An Interview with Karin Ciholas

As a retired professor of humanities and languages, I keep doing research in history and theology and seek to bring events and people alive who shaped our world. I am especially interested in portraying characters who witnessed major events in the past.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Both titles, The Lighthouse and The Bronze Door, portray a major symbolic object that actually existed and proclaimed a message. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and stood for more than 2,000 years before an earthquake toppled it in the 14th century. Its mission was to save lives and guide ships safely to harbor. It was a miracle of technology that still astounds us today. Its stones now lie beneath the Mediterranean Sea. The Bronze Door was the most amazing addition to the temple in Jerusalem and opens the door on many religious reflections about entering into a holy place and even the reverse: the fact that many religious practices shut people out. Also, it was an artistic and technical marvel. It, too, no longer exists. During the Roman-Jewish War, the temple was destroyed and the Romans hauled off the spoils—the gold- and silver-plated bronze doors that would outshine other bronze doors today, had it survived. The last book of the trilogy, The Temple at Sunset, also deals with one of the most symbolic and religious monuments ever built by humankind.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

So many book covers today look like scribbled graffiti. Matthew Fielder and Ronaldo Alves are the amazing artists at Atmosphere Press, and they create WORKS OF ART. The feeling you get from the covers is great respect for their artistry, talent, and the spiritual realities of what a cover can convey.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

Ever since childhood, I have written stories. My mother read stories to me every evening at bedtime, and when I didn’t like the ending of the story, I changed it. When my children were little, I made up stories at bedtime. Throughout my teaching career, I published short stories in literary magazines and wrote several plays. I have won eleven prizes from my writing. Writing and storytelling are in my DNA.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I am a teacher. All writers are teachers. Not all teachers are writers. I wrote my first “novel” in German. I was in the Swiss school system, and I wrote a romantic love story and shared it with my schoolmates.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

An appreciation for the wonders of the past: amazing discoveries in ancient medicine, science, and technology; the awe we feel when two people share undying love; the quest for religious meaning; and, above all: respect for strong characters who seek to heal and overcome evil. Even when they blunder and are headstrong.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

If you respect your own writing and seek to make it the best it can be, the team at Atmosphere Press will respect you and your work and help you.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.