Interview with Gabriel Farago, Author of The Lost Symphony

by grant

in Author Interviews, Mystery, News, Thriller

01 Dec 2020

What can you tell us about your new release, The Lost Symphony?

A murdered tsarina. A lost musical masterpiece. A stolen Russian icon. Can Jack honor a promise made a long time ago, and solve an age-old mystery?

When acclaimed Australian journalist and author Jack Rogan inherits an old music box with a curious letter hidden inside, he decides to investigate. As he delves deeper into a murky past of secrets and violence, he soon discovers that he’s not the only one interested in solving the puzzle. Frieda Malenkova, a ruthless art dealer, and Victor Sokolov, a Russian billionaire with a dark past, will stop at nothing to achieve their deep desires and foil Jack’s valiant struggle to uncover the truth. Joining forces with Mademoiselle Darrieux, a flamboyant Paris socialite, and Claude Dupree, a retired French police officer, Jack enters a dangerous world of unbridled ambition, murder and greed that threatens to destroy him. On a perilous journey that takes him deep into Russia, Jack follows a tortuous path of discovery, disappointment and betrayal that brings him face to face with his destiny. Will Jack unravel the hidden clues left behind by a desperate empress? Can he save the precious legacy of a genius before it’s too late, and return a holy icon revered by generations to where it belongs?

The Lost Symphony – book 6 in the Jack Rogan Mysteries – was an ambitious project, and I look forward with great anticipation to the feedback from my readers.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I love language and literature. Expressing yourself through writing is a wonderful, intellectual adventure. I was introduced to reading, especially the classics, at a young age by my grandfather, and I was hooked. Tolstoy’s War and Peace was one of my favorites, and I thought, perhaps one day … I can write something like that! Well, I’m still trying, but we must never stop dreaming!

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

Tolstoy’s War and Peace; Duma’s The Three Musketeers; Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific; Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express; Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls; Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

If I could have a ‘literary seance’ I would ask Alexandre Dumas and Agatha Christie to join the show. I would ask them about the best way to portray characters. To me, characters are the lifeblood of a good book, in my case a nail-biting thriller. Characters bring the storyline to life and are the most important tool an author can use to make a book a page-turner. If my seance should turn out to be a little ambitious, I would ask a fellow author, James Patterson, to the show, and ask him the same questions.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

The intellectual challenge, and the adventure of it all. I always strive for elusive perfection in my writing, but alas, I suspect it will forever remain just that; elusive!

What is a typical day like for you?

Once I start writing a book, I have a relentless routine. I write every day, usually late at night – always while listening to music – and review what I’ve written the day before in the morning. I exercise a lot during the day. This involves long walks in the rainforest below our house in the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney. I live on the edge of a World Heritage National Park, which helps. I am a keen gardener, and work in our large garden during the day, thinking about my characters and the storyline. Once I return to my attic, I write all this down, and after dinner, the actual writing begins. There’s little time for sleep. But sleep is such a waste of time, isn’t it?

What scene from The Lost Symphony was your favorite to write?

This is a hard one, because the book is complex, and a big read of more than 500 pages. That said, on reflection, perhaps chapter 5 – The Seance St Petersburg: December 1894 -would be a good choice.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Yes. The best is yet to come!