Author’s Notes for West of Borsala

Personal Journey

This book was originally published under my pseudonym, Rory Hovington, and I never meant for it to be anything big. But I wanted to test out formatting and printing a book just to get the right idea before I published my first official book, Sun Racer. Since I then had a copy, I did start giving them out to people just because I could, and a good number of my friends declared how much they loved it. That came as a surprise, since it was not as thoroughly edited. But since it was so well loved, I gave it more attention and a proper send out into the world.

It took a very long time for me to come up with a cover that I felt genuinely reflected the content of the story. It has gone through multiple redesigns, and I finally have a cover that I am proud of. Why yes, I do torture myself by being both a writer and an illustrator. I like suffering through both art forms.

Story Theme

This is definitely a coming-of-age story, a genre I have read a lot in. The particular theme for this story is not quite as simple as finding yourself, but rather it is an aspect of finding yourself, in which you get to the end of your journey and realize that you had everything you needed to become the person you were meant to be. You just needed the strength and opportunity to take it.

Laszlo is kind, loyal, and friendly, but he begins the story woefully insecure and scared of doing anything outside of his routine. Our routines are safety nets for us, they helps us have a sense of control over out lives. But they can quickly become a cage that keeps us from growing and developing. He is forced out of his comfort zone, pushed onto a journey that he never asked for. And even though it’s hard and scary and he questions if he can make it, Laszlo does something very important. He takes the next step anyway.

Laszlo does not come to the end of his journey having become some great powerful warrior who can take on the world, or some charismatic conversationalist who can talk to anybody. He ends the story as Laszlo, with all the same good qualities he had in the beginning. He is confident in who he is, aware of his weaknesses, but also now aware of his strengths. And he won’t shudder and shake so easily in the face of trials again.

Self discovery is a fascinating journey, and it is ever unfolding and growing out before us as God leads up down our paths. You don’t need to try to be like someone else to be strong and successful. God decided the world needed one of you. Be that.

Where Did I Get this Idea?

The way the idea for West of Borsala came about was a funny thought. I had read so many stories that take place in made up countries based off of real world cultures and I absolutely loved watching those cultures come to life through the eyes of someone who was unfamiliar with them. It got me to thinking… what if I wrote a book like that where the main character went to a “foreign land”… but that foreign land was actually a culture I myself, and most people reading the story, would be quite familiar with? And thus, this story was born!

Characters

Laszlo is a character who I sympathize with a great deal. I am not sure if I relate to him, since I’m a pretty adaptable person, but I understand his difficulties, how he clings to the life and world he knows for safety, yet recognizes that there is so much he could learn if he could simply step outside of his comfort zone. And as you will probably be able to pick up the more I write, I have quite a soft spot for bakers. I think being a baker automatically makes a person absolutely wonderful, but that’s just me.

I can’t talk about characters without talking about Zeph. It’s not at all hard to like the cranky old man character who has his own problems to get over throughout the course of the story. I also love when it’s not just the younger character who needs a father figure. Sometimes an older character really needs a son to look after, someone to remind him that he has a duty not to let circumstances embitter him against the world.

Fun Fact

Even though Laszlo’s own culture is not in the spotlight for very long, as he immediately sets off on a trip to save his best friend, I was inspired by Hungarian and German culture in the creation of Borsala.