Why Malta? A Mystery-Thriller Author Tells Why

"Why Malta?" my new Maltese friends kept asking me when they find out that my mystery-thriller The Cellini Masterpiece is set on Malta. Mind you, only the Maltese ask that question. (Some kind of national inferiority complex?) Americans ask "Malta Who?" or "Where the heck is Malta?" or "Is it about the Maltese Falcon?" (They must always think that they're the first ones to think that up.)

The difference in questions is obvious. The Maltese are puzzled. Americans are plain ignorant. Someone once wrote that the way Americans learn geography is by war.

Why Malta is the question that is harder to answer. My usual comeback is why not? That usually brings a laugh, but it's difficult to explain how a tiny bit of limestone southwest of Sicily should hold such an interest for an American for so many years. I will be 65 by the time this article is in print, but I fell in love with Malta sight unseen as a 10-year-old in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was a stamp collector and bought one of those cheap worldwide stamp packets, with one stamp showing Verdala Palace in Malta. Somehow it grabbed my interest, and a few years later I started reading about Malta until I had exhausted the local library collection. The chance discovery of a stamp led me to one of the most geographically and historically significant places in the world. Literally the crossroads of the Mediterranean, it has Neolithic temples pre-dating the pyramids and has been occupied by every world power since the ancient Greeks. I'm a historian, for heaven's sake. Who wouldn't be interested?

I was hooked. My stamp collection turned into a business, which I named Maltalately (for Malta philately). Even so, all my life I wanted to write a novel set in Malta.

At age 14 I read Cellini's Autobiography. The rogue artist absolutely intrigued me. I also know he lived in the mid-16th Century and that the Knights of St. John defeated Suleiman the Magnificent's Turks in the so-called Great Siege. It was the greatest holy war of all time and may have saved Europe from occupation by the Turks. Voila. Somehow my novel would involve Cellini and the Great Siege. I even had a punch-line. Now all I had to do was write it.

It took more than twenty years but I finally had a finished draft in 1985. The Jonathan Lazear Agency decided to represent it. Unfortunately, they weren't able to find a publisher and the manuscript went back on the shelf to languish for nearly ten years before I finally went to Malta for the first time at age 54. I stayed at a bargain accommodation, the Soleado Guest House in Sliema. What a great location to set the novel! I dusted off the manuscript and started again. My first change was to give Rick, my hero's, sidekick a sex change. My male cab driver was now a sexy young woman. The manager of the Soleado, Joey Bugeja, got a gender change, too. He was now Josefina. How could I miss?

The events of September 11, 2001, although tragic, provided another powerful plotline, since Malta is near North Africa and has close economic ties with Libya. I should be able to polish the book off in a couple of months, I thought.

Not. Things still didn't fit together quite right. In September of 2003 I enlisted the help of a musician I had met while I was selling postcards. He liked thrillers and had a keen ear for the music of language and a discerning eye for the continuity of my story. Taking him on board was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and by the beginning of 2004 I could envision the final draft. Then I heard about the North African boat people who were landing in Malta. Wow. Now all I had to do was tie Benvenuto Cellini to Suleiman the Magnificent and add in a plot from World War II with another involving modern-day terrorists and refugees. What could be simpler? Even Snoopy could do it.

Somehow I did do it. And according to my readers, successfully. Why Malta? Because there is no other place in this whole wide world where the story would make sense.

The other answer to "Why Malta" is found, for me, in a quote from Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence. It could have been written for me. "I have an idea that some men are born out of their due place. Accident has cast them among certain surroundings, but they have always nostalgia for a home they know not?. Sometimes a man hits upon a place to which he mysteriously feels that he belongs. Here is the home he sought, and he will settle amid scenes that he has never seen before, among men he has never known, as though they were familiar to him from his birth. At last he finds rest."

SAHHA u hbibierija.

To read a chapter of The Cellini Masterpiece, or to ask John a question or comment, log on to http://www.cmasterpiece.com

---

The Isaiah Effect, by Greg Braden

Why do some prayers seem to be answered while others... Read More

The World is Flat - This Book by Thomas L Friedman has Taken the Online Entrepreneurs by Storm

The New York Times' columnist visits India often. I read... Read More

A Coaching Book Review

Win-Win Partnerships ? Be on the Leading Edge with Synergistic... Read More

Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry Book Review

Author: Thomas C. Oden Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco;... Read More

Author Releases Comprehensive Family History Book On The Family of JACKEL, JECKEL, IEKEL, YAKEL

When the topic of family history comes up, where do... Read More

A Monster Named Criney who Makes Kids Whiney - Review

Excellent! The best children book of this genre that I... Read More

Dark Autumn - Book Review

"Now this could definitely be a movie! Dark Autumn is... Read More

What $ells on EBay For What - Book Review

You look at the salesletter and the price tag ($8.95... Read More

Free Ebook Offer: The Story of America: Discovery - Article 2

Just think. If the Vikings had made just that little... Read More

The Little Mornings - Book Review

The Little Mornings, by C M Albrecht is a murder... Read More

The Hushed Willow - A review by Amanda Evans

The Hushed Willow by Lorna Joy Knox nee Ramsamugh is... Read More

Twin Falls, Gooding, Jerome, ID, and Regional Economic Outlook for 2005

Twin Falls Economic Report done by me; Twin Falls, ID... Read More

The Oz Principle - A Book Summary

In The Oz Principle, Connors, Smith, and Hickman brilliantly use... Read More

Headlong Into Quicksand: The Tale of Today in America

America´s 220 years of Democracy (of its 400 years) is... Read More

Book review on Finite Capacity Scheduling, Part III

With this all possible the price could be lowered to... Read More

Turbo Strategy - A Book Summary

Businesses are run mostly on auto-pilot and any problem areas... Read More

Humor Just Got A Whole Lot Funnier With Juggin Joe

Author Joseph Yakel presents his own blend of humor and... Read More

Gilleland Poetry: A Book Review

For me, poetry is often too obtuse and difficult for... Read More

James Martells Methods and Yahoo

In James Martell's Affiliate Handbook, he mentions that he focuses... Read More

Book review on Finite Capacity Scheduling, Part I

Finite Capacity Scheduling by Gerhard Plenert PhD and Bill KirchmeirI... Read More

Fading Towards Enlightenment - Book Review

Fading Toward Enlightenment by Wayne Wirs is definitely a well... Read More

Mathew and the Highland Rescue - Book Review

"A stimulating adventure! Sabine Muir has written a wonderful children's... Read More

The Legend of Juggin Joe - Review

The Legend of Juggin' Joe is a fiction based on... Read More

10 Best How-To Books Ever Written

Somebody once said there are more book titles beginning with... Read More

Book Excerpt: Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam

When I reached the top of the driveway after getting... Read More

Until Youve Walked the Path!

From the depths of despair to the heights of hope.... Read More

Book Summary: How To Work With Just About Anyone

"I just can't seem to get along with this person!"Every... Read More

Why Malta? A Mystery-Thriller Author Tells Why

"Why Malta?" my new Maltese friends kept asking me when... Read More

Book Summary: Networking For Professional Success

Book Summary:This article is based on the following book: ... Read More

The Rich Jerk Review: New Agressive and Effective Internet Marketing Methods for All

The Rich Jerk "Making Money on the internet is Easy"... Read More

Nice Girls Don?t Get the Corner Office 101 - A Book Summary

Dr. Frankel clearly identifies the common mistakes ?101 in all-that... Read More

Your Flight Questions Answered

Whether you are an experienced air traveler or a novice,... Read More

Ideas Are Free - A Book Summary

Without great ideas, no organization can stay afloat, much less... Read More