This is a followup interview I did with Adin Kachisi after reading and reviewing his book Keys of Destiny. The book review can be seen here:

http://joeypinkney.com/criticism/book-review-keys-of-destiny-by-adin-kachisi.php

(click the pictures to see reviews on Amazon.com)

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Keys of Destiny?

Adin Kachisi: After a nonfiction book I wrote called Beyond the Talented Tenth I felt that I had a lot to say about society especially on issues of culture, history and spirituality. I felt that if I wrote a fiction book, I could probably reach out to a larger audience. I decided to write a fictional book expressing my opinion, experiences, and vision of present and future society. I decided to use the theme of Mayan prophecies and 2012 because I that it was a subject containing elements of truth and fiction with possibilities of being taken in any direction.

JP: Kazra’s wife played a small but powerful role as a person who is not equally in tune with Kazra’s perception of the world. Why did you decide to give her that type of character instead of one who could fully empathize with Kazra’s dilemmas and yearnings?

AK: Besides my intension to put Kazra in an environment of struggle and bring domestic conflict, which is good for fiction, I wanted to illustrate a scenario many people can relate to. Many marriages are usually characterized by one partner’s failure to see the other’s vision. Even though in this case, it’s the wife pulling the husband back, sometimes it’s the husband who pulled down the wife.

Here is my subjective opinion on the black family:

On a subconscious level, I was probably expressing my opinion of how I look the typical Black family and community. In my observation the most difficult person to fix or transform is usually the young female about 22 to 35, she is usually more caught up in the drama and illusion of society. She is followed by the male counterpart who is more easily changed by the female partner, unless he has been criminalized.

Then comes the adult male above 40 whose role is usually not too clear. He is basically unavailable. Finally there is the adult female above 40 who is the most enlightened and most powerful of them all, she is the mother and grandmother.

In the book you will notice that I use the elder female as the wise shaman who helps the seeker find the way.

JP: You have 10 books listed in the biography. How did you come across these books?

AK: I basically came across the books in my research. I am a very serious researcher especially on the subjects of alternative history and spirituality.

Judging by the quantity and quality of the information each scholar and shaman covered, do you have an extended biography of sorts that you drew from when writing this book?

AK: Yes, I have a more extended biography of research books, but most of the information is knowledge I accumulated through interactions with people of all sorts over several years.

JP: Your use of English in Keys of Destiny is precise. How did your birth in another country affect your career as an author?

AK: My English writing is probably influenced by my British based education growing up in a British colony. My birth in another country has helped me view every issue with fresh eyes or from a different perspective. I am able to put a different value system in my writing and that makes the work unique when I combine it with my Western experiences.

JP: This is your fourth novel. What did you learn from your experiences with producing the other novels that you applied in the production of Keys of Destiny?

AK: I have grow in style and character as expressed in words. I have learned that there is no feeling better than producing good quality work you can be proud of. Written work has the capacity to influence people, so its better to write meaningful things.

JP: The detail in which you used to write about the different locales was remarkable. Did you travel to these places as part of your research?

AK: Being born in Zimbabwe I was able to write realistic and factual things about that culture and location. I have also traveled to Korea and could also portray a realistic picture about it. As for the other places I had to do serious research on every single detail of the country. Even more, I had to interact with people from those countries. I have also had the luck of living and interacting with many people of different cultures so I have a wide knowledge of world cultures.

JP: What’s next for Adin Kachisi?

AK: I am in the processing of rewriting Keys of Destiny. The revised book will include a few more chapters at the end. The story goes to years between 2024 and 2029. The global elites control the world and are involved in serious genetic engineering projects creating strange creatures and mixing humans with animals. The New Book will be called Tablets of Destiny: Rise of the Anakim and will probably be out beginning of 2009.