By Jennifer Ersalesi
Photo credit: Mike Rizzo
Rutherfordian Mike Rizzo is quite the Renaissance man. Not only is he a published author, but he is also a guitarist who performs with the band, "The Big House", and an active community member, as the Treasurer of the Rutherford Chamber of Commerce, and a Board Member of the Kip Center and the Rutherford Public Library Foundation, and the Relationship Manager at BCB Bank In Rutherford. This is Rutherford interviewed Mike to learn more about his second book release.
TIR: Congratulations on your newest published book, To Sow a Fallow. This is your second book. Your first book, Tales of Asterra, was very well received. How is this latest release similar to your previous book? How is it different?
Mike Rizzo: Thank you! For To Sow a Fallow I kept all the processes the same as with Tales of Asterra despite them being different styles of books—the former a young-adult fantasy fiction novel and the latter a fantasy fiction anthology. I used the same publishing company, Luminare Press, to help me with self-publishing. I used the same illustrator, Alejandro Colucci, to create the illustrations in To Sow a Fallow. Both have done such a wonderful job with helping bring my stories to life in both books, and I’m very thankful to be able to work with such talented people.
The release of To Sow a Fallow has been great. The biggest difference for this release is that I am a little better prepared, having learned a bit from the release of my first book. The goals for helping get the book out there are mostly still the same, but I’m also trying some new ideas as I continue to learn more about the publishing world.
TIR: Where did you draw your inspiration for this book?
MR: For To Sow a Fallow I drew inspiration from various sources. One of my
biggest inspirations are the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I fell in love with the fantasy world of Middle Earth when the Lord of the Rings movies first came out, and I read the books. Tolkien’s writing had a profound effect on inspiring me to create my own fantasy world. Some other fantasy worlds that greatly inspired me were Narnia from Chronicles of Narnia, Azeroth from World of Warcraft, and The Wizarding World from Harry Potter.
In addition to those fantasy worlds, my love of history, mythology, science, and other academic studies helped me create the lore and magic surrounding a lot of the events in To Sow a Fallow and in Asterra. Sometimes reading a good history book, watching a documentary, or playing a fantasy game, has just as much inspiration for me as reading a fantasy book!
TIR: Could you tell us more about the setting of this book? How did you come up with this
fictional land?
MR: Asterra is the great fictional continent where both To Sow a Fallow and Tales of Asterra occur. Asterra is also the name that the denizens of this great mainland give to the world since they know of no other large landmasses or “new worlds” beyond the 4 great oceans that surround them. I came up with the name by combining Asgard with the Latin word “terra,” which means land or earth.
To Sow a Fallow takes place in the eastern realms of the great continent, more specifically
Aurora, Ohraerandi, and Dwathrin. Of these three realms, Aurora is the focus, which is a simple agrarian land filled with rolling hills and fertile fields. And here, in the quaint town of Dæġes Ēage, the main protagonist, John Hortēnsius lives. He and his guild have a very cool map of the eastern portion of Asterra that is featured in To Sow a Fallow! The locations were a lot of fun to come up with.
Since I was always inspired by the quintessential medieval setting for the fantasy worlds featured in some of my favorite fantasy novels or games, I wanted to create something similar but different and unique that I could call my own. I knew this fantasy land needed to feel as real as possible, so I did my best to include made-up currencies, mythos, locations, languages, folklore, faunae, florae, species, and many other unique aspects and things. It is an ever-growing work in progress! I keep a large compendium filled with all the information of Asterra, so I can pull from it when I need material for a story or novel. I always love adding more stuff to Asterra and bringing more life to the world and its inhabitants!
TIR: Tell us more about the title of the book, To Sow a Fallow.
MR: To Sow a Fallow, at face value, is a description of the main protagonist and the supporting characters’ goal to put an end to the evil that is causing the lands within the eastern realms of Asterra to become corrupted and die. However, most importantly, the title, and even the dead lands to some extent, are meant to be symbolic of personal growth, self-healing, and triumph over one’s personal demons and doubts. Many of the characters in this book face some form of hardship: John, his friends, and their families struggle with the loss of business from travelers not venturing to Aurora; Charles faces personal demons from his youth while helping his friend, Henry; Dorin, and Olaf struggle to help their king while proving their worth to their peers; and Titus is confronted by the doubts of his colleagues while attempting to help his friends.
All these issues give graveness and terror to the threat of the dead lands and symbolically
manifest in the evil festering within the darkness. Each group of characters initially struggles to improve their situation. However, through courage, perseverance, and instinct, they can help themselves and each other by coming together to confront the darkness that has deteriorated the once-fertile lands and restore peace and prosperity to the world.
In the final chapter, all the characters come together in Dæġes Ēage, which is the Old English word for “daisy” or literally “day’s eye.” And it is this town that is meant to be symbolic of a beacon of light that finally cuts through this epoch of impending darkness.
TIR: What is most exciting about sharing this book with your readers?
MR: It is a wonderful feeling getting this story out there! I think what is most enjoyable for me is meeting people with a similar love for all things fantasy. When I go to author events, I really enjoy being able to talk to readers and fans about their favorite books, fantasy series, games, or anything else that inspires them. For me, To Sow a Fallow and Tales of Asterra is a way to share a bit of myself with the world, and in doing so, I get to learn a bit more from others, which is always a great experience.
TIR: Anything else you would like to add?
MR: As always, I am very thankful for the opportunity to describe a bit about myself, my new
book To Sow a Fallow, and my world of Asterra with you and your readers! I am currently
working on my third book, and I am continuing to add more lore to the compendium of Asterra! If anyone has questions, please feel free to contact me via email at talesofasterra@gmail.com or follow me at tales_of_asterra on Instagram or the page Tales of Asterra. I am always happy to discuss more with fans!
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