is an attempt at studying what makes fate tick. Consequently it is also a study of human nature. How do we react in the face of adversities? How should we react to adversities?
Despite having these terrible events plaguing Benjamin's life and those of the people around him, I think readers, once having read the whole novel, will turn the last page in a feel-good mood.
BBB: How did you come up with the idea for your book cover?
LS: The cover is actually the work of a friend of mine. I liked it so much that I decided to use it. As for how he came up with the idea? He says he was drunk whilst putting it together, so you’ll have to ask him. And even then I’m not entirely sure he’ll manage to give you an explanation.
BBB: What are you currently working on?
LS: A novel involving Romania, a priest on pilgrimage to Turkey, and nothing of the supernatural. (As Romania is home to Dracula, I feel it is my duty to be really clear about this). All set around the end of the XIX century.
It’s going to be slightly smaller than That Which Must Happen, probably better than it. It’ll almost be an exercise for my third novel. I’ve got some very exciting ideas for it.
BBB: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
LS: They can find me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SebLanza)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/ThatWhichHappens/) and
Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18472419.Sebastiano_Lanza/blog)
Buy That Which Must Happen on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J4STFTN
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07J4STFTN
