A year ago Associate Professor Sándor Márai considered himself a poet, not an author of fiction. That all changed when former student Jonathan Kaczur called him out during class.
Márai was writing a book about Genesis and Exodus at the time, and he was using some of his material as examples during his class. Kaczur used the opportunity to express how he felt to his teacher.
“(Kaczur) looks at me in class one day and said, ‘You’re writing the wrong book,’” Márai said. “All that occurred to me to say to him at the time was, ‘You’re right’”
The professor formally acknowledges his former student for his “enlightening insight on what to write” in his new book, “Chronicle of a Fall from Grace: An Evening with Lucifer,” set for release Oct. 15.
“I never thought I was capable of writing a story that was more lengthy until I wrote ‘Fall from Grace,’” he said.
Márai began writing the story in November 2008; he finished the story in February 2009. Though he had never written fiction, he found narrative to be an easy flow. Immediately after completing his first story he began a second: “Chronicle of the Last Days of Casanova,” set for release around Nov. 15.
“Chronicle of a Fall from Grace: An Evening with Lucifer” follows the Captain, a man approaching midlife, as he spends an evening with Lucifer, the angel known as the devil. The two come together and “simultaneously examine and defend their existence.” Before the story ends, the Captain must make what could be the most important decision in his life.
“Chronicle of the Last Days of Casanova” follows the historic Giacomo Casanova in modern-day Dayton, Ohio. As he explores Dayton, he internally wrestles with the ideas of time, love, relationships and what it means to be a man. Márai said an underlying theme in the story is the decline of Dayton and the redemption he hopes it achieves.
Márai has also written a bilingual book of poetry entitled “Chronicle of Lust and Love,” scheduled for release sometime in April 2010. His fictional book “Chronicle of a Beautiful Haunting” is tentatively set to hit stores in August 2010. Though he did not refer to them as a series, Márai said the books are all related in some way.