New release novel, Breaking the Mask is the culmination of almost a decade of work for local author Anthony Johnson.
Originally from England, Anthony moved to Australia in 2016. He is a Project Manager for a building company and, like his father and grandfather, has been a builder since he finished school. At the age of 25, he went to university part time to study English Literature.
“Writing is my passion,” said Anthony, “It is what I’ve done all my life.”
Anthony spent eight years researching and three and a half years writing Breaking the Mask. He has also written two other novels and several short stories. Breaking the Mask is the first novel he has published.
“I wasn’t entirely happy with the other novels, but with Breaking the Mask, I just knew it was right,” said Anthony.
The historical fantasy follows Henry Game’s journey from the United Kingdom during the 1500s through to modern day New York.
Henry has decided that his time is at an end. He uses his last days to gather his journals and accounts together.
His focus is finally clear, death has given him the impetus required to face his greatest shame before it is too late. He will tell his story, and be what may, he will have a clean conscience when the time comes to die.
The hope is to seek forgiveness from the son he shamelessly abandoned only days after the birth. Even if it is only words and memories that he offers, it is surely better than nothing. Yet what he creates is not just a recounting of secret history, it is also an honest explanation, a confession, of his darkest deeds and gravest sins; it is a parable that he hopes his own flesh and blood can learn from and hopefully not repeat the same mistakes.
The entries range from early sixteenth century to the present day; from setting the dinner table for evening meal on Good Friday 1532, to sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in 1814, onward to the war with the USA; from scaling the tower of Pope Clement VII, to eating gingerbread in the company of three extremely bizarre sisters and a very greedy young Germanic girl named Gretel.
While the character of Henry Game is fiction, the events Henry encounters are historical. Anthony’s research unearthed some little known historical facts which create an intricate web for readers to follow.
Breaking the Mask is available online now from amazon.com.au and available soon from the bookdepository.com and booktopia.com.au.
