Mischievous, cheeky, dapper, and quite inscrutable would be one way to describe the elusive Mister Sanamon, writer extraordinaire of deliciously dark and fantastical children’s books. A wise and kind fellow, he prefers to remain deep in the shadows and allow his stories to hold the limelight, particularly his newest release, Tzia: The Book of Galatéa, an epic fairy tale fantasy about a young girl’s quest to fulfill her fate, the debut book in a series.
A lover of travel and intrigue, Mister Sanamon finds inspiration for his stories from classic fairy tales, Greek mythology, and the rich history of the island of Tzia, or Kea, a Greek island which is the setting for his book. The island’s legendary ancient statue, the Lion of Kea, dates back to 600 B.C., serving as the idea for Mister Sanamon’s powerful lion character in his tale. The island also has a connection to the HMHS Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, which sank off the coast of Kea in 1916 under suspicious circumstances.
It’s unknown if Mister Sanamon’s stories are entirely fantasy fiction or, rather, real events that have simply never been unearthed. He claims with his book series that he will reveal to middle-grade readers the untold truths behind the lion, the famous ship’s mysterious sinking, and one of its unusual passengers.
