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Why George Straatman couldn't stop writing scary stories

Straatman, an author from Timmins, specializing in horror and fantasy last night launched The Final Converging: An Immortal Heart Asunder, at the Timmins Public Library.
George Straatman
George Straatman is pictured at Timmins Public Library on Thursday night during the launch of his book, The Final Converging: An Immortal Heart Asunder

George Straatman, an author from Timmins, Ontario, specializing in horror and fantasy last night launched The Final Converging: An Immortal Heart Asunder, at the Timmins Public Library. 

It is the fourth and final book in what is now the Converging Series Quartet.

It comes nineteen years after the release of The Converging: Closures in Blood

That was 1996 and Straatman thought he left the horror genre behind to focus writing his epic fantasy novels. 

For 30 years author George Straatman captivated his readers with the story of Elizabeth Simpson and Cynara Saravic two immortals featured in his Converging Series.

The first installment in the series was The Converging written in 1984. That was followed by The Converging: Mark of the Demon.

“I thought that Closure in Blood was the perfect ending for the story,” Straatman reflected. “It’s what I called an ambiguously happy ending.”

For 17 years Straatman resisted the urge to write one more instalment in the Converging Series

“As far as I was concerned I was done with this,” Straatman explained, “but this idea kept niggling at the back of my consciousness.

“I tried to ignore it,” Straatman said, “but it was like some little man inside my consciousness pushed this story out fully formed and I had to write it.”

Straatman said he was also motivated to continue writing about his two main characters.

“I look at Elizabeth Simpson and Cynara Saravic, the two main characters in the series, like my daughters,” Straatman said. “I am very proud of them.” 

“It’s as if fate determined that the story have a different conclusion - one that is darker,” said Straatman.  

The Converging Series follows the life of Elizabeth Simpson, the main character whose life is decimated by a supernatural event.

As a result she spends the next 80 years trying to come to terms with the impact it had on her life. She seeks a sense of equilibrium and closure in her life.

The Converging series covers the span of the life Elizabeth Simpson, an immortal. In the first book Elizabeth Simpson is 28 by Final Converging she is 107 years old.

Over time Simpson progresses from being a demon evolving into a divinity.

There are two themes in the telling of the story. There is a pursuit by a menacing character who wants the secret of Elizabeth Simpson’s immortality.

The second element a pursuit by satanic elements that want to destroy Elizabeth.

“I really wanted to write a story about human dynamics using the horror genre,” Straatman said. “It wasn’t about gore, it wasn’t about guts and it wasn’t about bloodletting - pushing that aside this is a story about our human experience.”

Straatman has built a loyal following of readers that extends to the United States, England and even the Netherlands.

In addition to the Converging Series, Straatman has written A Journey Through the Land of Shades written in the epic fantasy genre.

"The Journey Through Series is my really oblique homage to the legend of King Arthur,” explains Straatman.

One of the biggest challenges Straatman faces is marketing his working beyond Timmins and Canada. He meets this challenge by selling e-books as well as hardcopy books over the internet. This increases his potential readership globally.

“As a writer I still get a thrill that someone from the United States or Europe someone I don’t know picks and reads one of my books,” Straatman admits.

The Final Converging: An Immortal Heart Asunder and Straatman’s other books are available through internet www.georgestraatman.com


Frank Giorno

About the Author: Frank Giorno

Frank Giorno worked as a city hall reporter for the Brandon Sun; freelanced for the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. He is the past editor of www.mininglifeonline.com and the newsletter of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers.
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