Marc-Eric Cornu

I really enjoyed writing my first novel. This is already a good thing in itself. Having traveled extensively as part of my work as a black gold prospector, I have accumulated a lot of experience and memories. Without wanting to do a biography of my life, I wanted to use this experience to write a totally imaginary adventure novel that engages the reader, captivates them and allows them to identify with the characters. Marco Coltese, the main character, is neither a hero nor an anti-hero. According to my early readers, it's very easy to relate to Marco. With this in mind, Marco is also the main character of my second novel currently being written. Perhaps this is the start of a long series.

So why did you choose Colombia for this first novel? Simply because I worked there and had the opportunity to visit the Gold Museum in Bogota. I was very impressed by the cultural richness of the pre-Columbian civilizations and very shocked by the brutality of the conquistadors. I became passionate about these civilizations. On the other hand, Colombian society in the 1990s was in the midst of an internal war. The difficult context of the time struck me as interesting for developing my screenplay. Certainly, I had to supplement my information with bibliographical research which is cited at the end of my book. Here again, the reactions of my first readers are positive. They say they learned a lot about the pre-Columbian context and that of the 90s.