Today we are interviewing David LeRoy, author of the historical fiction, The Siren of Paris.
David LeRoy is an author and avid explorer of the intersection of philosophy, psychology, and art. His debut novel, The Siren of Paris, is a poignant work that emerged from personal family research he undertook in 2010 to locate missing persons of WWII.
LeRoy’s fluency in French and two-year sojourn in France afforded him unique insights into the French culture he deftly weaves into his literary work. With a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religion, an MBA from California State University Sacramento, and an MSc. Applied Data Science from Paris, France, LeRoy is a polymath with diverse interests and an insatiable curiosity for knowledge.
He currently resides in California, where he continues to write and pursue his creative passions.
Connect with him on social media at:
╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesirenofparis
╰┈➤ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14760740-the-siren-of-paris?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=v6UbhLIMmb&rank=1
My career path into writing is purely accidental. I fell into it and continued to sink. In 2010 I decided to engage with some missing persons search for family members who never got out of Europe. Writing a memoir or a non-fiction book did not seem like a project that anyone would benefit from reading. However, I under estimated the learning curve that was require for writing fictional story. My professional career as a custom contracts manager gave me skills in large document management, editing however it did not provide training in the creative scene writing that is necessary to write fiction. The art of story craft is not a common skill set.
Your latest book, The Siren of Paris, is about a soul seeking peace after his failures in finding love during World War 2. How did you come up with this very unique idea?
Modern day stories that have a romantic arc do not address the level of betrayal, human cruelty and total moral failures of the time period. My story is born out of factual research into the lives of those who died. It included Gestapo arrest records, transport records, newspapers, shipping records and prison accounts. Romanic betrayal was not unusual, it was a tactic used by the Gestapo to uncover the identity of individuals they wanted to arrest. It was remarkably effective and also deadly both to its victims and perpetrators. The period of the French purge killed many women who worked with the Gestapo in its programs. When The Siren of Paris was first published, it was far before the rise in social media fascination with narcissistic personality disorder. The journey of my story tells of love fraud that leads to tragic deaths. The real question is can any of the souls who died find peace after such moral apocalyptic war.
Can you tell us about the main character in the book?
Marc Tolbert is a young American male, who is born from an American service member in France, who married a French mother during World War One. Marie Bonnet is a female French born woman born into a right leaning family who lived in Paris. However, it is the main two characters who play out the tragedy of the story.
Can you tell us about the other characters in the book?
One of the more unusual characters is Joan Rodes, who rescues Marc along with others at the cost of her unborn child. The Sumner Jackson family, Jacques Lusseyran, as well as lesser known victims of the war all appears in the story.
The most haunting are the two orphans from Belgium. They were followed by two loyal family dogs onto the RMS Lancastria. The white large Angora rabbit on the C-deck cabin is also historical. All of the animals that appear I had found in historical accounts from books, newspapers or eye witness accounts.
What is the very first line of your book?
“May the Lord Be With You,” is the first words that the Priest of time and judgment speaks.
What follows the first line is the raising of the dead of the war the ends in a number unknown.
What is the main reason people should read your book?
The Siren of Paris tells the story of what war does to the human soul. Instead of following soldiers through battlefields, the novel follows a man whose spirit returns to the city that he was born in searching for new meaning. The novel blends historical realism with elements of magical realism, creating a story that feels both grounded in history and haunted by the deeper forces that shape memory, guilt, love, and redemption. Readers who are drawn to the emotional and philosophical questions beneath history will find something different in the story. This is why I added the new forward to the story because the people who were emailing me were survivors of war or the effects of the trauma caused to the souls of war.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I am a person of faith who lives in a world where people with far more influence than I have are griped by agendas to influence people for doing evil. People are ungrounded, unaware of the presence of governmental propaganda, and have forgotten many of the lessons of our past. Any movement that creates enhanced self-awareness and emotional kindness I believe would be welcomed.
Journey through the dark, violent, and haunting landscape of World War II in Paris and beyond – Take on a harrowing tour through the depths of human depravity, exploring themes of love, loss, guilt, and redemption in this gripping historical tale.
Marc Tolbert, a young French-born man from a prominent American family, takes off to Paris for a fresh start after a breakup in 1939. Pursuing his dreams of attending a prestigious Parisian art school, he soon makes friends with some of history’s most notable figures, including Sylvia Beach and William Bullitt. Falling in love with an art model from one of his classes, he is blinded to the escalating violence around them as the war inches closer to the City of Lights.
What started as an adventure quickly becomes a nightmare as the war worsens, and Marc is faced with choices that will change his life forever.
When he finally faces the reality that he must leave Paris, fate deals him a cruel hand. Surviving the sinking of the RMS Lancastria, Marc is haunted by the deaths of his friends and the regret of not leaving sooner.
Returning to Paris, Marc is drawn into the resistance movement, risking everything to help those trapped behind enemy lines. But after being betrayed, he is captured and sent away to face the horrors of war and the guilt of his past mistakes.
The Siren of Paris is a powerful and emotional story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. With its compelling plot-driven narrative, vivid scenes, and intense action, this novel will transport you to the heart of war-torn Paris and leave you contemplating the weight of human choices and their impact on others. Whether you’re a fan of historical fiction, war stories, or symbolic themes, this novel will captivate and intrigue you from start to finish.
The Siren of Paris is available at Amazon.
╰┈➤Book Details
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Sub-genre: Magical Realism
- Language:English
- Pages: 352
- Paperback ISBN: 978-0983966715
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